A Large and Underserved Market
The federal government operates tens of thousands of websites. Most are outdated. Many don't meet current accessibility standards. Nearly all need ongoing maintenance, content updates, and periodic redesigns. State and local governments, public universities, and transit authorities add tens of thousands more sites to that picture.
For digital agencies, government web contracts represent a significant and largely untapped market. A single federal agency website redesign can run $500,000 to $5 million. State and municipal contracts are often in the $75,000–$500,000 range — accessible to boutique agencies. And unlike commercial web projects, government contracts tend to have structured scopes, defined timelines, and reliable payment.
The catch: government web RFPs have unique requirements that private-sector web work doesn't. Knowing them before you bid is the difference between a winning proposal and a disqualified one.
Section 508: The Non-Negotiable Requirement
Every federal website — and most state-funded sites — must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires digital content to meet WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards. This is not optional. It is a legal requirement, and every federal web RFP will include Section 508 compliance as a mandatory deliverable.
What this means practically for your agency:
- All pages must achieve a minimum WCAG 2.1 AA conformance level — keyboard navigability, sufficient color contrast, alt text for images, captions for video, screen reader compatibility.
- Your proposal must explicitly describe your accessibility testing methodology. Evaluators look for this. A proposal that doesn't address 508 is typically scored down or eliminated.
- Many agencies conduct accessibility audits with tools like axe, WAVE, or Lighthouse, plus manual testing with screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver). Document your process.
- Remediation is often a separate contract type — agencies with large existing sites need their legacy content brought into compliance. This is a steady-demand niche.
If your agency hasn't done accessibility work before, get familiar with WCAG 2.1 AA before bidding government web contracts. The requirement is real and enforced.
CMS and Technology Requirements
Many government web RFPs specify the CMS platform or technology stack. Common requirements:
- Drupal — the most common CMS in federal web work, used by dozens of major agency sites. Drupal expertise is a significant competitive advantage in the federal market.
- WordPress — increasingly common at the state and local level, less so in federal work, though it does appear.
- Salesforce Experience Cloud — used by agencies that want tight integration with Salesforce CRM (Veterans Affairs, for example).
- FedRAMP authorization — federal sites often must be hosted on FedRAMP-authorized cloud infrastructure (AWS GovCloud, Microsoft Azure Government, etc.). If your standard hosting setup isn't FedRAMP authorized, you'll need a hosting partner that is.
Read the technical requirements section of each RFP carefully. If you don't have the specified platform experience, you can either partner with someone who does or pass on that specific opportunity.
The Proposal Evaluation: What Scores High
Government web design proposals are typically evaluated on technical approach, past performance, management, and price. What separates winning proposals:
Technical Approach
Be specific about your methodology. Government evaluators want to see a clear project plan: discovery phase, design and content strategy, development sprints, user testing, Section 508 testing, launch, and post-launch support. Describe each phase with deliverables and timelines. Generic "agile methodology" language scores poorly — specifics score well.
Past Performance
Prior government web work is a significant advantage. If you don't have it, document your most relevant commercial work in detail: client, contract value, scope, period of performance, and measurable results. Public-sector adjacent clients (nonprofits, hospitals, universities) are the next best thing to government work.
Key Personnel
Government evaluators evaluate people, not just firms. Most proposals require resumes for key positions: Project Manager, Lead Developer, UX Lead, 508 Compliance Specialist. Make sure your proposed team has documented relevant experience. Submitting generic resumes is a common mistake.
Typical Contract Structure
Government web contracts follow a predictable structure:
- Base year + option years — a typical structure is a 1-year base period with 2–4 one-year option periods. The agency can exercise options at its discretion. If you perform well, options almost always get exercised.
- Time and Materials (T&M) or Fixed Price — smaller, well-defined projects (like a specific redesign) are often fixed-price. Ongoing support contracts are often T&M, where you bill hourly against agreed labor categories.
- CDRLs (Contract Data Requirements Lists) — a formal list of deliverables, formats, and submission schedules. Government contracts have significantly more documentation requirements than commercial work. Budget time for it.
Where to Find Government Web Design RFPs
Federal web contracts appear on SAM.gov primarily under NAICS codes 541511 (Custom Computer Programming) and 541512 (Computer Systems Design). State and local contracts appear on state procurement portals.
Agencies to monitor closely:
- GSA / 18F / TTS — GSA's Technology Transformation Services runs digital.gov and issues numerous web contracts. Getting on GSA Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) makes you available to any federal agency.
- VA.gov — the VA has an ongoing multi-year digital transformation and issues regular web contracts.
- State health, education, and transportation agencies — all maintain large public-facing web presences on regular redesign cycles.
- Public universities — major universities redesign their primary sites every 5–8 years and issue formal RFPs for the work.