How to Generate a Request for Proposal (RFP)

How to Generate a Request for Proposal (RFP)

We receive several Request for Proposals (RFPs) per month. Some are very detailed and to the point, others not so much. The objective of an RFP is to communicate to potential agencies what you are looking for in your web project.

To be clear, here is wikipedia's definition, A Request for Proposal (referred to as RFP) is an invitation for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service.

Before I list out how to generate an effective RFP, I wanted to first touch on the importance and benefits of providing agencies with a quality RFP. A detailed, quality RFP will clearly communicate the ideals of your company and the objectives of the project you are trying to complete. It is highly important to provide as many details as possible to the agency in the beginning to avoid project changes and cost overruns later in the project process. A well thought out RFP will also provide you with the best chance of getting the accurate estimate of costs for your project.

Before I get into details, here is a list of items to cover when generating your RFP.

1. Strategy/Discovery/Scoping

2. Creative (Designing the website and what you would like to see visually)

3. Development (Any programming language requirements)
a. Content Management System requirements, suggestions, needs
b. Features and Functionalities: Anything database driven, scripted, etc. typically, this is anything that is not static text
Any other programming requirements

4. Information Architecture (what will the navigation structure look like and how many pages?)

5. Site Content (Who is providing the content? Will there need to be a copywriter? This can be the biggest budget killer and frustration if not handled correctly)

6. Online Marketing or Search Engine Optimization requirements (What keywords do you want to be found for?)

7. Domain and Hosting requirements (Where will the site be hosted? What are you willing to pay?)