Choosing a government website vendor is a decision that can affect your municipality for years. A polished demonstration may highlight attractive features and an easy-to-use interface, but it may not answer one of the most important questions: What happens when you want to leave?
When choosing a website vendor for a city, town, or other government organization, ownership, portability, accessibility, and long-term costs deserve just as much attention as features. Before signing a contract, ask every potential vendor these ten questions—and compare the answers side by side.
1. What Do We Receive If We Leave?
Ask exactly what your organization receives if the relationship ends five or ten years from now.
A strong answer includes the complete working website, code, templates, content, and data in standard formats. If the vendor only promises a content export, your municipality may not actually own a portable website.
2. Can Another Company Host the Website?
Your government website should not necessarily stop working simply because you change vendors.
Ask whether another qualified hosting provider can operate the site. If the website only functions within the vendor’s proprietary infrastructure, switching providers could require rebuilding rather than simply moving your existing site.
3. Who Owns the Custom Code and Templates?
Paying for custom development does not automatically mean you own it.
Clarify who owns the templates, custom code, and other development your municipality funds. Ideally, your organization owns what it pays to create and can take those assets elsewhere.
4. Can Other Developers Maintain the Website?
This is one of the most important government website vendor questions because lock-in isn’t limited to hosting.
Ask whether qualified third-party developers can maintain and modify the underlying software. Widely supported platforms provide more flexibility when your municipality needs technical assistance or decides to change providers.
5. What Is the Process for Leaving?
Good website RFP evaluation questions should address the end of the vendor relationship before it begins.
Request a documented migration process, including potential costs. Your municipality should understand exactly how it can retrieve its website, content, and data before signing a long-term agreement.
6. Will You Migrate All Existing Content?
Never assume “content migration” means everything.
Ask specifically about pages, documents, blog posts, calendars, news entries, and other content types. If anything is excluded, request those exclusions in writing so you can accurately evaluate the time and cost involved.
7. How Are Accessibility Issues Fixed?
Website accessibility is particularly important for government organizations, especially as municipalities prepare for applicable ADA Title II web accessibility deadlines in 2027 and 2028.
Ask whether your staff or another provider can remediate accessibility problems directly. Depending entirely on a vendor’s schedule for template or code-level fixes can create unnecessary delays and costs.
8. What Will the Website Cost Over 10 Years?
The initial website price tells only part of the story.
Ask vendors to break down implementation fees, hosting, subscriptions, renewals, support, and potential price increases. Comparing projected ten-year costs can reveal substantial differences that aren’t obvious from the launch price.
9. What Do Nonstandard Changes Cost?
Municipal needs evolve. Eventually, you may need functionality that isn’t included in the standard package.
Can you hire any qualified developer, or must every customization go through the original vendor? If only one company can make changes, your ability to compare pricing is severely limited.
10. Will We Have Full Administrative Access?
Your municipality should understand who ultimately controls the website.
Ask whether your organization receives full administrative credentials and documentation. Restricted access can limit what staff members can accomplish and increase dependence on the vendor.
Look for the Pattern Behind the Answers
These questions to ask a website vendor for government aren’t about finding one automatic dealbreaker. They’re about identifying a pattern.
A vendor that controls the software, requires exclusive hosting, restricts third-party maintenance, and cannot clearly explain exit costs may be creating vendor lock-in. Conversely, a provider offering portability, administrative access, open maintenance options, and a documented exit process provides greater organizational flexibility.
Both approaches can exist in the marketplace. What matters is knowing which arrangement your municipality is purchasing before the contract is signed.
At Ask the Egghead, we believe government organizations should ask these questions—including of us. Before choosing your next municipal website provider, make ownership, accessibility, portability, and long-term costs part of the conversation.
Planning a new government website or preparing an RFP? Contact Ask the Egghead today to discuss a website solution designed around your municipality’s long-term needs and goals.
