Website request for proposal (RFP)

1. Executive summary

is seeking qualified web development firms to design, develop, and implement a comprehensive website that serves our community's diverse needs while meeting modern digital experience standards. This project requires full compliance with ScanGov Standards (https://standards.scangov.org) to ensure our website meets contemporary digital experience benchmarks.

1.1 Project overview

• Complete website redesign and development
• Content migration and optimization
• Mobile-responsive design
• Full ScanGov Standards compliance
• Integration with existing organizational systems
• Ongoing maintenance and support options

1.2 Key requirements

• Adherence to ScanGov digital experience standards
• Section 508/Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA accessibility compliance
• Mobile-first responsive design
• Content management system (CMS)
• Security best practices implementation
• Performance optimization for fast loading times

2. Background and objectives

2.1 Current situation

currently operates a website that requires modernization to better serve our community members and visitors. Our existing platform lacks contemporary functionality, accessibility features, and the digital experience standards expected of modern websites.

2.2 Project goals

1. Enhanced User Experience: Create an intuitive, accessible website that serves all community members
2. Standards Compliance: Achieve full ScanGov Standards compliance for digital experience
3. Improved Accessibility: Meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines
4. Performance Excellence: Deliver fast-loading, responsive web experiences
5. Security: Implement robust security measures to protect user data
6. Future-Ready: Build a scalable platform for long-term organizational needs

3. ScanGov Standards compliance requirements

The successful vendor must ensure the new website meets the ScanGov Standards published at https://standards.scangov.org. ScanGov scores every government website against these standards in five categories: accessibility, botability, security, usability, and readability. Each requirement below links to the standard that defines it and the guidance for meeting it. The vendor must deliver a site that passes every standard in each category, and will verify compliance with ScanGov scans before acceptance and on an ongoing basis after launch.

3.1 Accessibility

All pages must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA and pass all 66 ScanGov accessibility standards (full list), including:

• Color contrast: Sufficient contrast between text and background on every element
• Alternative text: Every image, image button, and object has meaningful alternative text; captions for video
• Form labels: Every form field has an associated, visible label and a matching accessible name
• Link and button names: Every link and button has a discernible name; identical links serve the same purpose
• Headings and structure: Headings in order, none empty, a main landmark, and a skip link or landmark to bypass repeated content
• Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA): Valid roles and attributes, required children and parents, and accessible names on every ARIA widget
• Language: A valid language declared on the document and on any passage in another language
• Touch targets: Sufficient size and spacing for touch targets
• Keyboard access: No positive tabindex values, no focusable content hidden from assistive technology, no meta refresh
• Tables and lists: Data tables with headers and captions; lists and definition lists correctly structured
• Zoom: Pinch-to-zoom is not disabled in the viewport meta tag
• Document basics: Valid doctype, declared character encoding, and images displayed at their natural aspect ratio

3.2 Botability

Search engines and AI assistants must be able to find, crawl, and understand the site:

• Crawlable: The site permits well-behaved crawlers, including search engines and AI assistants, and does not block them with a firewall, challenge page, or user-agent rule
• Content available in document: Page content is present in the HTML as delivered, not only after client-side JavaScript runs
• Robots policy: A valid robots.txt that allows appropriate access
• Sitemap: A valid XML sitemap of all pages, returning a 200 status and referenced from robots.txt
• Canonical URLs: A canonical URL on every page to prevent duplicate indexing
• Descriptive link text: Links describe their destination; no "click here"
• Language alternates: hreflang annotations where translated pages exist
• Structured data: GovernmentOrganization Schema.org markup on the site

3.3 Security

• HTTPS: Every page served over HTTPS with a valid certificate
• HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS): The Strict-Transport-Security header on every response
• Content security policy (CSP): A restrictive CSP header
• Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) sniffing protection: X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff on every response
• Clickjacking mitigation: Frame ancestors restricted by CSP or X-Frame-Options
• security.txt: A security.txt file with current contact information (Request for Comments (RFC) 9116)
• No console errors: Pages load without JavaScript errors
• Paste allowed: No form fields block pasting, so password managers and assistive tools work
• .gov domain: The site is served from a .gov domain, or another sponsored top-level domain, where the organization is eligible

3.4 Usability

• Page titles: A unique, descriptive title on every page
• Page descriptions: A meta description on every page
• Mobile viewport: A viewport meta tag so pages render correctly on mobile devices
• www resolution: Both www and non-www hostnames resolve to the site
• First Contentful Paint: Within 1.8 seconds
• Largest Contentful Paint: Within 2.5 seconds
• Interaction to Next Paint: Under 200 milliseconds
• Time to First Byte: Under 0.8 seconds
• Cumulative Layout Shift: 0.1 or less; no unexpected content shifts
• Open Graph social sharing: Open Graph site name, type, title, description, URL, image, and image alt text on every page so shared links preview correctly

3.5 Readability

Content must be written in plain language that a general audience can read:

• Reading level: Content written in plain language. ScanGov scores an Automated Readability Index of grade 8 or below as passing; mature government content teams target grade 6. Applies to the Plain Writing Act and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum M-23-22

4. Functional requirements

4.1 Content management system

• User-friendly CMS with role-based permissions
• Content editing capabilities for non-technical staff
• Version control and content approval workflows
• SEO optimization tools built-in
• Media library management
• Multi-language support capabilities

4.2 Integration requirements (if applicable)

• Payment processing system integration
• Document management system connectivity
• Email newsletter subscription management
• Calendar system synchronization
• Geographic information system (GIS) and mapping system integration

4.3 Search functionality

• Site-wide search capability
• Advanced search filters
• Document content indexing
• Search result optimization
• Auto-complete suggestions

5. Technical specifications

5.1 Hosting and infrastructure

• Secure, reliable web hosting solution
• 99.9% uptime guarantee
• Regular automated backups
• Disaster recovery plan
• Content delivery network (CDN) implementation for performance
• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate management

5.2 Browser compatibility

• Support for current versions of major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• Graceful degradation for older browsers
• Cross-platform compatibility testing

5.3 Performance metrics

All performance requirements must meet ScanGov Standards:

• First Contentful Paint: ≤ 1.8 seconds
• Largest Contentful Paint: ≤ 2.5 seconds
• First Input Delay: ≤ 0.2 seconds
• Server Response Time: ≤ 0.8 seconds
• Cumulative Layout Shift: Minimized

5.4 Security requirements

• Regular security updates and patches
• Vulnerability scanning and monitoring
• Secure login procedures with two-factor authentication
• Data encryption at rest and in transit
• Regular security audits
• Compliance with organizational cybersecurity policies

6. Design and user experience

6.1 Design standards

• Professional, accessible design reflecting organizational brand
• Mobile-first responsive design approach
• Intuitive navigation structure
• Clear typography and readable fonts
• Consistent visual hierarchy
• Organizational branding integration

6.2 User experience requirements

• Intuitive navigation with clear information architecture
• Accessibility for users with disabilities
• Multi-language support (if applicable)
• Print-friendly page layouts
• Quick access to frequently requested services
• User feedback and contact mechanisms

6.3 Content strategy

• Content audit and migration plan
• SEO-optimized content structure
• Regular content update procedures
• Content governance policies
• Plain language writing standards

7. Project deliverables

7.1 Pre-development

• Project kickoff meeting and timeline
• Detailed technical specifications document
• Site architecture and wireframes
• Design mockups and style guide
• Content migration plan
• Testing strategy document

7.2 Development phase

• Development environment setup
• Staged development releases
• ScanGov Standards compliance testing
• Accessibility testing and remediation
• Performance optimization
• Security implementation and testing

7.3 Launch and post-launch

• Production deployment
• Staff training materials and sessions
• Documentation (technical and user guides)
• ScanGov Standards compliance verification
• 30-day post-launch support
• Warranty period support

7.4 Ongoing support (optional)

• Monthly maintenance and updates
• Security monitoring and patches
• Performance monitoring
• ScanGov compliance review

8. Project timeline

8.1 Key milestones

• Proposal Submission Deadline:
• Website Launch:

9. Proposal requirements

9.1 Technical proposal

1. Project Understanding: Demonstrate understanding of organizational website needs
2. ScanGov Compliance Plan: Detailed approach to achieving full ScanGov Standards compliance
3. Technical Approach: Architecture, platform, and technology recommendations
4. Project Timeline: Detailed project schedule with milestones
5. Quality Assurance: Testing and compliance verification procedures

9.2 Company qualifications

1. Experience: Minimum 3 years in professional website development
2. Portfolio: Examples of similar organizational websites
3. References: Three recent clients with contact information

9.3 Cost proposal

1. Ongoing Costs: Annual hosting, maintenance, and support fees
2. Optional Services: Additional services and their costs
3. Total Cost: Complete cost summary

10. Evaluation criteria

10.1 Minimum qualifications

• 3+ years professional website development experience
• Portfolio of at least 3 similar organizational projects
• Demonstrated accessibility compliance experience
• Understanding of ScanGov Standards requirements

11. Contract terms

11.1 Contract type

Fixed-price contract with milestone-based payments

11.2 Warranty

• 12-month warranty on all development work
• Bug fixes and technical issues resolution
• ScanGov Standards compliance guarantee

11.3 Intellectual property

• All custom development work becomes property of
• Third-party software licensing arrangements
• Content ownership and usage rights

11.4 Service level agreements

• Response time requirements for support requests
• Uptime guarantees for hosting services
• Performance monitoring and reporting

12. Submission requirements

12.1 Proposal format

• Maximum 50 pages (excluding appendices)
• Clear section organization matching the request for proposal (RFP) structure
• Executive summary (2 pages maximum)

12.2 Submission process

• Deadline:
• Contact Person:

12.3 Required documents

• Completed proposal response
• Company insurance certificates
• Financial statements or bonding capacity
• References and portfolio examples

13. Terms and conditions

13.1 RFP process

• reserves the right to reject any or all proposals
• Right to negotiate with selected vendors
• Right to request additional information or clarifications
• No compensation for proposal preparation costs

13.2 Compliance requirements

• All work must comply with local, state, and federal regulations
• Equal opportunity employer requirements
• Prevailing wage requirements (if applicable)
• Insurance and bonding requirements

14. Contact information

Primary Contact:

Issuing Agency:

Issue Date:

Proposal Due Date: