CHFA 296-RFP for Website Design and Development

Location:	Connecticut
Posted:	Aug 31, 2026
Due:	Sep 15, 2026
Agency:	Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	C - Architect and Engineering Services - Construction D - Automatic Data Processing and Telecommunication Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Response date has been extended to 4:00 p.m. on September 15, 2026. Firms that have already applied do not

have to reapply.

Dear Interested Party:

Date: August 6, 2026

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (“CHFA”) requests written proposals for website

design and development from qualified firms. CHFA will not reimburse for any expenses incurred

in connection with this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) including, but not limited to, the cost of

preparing the initial response and any additional information requested or travel expenses relating

to any oral presentation. Please be advised that responses will be considered property of CHFA,

are matters of public record, and may be disclosed by CHFA after the awarding of a contract.

OVERVIEW

CHFA, a body politic and corporate constituting a public instrumentality and political subdivision

of the State of Connecticut, was created in 1969 and operates pursuant to Chapter 134 of the

Connecticut General Statutes, as amended. CHFA’s purpose is to help alleviate the shortage of

affordable housing for low-income and moderate-income families and persons in Connecticut by

providing single family mortgages, financing for rental housing, and mortgages for the purchase,

development and construction of housing.

For additional information about CHFA, please reference CHFA’s website at www.chfa.org.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

Project Overview

CHFA's current website (www.chfa.org) serves a wide range of stakeholders, including

homebuyers and homeowners, renters, lenders, real estate professionals, housing counselors,

developers, owners and property managers, investors, public officials, and partners, and the

general public.

CHFA intends to redesign and replace its current public-facing website with a modern, secure,

accessible, responsive, and user-centered digital platform that better serves its diverse audiences

and supports CHFA's business, communications, and customer service objectives. The project

includes website strategy, user experience (UX) design, information architecture, graphic design,

website development, content migration, systems integration, hosting, implementation, staff

training, and ongoing support.

The selected firm will partner with CHFA throughout the project to design and deliver a website

that reflects CHFA's mission and brand, improves access to information and services, strengthens

engagement with its diverse audiences, and provides an intuitive, accessible, and consistent user

experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. The website shall be designed to support

CHFA's current and future business needs through a secure, scalable, and easily managed digital

platform.

Scope of Work

1. Discovery and Strategic Planning

• Conduct discovery sessions with CHFA stakeholders to understand business objectives,

user needs, content priorities, and technical requirements.

• Evaluate the existing website and identify opportunities to improve usability, navigation,

accessibility, content organization, and overall user experience.

• Recommend best practices for information architecture, content governance, and long-term

website management.

• Develop a comprehensive project plan, timeline, and communication strategy.

2. User Experience and Website Design

Design a visually engaging, modern website that:

• Reflects CHFA's brand and mission.

• Provides an intuitive user experience with clear navigation and minimal clicks to reach

frequently accessed information.

• Is fully responsive across desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.

• Serves multiple audiences, including homebuyers, homeowners, renters, lenders, real

estate professionals, developers, property owners and managers, investors, housing

counselors, and other stakeholders.

• Includes user-focused navigation tools such as audience-based pathways (e.g., "I am a

Homebuyer," "I am a Lender," "I am a Developer") to help visitors quickly locate relevant

information.

CHFA will provide existing branding assets and photography. The selected firm may recommend

additional photography, illustrations, or licensed stock imagery as appropriate.

3. Website Development

Develop and implement a website that includes, at a minimum:

• A modern Content Management System (“CMS”) that allows multiple content contributors

with configurable user roles and approval workflows.

• Flexible architecture that is scalable, extensible, and easy for CHFA staff to maintain.

• Robust enterprise search functionality.

• Dynamic content capabilities.

• Document libraries organized by audience, topic, and document type.

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• Archive functionality organized by date, year, and audience.

• Public notices and emergency alerts are displayed prominently on the homepage.

• Blog functionality.

• Public calendars that allow authorized staff to manage events and training schedules.

• Dedicated sections for Research, Data & Reports, Investor Relations, Housing Counselor

resources, and other CHFA programs.

• Integration of online forms and applications that securely collect and route data.

• Support for hosting embedded or streamed video content, including long-form training

videos.

• Compatibility with mortgage calculators, affordability calculators, rent-versus-own

calculators, and other interactive tools. The firm should identify whether existing tools can

be integrated or whether new tools should be developed.

• Test and development environments throughout the project lifecycle.

4. Systems Integration

Integrate the website with existing CHFA systems and third-party applications, as applicable,

including but not limited to:

• Google Analytics

• Existing production systems

• Online forms and application platforms

• Other third-party services identified during project discovery

Firms should describe their approach to integrating with external systems while maintaining

security, reliability, and performance.

5. Content Strategy and Migration

Work collaboratively with CHFA staff to:

• Develop the website information architecture and sitemap.

• Provide recommendations for improving website content organization and readability.

• Assist with content migration from the existing website.

• Recommend content governance practices.

• Provide guidance and training on writing and maintaining effective web content.

CHFA anticipates providing the majority of website content, with the selected firm assisting in

migration, formatting, and implementation.

6. Accessibility, Compliance, and Search Optimization

The selected firm shall design, develop, and implement the website in full compliance with the

Title II Web and Mobile Application Accessibility Rule under the Americans with Disabilities Act

(“ADA”) on or before the compliance deadline of April 26, 2027, including all applicable

requirements for state and local government entities.

At a minimum, the website shall:

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• Conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) Version 2.1, Level AA,

as required by the Title II Web and Mobile Application Accessibility Rule.

• Comply with all applicable requirements of the ADA, Title II, Section 508 of the

Rehabilitation Act, and other applicable federal and state accessibility requirements.

• Be fully accessible across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

• Ensure that all public-facing web pages, documents, forms, multimedia content, and other

digital content delivered as part of this project meet applicable accessibility standards.

• Undergo comprehensive automated and manual accessibility testing throughout the design

and development process and prior to launch.

• Provide CHFA with a detailed accessibility testing report documenting compliance,

identified issues, remediation efforts, and final conformance with WCAG Version 2.1,

Level AA.

• Correct any accessibility deficiencies identified during testing prior to final acceptance by

CHFA.

• Undergo comprehensive accessibility testing prior to launch, with documentation of testing

results and remediation provided to CHFA.

• Include recommendations and implementation options for language translation.

• Follow SEO best practices and maintain or improve existing search engine rankings.

7. Quality Assurance, Testing, and Launch

The selected firm shall:

• Conduct comprehensive functional, usability, accessibility, browser compatibility,

responsive design, performance, and security testing.

• Coordinate user acceptance testing with CHFA.

• Correct identified issues prior to launch.

• Support the final production deployment and launch.

8. Training, Documentation, and Knowledge Transfer

The selected firm shall provide:

• Administrator and content editor training.

• CMS documentation and user guides.

• Technical documentation describing system architecture, integrations, and maintenance

procedures.

• Recommendations for ongoing governance and content management.

9. Post-Launch Support and Maintenance

Following launch, the selected firm shall provide:

• Technical support.

• Warranty services.

• Optional ongoing maintenance and enhancement services.

• Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) options for support, response times, issue resolution,

and future enhancements.

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10. Website Hosting Services

The selected firm shall include a fully managed website hosting solution as part of its proposal.

The proposal shall describe the firm's hosting environment and managed hosting services,

including its security architecture, monitoring capabilities, backup and recovery procedures,

disaster recovery and business continuity processes, system maintenance, software updates, and

ongoing technical support. The firm shall also describe its approach to ensuring the website's

availability, performance, scalability, and security throughout the term of the contract.

At a minimum, the hosting environment shall:

• Be hosted in a secure, professionally managed cloud environment with high availability

and redundancy.

• Provide a minimum uptime service level of 99.9%, excluding scheduled maintenance.

• Include continuous security monitoring, threat detection, and vulnerability management.

• Encrypt data in transit using current TLS standards and encrypt data at rest using industry-

standard encryption methods.

• Include regular operating system, application, and security patch management.

• Provide routine backups, with documented backup retention policies and disaster recovery

procedures.

• Include disaster recovery capabilities with documented Recovery Time Objectives.

• Support secure development, testing, staging, and production environments.

• Provide protection against common web threats, including distributed denial-of-service

(“DDoS”) attacks, malware, and unauthorized access.

• Support secure integration with CHFA's internal and third-party systems.

• Include ongoing monitoring, incident response, and technical support.

The firm shall describe its security governance program and identify the standards and frameworks

under which its hosting environment operates.

As part of its proposal, the firm shall provide:

• A current SOC 2 Type II report (or bridge letter if the report is between audit periods)

covering the hosting environment and managed services, or equivalent independent third-

party audit documentation if applicable.

• Documentation describing its information security policies and controls.

• Procedures for security incident notification, including notification timeframes and

escalation procedures.

• A description of data ownership, data portability, and the process for returning all CHFA

data upon contract termination.

• Any additional security certifications or compliance attestations applicable to the proposed

hosting environment (e.g., ISO/IEC 27001, FedRAMP authorization, if applicable).

CHFA reserves the right to review the security documentation and to request updated SOC 2 Type

II reports or other compliance documentation throughout the term of the contract.

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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

RFP	Post Date	Due Date	Additional Documents
CHFA 296-RFP for Website Design and Development	08/06/26	09/15/26 4:00 p.m.	Questions and Answers

CHFA 296-RFP for Website Design and Development

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