If your website no longer reflects your growth, it’s time for a redesign. But finding the right agency starts with one thing: a well-written RFP. A well-crafted RFP ensures that you get proposals aligned with your business goals and saves you from wasting time on mismatched solutions. 

In this article, we’ll walk you through the essential elements of an RFP and how to structure it for the best results. Keep reading to get a more straightforward path to your new website.

First things first:

What Exactly Is a Website Redesign RFP?

A website redesign RFP (Request for Proposal) is a document that outlines your project’s goals, requirements, budget, and timeline. It’s used to invite agencies or freelancers to submit proposals for redesigning your website. 

The RFP helps ensure that the agencies understand your vision and can offer solutions that align with your needs, making the selection process more efficient and transparent. 

In the upcoming section, we will further elaborate on the importance of writing a thorough proposal for a redesign project.

Why Do You Need to Write a Good RFP for Website Redesign

A whopping 75% of customers judge a company by the design of its website. So, a complete website design overhaul can and shall have a huge impact on your brand perception down the road. Therefore, this should not be a process you rush through. 

A successful website redesign starts with finding the right partner who understands your goals and can deliver results. But before that happens, you need to attract quality vendors and weed out the ones who aren't a good fit.

Here's what happens when you skip this step. You get flooded with generic proposals that miss the mark completely. Agencies pitch run-of-the-mill solutions without understanding your business model or target customers. 

Meanwhile, you waste weeks reviewing irrelevant proposals and scheduling calls with vendors who can't actually help you.

A well-written RFP changes everything. It acts as a filter that brings serious, qualified agencies to your door while keeping the time-wasters away. 

Good vendors appreciate detailed requirements because it shows you're organized and serious about the project. They'll respond with thoughtful proposals that address your specific needs rather than sending boilerplate templates.

In summary, by taking the time to write a thoughtful, detailed RFP, you save both time and frustration later on. You'll avoid unnecessary back-and-forth with agencies and reduce the risk of a final product that misses the mark. 

Now, before we share a Beetle Beetle-approved website redesign RFP, it’s important that you learn what to actually include in a proposal and how to communicate your expectations clearly. Keeping that in mind, here’s a mini tutorial on how to write an RFP for a website redesign.

How to Write an RFP for SaaS Business Website Redesign

A well-structured RFP ensures you’re not only attracting the right agencies but also setting the stage for successful collaboration. The RFP isn’t just for the agency; your internal stakeholders need to be on board too. 

Getting their approval early on makes sure everyone’s on the same page about the budget, timeline, and goals, so you can avoid surprises later. With everyone aligned, you can move forward with confidence. Let us walk you through the process of drafting an RFP step by step: 

1. Mention Company Background and Target Audience Overview

Before you start explaining why you need a redesign, first give your agency a clear picture of who you are and who you serve. This context helps them understand your business model, competitive landscape, and customer pain points. 

A clear understanding of your company's mission and target audience will help the designers personalize their approach to match your brand voice and user expectations.

Without personalization, your SaaS product is at risk of being just another generic platform in a crowded marketplace. According to a McKinsey survey, 71% of customers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions. 76% get frustrated when they don't receive them. Here are some key pointers to include:

• Your company's founding story and core mission statement
• Primary target audience demographics and the business challenges they face
• Key differentiators that set you apart from competitors
• Current customer base size and growth trajectory over the past year

2. Explain the Problem

The next course of action is to lay out the specific issues your current website faces and how they're impacting your business. 

Let's say your navigation menu is confusing. It may make it hard for users to find pricing information, and your developer team may receive countless support tickets about basic product features.

This clarity matters more than you might think. 94% of website users consider intuitive navigation the most important feature when evaluating a site's credibility and usability. 

When you clearly articulate these problems, agencies can propose targeted solutions rather than generic redesign approaches. Be specific about metrics too - mention bounce rates, conversion drops, or user feedback that supports your concerns.

3. Highlight Your Proposed Solutions and List Down Your Must-haves

Now that you've outlined the problems, it's time to share your vision for how these issues should be addressed. You don't need to provide detailed technical specifications, but giving agencies a direction helps them understand your expectations and proposal requirements.

For instance, if you need a robust search feature to help users find content easily, mention it here. Then, also explain how this will enhance the user experience.

A website redesign is the perfect opportunity to add or improve new capabilities. For example:

• A blog or resource section to improve SEO
• A streamlined sign-up process for potential customers
• Integration with your existing business-critical tools
• Advanced analytics to track user behavior

However, stay flexible here. The best agencies will take your proposed solutions and build upon them with their expertise. 

They might suggest alternative approaches you hadn't considered. Frame this section as "here's what we think might work" rather than "here's exactly what you must do."

4. Highlight Your Timeline and Budget Estimate

The timeline depends on several factors including the complexity of your current site, the scope of changes needed, and how quickly your team can provide feedback during the design process. Most comprehensive redesigns take anywhere from 8 to 16 weeks from kickoff to launch.

As for the budget, it also varies widely based on your specific requirements and the level of customization you need. Here's what typically influences the cost:

• Design complexity and the number of unique page templates required
• Custom functionality development versus using existing plugins or tools
• Content creation needs, including copywriting and professional photography
• Integration requirements with your existing analytics and marketing tools
• Post-launch support and maintenance expectations

If you need more expert guidance on how to calculate realistic budget ranges for your project scope, check out this blog post on how to calculate website redesign cost. 

5. Define Success Metrics

Once the website is live, how will you measure its success? Defining your key performance indicators (KPIs) in the RFP helps the agency understand what success looks like for you. These could be things like:

• Increased website traffic
• Higher conversion rates
• Better user engagement
• Improved search engine rankings

By establishing these metrics, you ensure that both you and the agency are aligned on goals, making it easier to measure the impact of the redesign once it’s complete.

At Beetle Beetle, we believe the best results come when the client has absolute clarity on their needs and the skill to effectively communicate those goals. If you are a B2B SaaS company looking to partner with a specialized team that “gets you”, we would love to talk to you. 

Schedule an intro call today, and let’s figure out if we’re the right fit for each other.

Now, moving on, if you'd like to take a shortcut with a ready-made RFP template, we've got you covered. Let's craft a redesign proposal template that you can easily use to communicate your needs to everyone involved in the project. 

This template is also useful for website design agencies that want to impress potential clients by highlighting the scope of work clearly. 

Website Redesign RFP Template by Beetle Beetle

Here's how you can structure your RFP to get the best possible responses from agencies. Please make sure to customize each section based on your specific business needs and project requirements.

Here's the revised template section with specific examples:

Website Redesign RFP Template by Beetle Beetle

Here's how you can structure your RFP to get the best possible responses from agencies. Please make sure to customize each section based on your specific business needs and project requirements.

1. Executive Summary and Business Context

Open with a brief overview of your SaaS company and the strategic reason behind this redesign. Include your current monthly recurring revenue, customer base size, and primary growth challenges. 

Mention whether this redesign supports a product launch, market expansion, or customer retention initiative. This context helps agencies understand the business stakes and propose solutions that align with your revenue goals rather than just aesthetic improvements.

Example template: We are [Company Name], a B2B project management SaaS serving 2,500+ customers with $180K MRR. Our current website conversion rate of 2.1% is below industry standards, limiting our growth to Series A funding goals. 

This redesign supports our enterprise market expansion and aims to improve lead quality for our sales team.

2. Current Site Performance Data

Present concrete metrics that demonstrate why change is necessary. Include conversion rates from visitor to trial, trial to paid customer, and any drop-off points in your signup funnel. 

Share user feedback themes, support ticket categories related to website confusion, and competitive analysis showing where you're falling behind. 

Numbers speak louder than opinions when convincing agencies to take your project seriously and helping them understand the impact their work will have.

Example template: Current performance metrics:

• Visitor to trial conversion: 3.2% (industry average: 5.8%)
• Trial to paid conversion: 18% (goal: 25%)
• Average session duration: 1:45 minutes
• Top user complaints: "Can't find pricing," "Unclear product benefits," "Mobile site is broken"

3. Target User Personas and Journey Mapping

Define your primary buyer personas with specific job titles, company sizes, and decision-making processes. Map out how each persona currently interacts with your site from awareness to purchase, highlighting friction points and abandoned actions. 

Include information about your sales cycle length and which content types move prospects through each stage. This helps agencies design user experiences that support your actual sales process rather than generic conversion patterns.

Example template: Primary persona: Marketing Directors at 50-200 employee companies Journey: Blog post → Product demo video → Pricing page → 14-day trial → Sales call → Purchase Current friction points: 40% abandon at pricing page, 60% never complete trial setup Sales cycle: 21 days average from first visit to purchase

4. Technical Stack and Integration Needs

List your existing marketing and sales technology stack, including CMS, marketing automation, analytics tools, and customer support platforms. Specify which integrations are essential for launch versus nice-to-have for future phases. 

Include any API limitations, single sign-on requirements, or compliance standards your industry requires. Being upfront about technical complexity helps agencies provide accurate estimates and avoid scope creep during development.

Example template: Required integrations:

• Salesforce CRM (must sync lead data in real-time)
• HubSpot Marketing Hub (for email automation triggers)
• Google Analytics 4 and Hotjar (for user behavior tracking)
• Stripe (for subscription management). Nice-to-have: Intercom chat widget, Calendly scheduling embed

5. Success Criteria and Measurement Plan

Define specific KPIs you'll use to measure the redesign's success over the first six months post-launch. Include baseline numbers for comparison and target improvements you expect to see. 

Specify how you'll track these metrics and who's responsible for ongoing optimization. This approach attracts agencies that think strategically about long-term results rather than just delivering a pretty website that doesn't move business metrics.

Example template: Success metrics (6-month targets):

• Increase visitor-to-trial conversion from 3.2% to 5.5%
• Reduce trial abandonment rate from 60% to 35%
• Improve organic traffic by 40% through SEO optimization
• Achieve 90+ PageSpeed Insights score on mobile. Tracking: Monthly reviews with the marketing team, quarterly business impact assessment.

Timeline and Budget Parameters

Provide realistic timeframes for when you need the project completed and any important milestone dates along the way. Include information about your budget range or at least indicate whether this is a small, medium, or large-scale project. 

Remember that good agencies need time to do quality work, so don't set unrealistic deadlines. Also, mention your internal review and approval process since this affects the overall timeline. 

Being upfront about budget constraints helps agencies propose solutions that fit your financial parameters rather than overshooting your expectations.

Provide realistic timeframes for when you need the project completed and any important milestone dates along the way. Include information about your budget range or at least indicate whether this is a small, medium, or large-scale project. 

Remember that good agencies need time to do quality work, so don't set unrealistic deadlines. Also, mention your internal review and approval process since this affects the overall timeline. 

Being upfront about budget constraints helps agencies propose solutions that fit your financial parameters rather than overshooting your expectations.

Example template: Project timeline: 12-14 weeks from contract signing to launch. Key milestones:

• Discovery and strategy phase: Weeks 1-2
• Design mockups and revisions: Weeks 3-6
• Development and integrations: Weeks 7-11
• Testing and launch preparation: Weeks 12-14 Hard deadline: Must launch before Q4 product announcement on November 15th

Budget range: $45,000 - $65,000 total project cost Payment structure: 50% upfront, 30% at design approval, 20% at launch

Internal approval process: Marketing Director reviews weekly, CEO approval required for major design changes (allows 3-5 business days for feedback at each milestone)

Also read: How Often Should You Redesign Your Website?

With this template, you have a solid foundation for creating an RFP that attracts quality agencies and sets clear expectations from the start. Each section builds upon the previous one to give potential partners a complete picture of your needs and goals.

However, writing an effective RFP can be tricky at times. Not getting the details right can cause unnecessary delays, budget overruns, and partnerships that don't deliver the results you expected. Let us take a look at the most common RFP challenges and how to avoid them.

Website Redesign Proposal Challenges

Even with the best intentions, many businesses run into roadblocks when creating their RFP or managing the proposal process. 

These challenges can derail your project before it even begins, so it's worth understanding them upfront. Here are the most frequent issues that trip up teams during the RFP phase:

• Vague requirements lead to wildly different proposals: When you don't specify exactly what you need, agencies fill in the gaps with their own assumptions, making it impossible to compare proposals fairly
• Unrealistic timelines create rushed, poor-quality work: Pressuring agencies to deliver complex redesigns in weeks instead of months results in corner-cutting and technical debt that costs more to fix later.
• Budget secrecy backfires during negotiations: Refusing to share budget ranges often attracts agencies that are either too expensive or too cheap for your actual needs, wasting everyone's time.
• Too many decision-makers slow down the process: Including every stakeholder in every review creates bottlenecks and conflicting feedback that confuses agencies and extends timelines unnecessarily.
• Focusing only on price instead of value: Choosing the cheapest option usually means sacrificing quality, ongoing support, or strategic thinking that your business needs to succeed.
• Incomplete technical specifications cause scope creep: Missing integration requirements or functionality needs lead to change orders and budget increases that could have been avoided with better planning.

Planning and executing a successful website redesign becomes a lot easier when you onboard an agency that has a pre-existing understanding of the SaaS landscape. 

Ideally, you need a team that understands the industry, its unique challenges, and conversion optimization strategies inside out, like Beetle Beetle.

Reimagine Your Website Effortlessly With Beetle Beetle

Creating an effective RFP is just the first step toward getting the website your business deserves. The right template helps you communicate your needs clearly, but the real magic happens when you partner with an agency that truly gets your industry. 

With proper planning and the right team, your redesign project can transform from a stressful undertaking into a strategic advantage. Most importantly, you'll end up with a website that actually drives business results instead of just looking pretty.

Beetle Beetle is a U.S.-based SaaS revamp studio with an impressive portfolio of successful redesigns across the software industry. Our conversion-focused approach has helped businesses 2x and even 3x their client conversion rates through strategic design and user experience optimization. 

Our trade secret? Deep industry research and competitor analysis that informs every design decision we make. We conduct our own independent user testing and behavioral analysis to understand what actually converts your specific audience. 

Our illustrators and brand strategists work together to help your brand discover a unique brand identity and maintain consistency across all customer touchpoints.

Ready to revamp your website the right way? Hire Beetle Beetle for website redesign today.