Website redesign proposal: pitch, template and RFP responses

Spot a redesign prospect and earn the right to propose

Owners rarely wake up wanting a redesign. They want more calls, fewer “are you open on Sunday?” messages, and a site they are not embarrassed to share. Your job is to connect the old site to those problems.

Signs that a local business needs a redesign, which you can check in two minutes on your phone:

• Text you have to pinch to read, or buttons too small to tap.
• No click-to-call button, or the phone number only appears inside an image.
• Hours, prices or staff that are clearly out of date; a copyright year from long ago.
• No page for the main services, or everything crammed onto one page.
• Slow loading, especially on mobile data.
• A contact form that doesn’t work, or no way to book or request a quote.
• Missing HTTPS (the browser shows “Not secure”).

LeadsIt flags businesses with an outdated website alongside those with none, so you can build a list of redesign prospects in one trade and town; the web design clients page shows the workflow, and which businesses need websites helps you choose who to call first.

Don’t send a proposal cold. Call or visit, ask what they want the site to do, and get their permission to send something. A proposal that answers a conversation gets read; one that arrives out of nowhere looks like spam.

Run a quick audit to anchor the proposal

Before writing, collect evidence. It turns “your site looks old” (an opinion that can offend) into “here is what customers experience” (a fact they can check).

1. Screenshot the homepage on a phone, and one inner page.
2. Run the site through a speed test that reports Core Web Vitals. Google’s targets for a good experience are a Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, an Interaction to Next Paint of 200 milliseconds or less, and a Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less.
3. Try to do the main customer task: call, book, or request a quote. Note every step that fails or confuses.
4. Check that page titles describe the services and the town.
5. Check basic accessibility: contrast, alt text on images, readable font sizes. The WCAG guidelines from the W3C are the reference.
6. Compare with one or two local competitors the owner mentioned.

Keep the findings to a page. Three to five problems, each with a screenshot and one line on what it means for customers, are more persuasive than a 40-point report.

Website redesign proposal template: the sections

For a local business, a proposal of four to six pages is plenty. Use these sections in this order.

1. Summary (one paragraph). What they told you they want, what you propose, the price range and the launch date. Some owners read only this.
2. What we found. The three to five problems from your audit, with screenshots.
3. What the new site will do. Goals in their language: more quote requests from phones, fewer calls asking for hours, a page for each service and town.
4. Scope. Pages, features (booking, quote form, gallery), content (who writes it), what moves from the old site (URLs, redirects, analytics), and what is not included.
5. Options and prices. Two or three packages with a clear recommendation, plus the monthly care plan.
6. Timeline. Phases with dates, and what you need from them at each step.
7. About you. Two or three relevant examples of your work and who to contact.
8. Terms. Payment schedule, revision rounds, change requests, ownership of the domain and content, quote validity date.
9. Next step. One action: sign here, pay the deposit, book a start date.

You want more customers in [town] to request a quote from their phone, and fewer calls asking for your hours and prices. Today your site [main problem, e.g. is hard to read on a phone and has no quote form]. We propose a new [number]-page site with a page for each of your main services, a quote form and click-to-call on every page, launched by [date]. The recommended option is [price], with hosting and updates at [monthly price] a month.

For how to set the numbers in the options section, see how much to charge for a website. If the site redesign also covers their business profile, what a Google Business Profile optimization service includes gives you the checklist to add to the scope.

Redesign-specific details owners forget to ask about

A redesign is not a new build. These are the points that separate a careful proposal from a template, and they protect you later:

• Redirects: map every old URL that gets visits or links to its new page, so existing search visibility and bookmarks aren’t lost.
• Content inventory: list what stays, what gets rewritten and what goes. Say who writes the new text.
• Access: who holds the domain, hosting, email and analytics logins today. A redesign can stall for weeks on a lost password.
• Email: if their email runs on the same domain, make sure DNS changes don’t break it.
• Tracking: keep the analytics history and set up tracking for calls and forms before launch, so you can show the difference.
• The old site: keep a backup until the new one has been live for a while.

How to answer a website redesign RFP

Some organisations, especially larger local businesses, non-profits, schools and public bodies, send a website redesign RFP (request for proposal) instead of a casual request. The rules are different: they compare responses side by side, often with a scoring grid, and a brilliant answer in the wrong format can be set aside.

1. Read it twice and list every requirement. Deadlines, format, page limits, mandatory attachments, insurance, references.
2. Use the question window. RFPs usually set a deadline for written questions. Ask about budget range, content migration and who maintains the site after launch.
3. Mirror their structure. Use their headings and numbering. If they ask for section 4.2, the evaluator should find 4.2 in your response.
4. Add a compliance table. One row per requirement, with “Yes / Partial / No” and the page where you answer it.
5. Answer the scoring criteria directly. If they score “experience with similar organisations”, give named examples; if they score accessibility, say which WCAG level you build to and how you test it.
6. Price in their format. If they give a price schedule, fill it in exactly; put options and the care plan where they allow it.
7. Submit early, and exactly as asked. File type, file name, portal or email, signature.

Public-sector redesign opportunities are published on official portals: SAM.gov for US federal contracts, Contracts Finder and Find a Tender in the UK, and CanadaBuys in Canada. Local councils, school districts and cities often post on their own procurement pages too. Read each notice’s own eligibility rules before you spend time on a response.

Sending and following up

Send the proposal as a PDF or a link within two working days of your call, while the conversation is fresh, with a short cover email that repeats the recommended option and the next step. Then book the follow-up in your calendar before you hit send.

Hi [First name],

As promised, here is the proposal for your new website. The short version: [recommended option] for [price], live by [date], with the quote form and click-to-call you asked for.

Page 2 shows the issues we found on the current site, with screenshots, so you can check them on your own phone.

If it looks right, the next step is the deposit and a start date. Happy to go through it on a 15-minute call: does [day] or [day] suit you?

[Your name]
[Phone]

If there is no answer after a few days, follow up with one useful point, not “just checking in”. The follow-up email after a sales call gives you the spacing and wording.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• web.dev — Web Vitals
• W3C — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) overview
• SAM.gov — Contract opportunities
• GOV.UK — Find a Tender
• GOV.UK — Contracts Finder
• CanadaBuys — Tender opportunities