Posted on by Kathy McShea Erville

Web RFP Template

I designed this template for organizations and companies who are at the start of their Web development project and are looking for a professional approach to preparing an RFP for the market. It has adapted from presentations and seminars hosted by NPower (formerly Technology Works for Good) and the Small Business Administration S.C.O.R.E. workshop series, and offered as a public service.

I’ve cross-posted a word version of the Web RFP Template at my Squibd site and the html version is found here.

When I started my business back in 2001, one of the first articles I posted was this Web RFP Template freebie. (I’ve cross-posted all my business articles and resources to this blog.) I’m kinda tickled to say it has hung onto the number one Google search result for “Web RFP Template” for a good while now.  Lately it regularly brings my business site 600 – 800 visitors a month.

I hope this best practice offering helps make your Web development acquisition duties a little less reinventing-the-wheel and a lot more turn-key. Enjoy!

DESCRIPTION, PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF WEB SITE

  1. Describe the Web project you wish to undertake.
  2. What problems will this technology project solve or what new capabilities will it provide for your organization?
  3. If you have made a decision beforehand, indicate whether this site relies on a database to display information or will be “static” HTML

BUDGET

  1. Provide a budget range so your solutions providers can scale their proposal accurately
  2. Indicate whether you organization is ready to start work, or you have to raise money to begin the project. If you do need to raise money, vendors may help you describe the project to maximize your chances of receiving funding

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  1. Organization must own, have full access to and have the right to customize site code.
  2. Terms for proposal:
    • Relevant dates (see time-line item below)
    • Proposals should be delivered to [name]. Copies should be [postmarked or received] by [date, time]
    • Please provide [#] copies of any proposals submitted
    • All proposals must include a statement of authorization to bid signed by a principal of the responding company
    • All proposals must use the proposal format outlined in this RFP
    • Parties submitting separate proposals may not discuss pricing information or they will be ineligible to bid on the project
    • Bidder status: bidder must disclose any relevant conflicts of interest and/or pending lawsuits

BACKGROUND OF ORGANIZATION

  1. Tell vendors about your organization. Provide links to information on your existing Web site, if applicable.
    • When was your organization founded?
    • How many staff members does your organization have?
    • Optional: What is your annual operating budget?

AUDIENCE

  1. Define the audience that will be using the site. Do you have a defined group of users or “stakeholders” who will be regularly using the site and have different needs?
  2. What are the top tasks of each audience type?
  3. Will the entire site be accessible to the general public?
  4. Do you need the capability for staff or members to “log in” to access special information?

rfp site features

TOOLS AND FUNCTIONALITY

  1. Essential components: are there certain features that are essential to any proposal you will consider?
  2. Non-essential components: Are there other features of your site that you would like but are not essential to submitted proposals?

REPORTING NEEDS

  1. If the site is database driven, what types of information will you regularly need to draw from it?
  2. Will you need to integrate any Web analytics tools such as Google Analytics?

SITE SPECIFICATIONS

  1. Design parameters
  2. Accessibility/Usability
    • Who certified section 508 compliance? Which factors and how deep?
    • Usability testing baseline, mid-stream (if budget permits) and beta before launch will validate navigation choices and measure your success
  3. Platform, if applicable
    • Is this a redesign of a current site? If so, in what language is the current site built? (ex: Drupal, WordPress, cold fusion, ASP, PHP, Dreamweaver)
    • On what format is the current site hosted? (ex: NT, UNIX, Apache)
  4. e-Commerce
    • Are you using an e-Commerce system now?
    • If so, what are you using?

AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES/INTEGRATION ISSUES

  1. Do you have existing pages of Web content that you expect your Web developer to add to the new site? (Provide a map of your current site indicating how many pages will need to be transferred)
  2. Do you have existing databases that will need to be imported or connected to the new site?
  3. Do you have existing e-Commerce systems, web forums or other tools that the new site should be connected to?

PROPOSED TIME-LINE

(Please indicate the time-line you expect vendor to adhere to)

  1. Develop RFP process (forward email address for questions on RFP)
  2. RFP release date
  3. Submission of questions on RFP
  4. Notification of Intention to bid
  5. Answers to questions emailed to all bidders
  6. Proposals due
  7. Finalist interviews
  8. Proposal award date
  9. Initial meetings
  10. Quarantine begins (no new concepts/functionality added)
  11. Beta site
  12. Proposed site launch

FORMAT FOR PROPOSALS

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Technical Volume
    • Web development process: explain the process you will follow to build the Web site, including major milestones and evaluation
    • Address usability standards and testing
    • Address any important technology information and specifications used in your solution (languages, platform, etc.)
  3. Management Volume
  4. Organizational structure: communication process; including lines of reporting and any special tools used
  5. Schedule of deliverables; include major milestones and testing proposal
  6. Budget Volume
    • Break down cost by production hours, tools and functionality (See tools and functionality section above)
    • Maintenance and support: ID any costs that should be assumed as part of the site and ongoing costs for maintenance and support we need in the future
    • License fees: ID the costs we will need to pay to develop or host the site
    • Hosting: ID whether we must or are highly encouraging to host with your company. If hosting is provided as an option or requirement, provide pricing options
    • Training and Style Guide: ID costs to train our staff to use site tools and provide a style guide
    • Other charge areas: Please ID whether there will be other expenses, consulting fees, future work, etc. to complete this project
  7. Attachments
    • Qualifications and Experience: relevant case histories with information on accessing online demos or examples
    • Biographies of all who will work on account
    • Professional references

NOTE:

This resource was originally published at https://www.emeraldstrategies.net/web/WebRFPTemplate.htm

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