Phase 1: Strategic Planning Does Your Organization Offer Professional Marketing/Consultation/Strategic Planning Services?

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1 Website Development RFP. If your organization is not in a position to offer a professional understanding of any of the following items, please make sure to note what area(s) you will be unable to offer professional level assistance. This RFP will be used for initial assessment purposes. We may require additional services depending upon your skillset. You may attach any additional information. Do NOT fill in answers with SEE ATTACHED as they will be ignored. Attached information should be for supplemental purposes only. Phase 1: Strategic Planning Does Your Organization Offer Professional Marketing/Consultation/Strategic Planning Services? YES q NO q We will require marketing collaborative services. This will encompass message, call-to-action, traffic generation, closure rate optimization, sales funneling etc. on and hourly basis. These meeting should be conducted in person or via a webcast with visual capabilities. Phase 2: Resarch, Web Development, and Implementation Does Your Organization Offer Keyword Analysis Services? YES q NO q We require a keyword analysis for the following number of products/services. The keywords and geographic outreach will be given to the winning provider. We require a minimal of Google Adwords to be used as a keyword research tool as a basis. Others are welcome. Does Your Organization Offer Competitor Analysis Services? YES q NO q We require winning vendor perform a competitive analysis on our top competitors to identify their back linking strategy, keyword focus, keyword density, and other relevant factors. How many years of experience do you have creating a competitive analysis? Does Your Organization Absolutely Understand Onsite SEO? YES q NO q We require the following SEO operations to be performed on each pre designed web page: Keyword density adjustments, meta information, URL optimization, Site hierarchy Optimization, alt tags, and nest keywords within images.

2 Web Development This website is to be built using Wordpress. How many years of experience do you or your firm have with Wordpress? Years The web design must be a 100% custom design. A responsive framework may be used but the physical design (theme) must be original. What framework are you planning on using and how much experience do you have with this particular framework? All submitted proposals must include number of theme-based revisions. Website should be 100% responsive to smart phones, tablets, and other devices. A composite theme design of the home page should be delivered in PDF format in both desktop & mobile versions. Any revisions should be applied to both versions of the website design. What is the average timeline to receive revised designs (for example, if we submit our revisions for a design today, how long before it take for your organizations to supply revised files)? workdays If we exceed the number of included revisions, what is your cost per additional revision and how is this charged (30 day net, etc.)? Website Content Pre designed pages: We will need number of web pages included in this project. Our expectations are layouts for these pages to be fully functional. We understand we can add additional pages with Wordpress. The goal is have a certain number of pages 100% completed. See the Content Section for how content will be delivered. How many custom graphics are included on each pre designed web page?

3 Please describe what you consider a custom graphic? How many revisions are included with each pre design web page graphic? What is the cost for additional changes to these custom graphics beyond the scope of included revisions? Device/Browser Compatibility Testing What is your policy with cross-browser testing? Expected Website Standard Features We require the following standard features to be included. These features should be third party Wordpress Plugins. Only items checked apply for our needs. q Featured Slide Show Setup on the home page, but training on how to add additional slides as needed. We require number of pre-designed slides with number of revisions per slide. If we decided to have your organization create new slides in the future, what is the cost per additional custom slide design? How many revisions are included with each slide? What is the average turnaround for additional slide creation?

4 q Blog Given the site is Wordpress, a standard blog page should be setup. We will submit articles to be integrated by the selected provider. q Form Builder We require a form builder for the site. We will need one form created on the page with the following fields: q Gallery We need the ability to add galleries as needed with a light box zoom feature. We will need you include gallery on the page. q Events Calendar With ability to add recurring events & one time events q Social Media We require: Social Share Icons - Ability for visitors to share our content on all major social networking sites. This proposal should encompass both the ability to link to our social pages as well as allows social sharing across visitor s social network (such as like us ) The following social media sites should be included: q Google Plus q Linked In q Facebook q Twitter q Pinterest q Instagram q Flickr Others: q Interactive Google Map

5 FAQ s q We require and frequently asked questions section pre populated with questions and answers. Testimonials q We require the ability to add testimonials either on a single page or randomly throughout the site. The testimonials should allow for photos in addition to name, business, and comment. q Podcasting/Audio Ability to add audio files to the site. q SEO Plug-in We need the ability and training to enable to add appropriate meta tags to each web page. We also require permalinks be configured so the URL is rewritten to the page title. q Google Analytics We require a Google Analytics account and snippet be installed on our website and admin access to the account. q Additional Does Your Organization Offer Interactive, Live Training? YES q NO q We require a live training course of minutes. This can be live or through the web as long as both audio and visual aids are provided in a live format that allows for questions and answers. We require training on the following topics: General content management, adding & removing web/blog pages, adding photos, copy, SEO content (meta tags), general usability, and feature management.

6 If we need to reschedule the training session, are their any rescheduling fees? If so, what are those fees? Does Your Organization Offer Web Managed Services? YES q NO q While it is our desire to manage actual content, we will need the chosen provider to all perform regular updates to the theme, plug-ins, and Wordpress core. What frequency will the site be updated? What is your strategy and when will be updates be performed? Hosting Services Hosting should be provided by the chosen provider. In case we decide to use other services in the future, contractor needs to provide us with an export of our website and provide a list of any third party plug-ins used that are nontransferable. We require GB of disk space, MySQL DBs, and unlimited bandwidth (can be adjusted with our needs). How much for each additional GB of space? How much for each additional DB? q Services We require number of addresses to be setup and fully managed. s should be setup at. q Backups We require developer have daily backups with a 30 day retention or greater. If a restoration is needed, what is the cost per restoration? How quickly can the site be restored? hours.

7 Phase 3 Search Engine Optimization: Does Your Organization Offer Search Engine Optimization? YES q NO q Offsite SEO We are targeting the following products/services with our SEO campaign. The products/services are as follows: Our target geographic area is Success will be gauged based upon visibility, web traffic, and ROI. Questionnaire What experience/certifications do you have in web design? What experience/certifications do you have in SEO? What experience/certifications do you have in marketing?

8 How long has your organization been in business? Years Please rank your skills using the following (1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest). Although some of these skill sets are beyond the scope of this project, we are interested in how your organization can best help our needs as services are deemed. Custom Web Design Wordpress General and Responsive Frameworks Search Engine Optimization Creating Content (text) Facebook Marketing Twitter Marketing LinkedIn Marketing Creating Marketing Campaigns Squeeze Page Optimization Google Analytics Google Trends Google Adwords

9 Paid Advertising (Google Adwords, etc) Programming Wordpress Theming Wordpress Technical PHP/MySQL Support During Development Support After The Site Is Live Ability To Communicate In A Non-Technical Fashion Hosting Uptime Honesty Customer Retention Strategic Planning Creativity Optimized Content Creation (copy) Online Reputation Management Print Design

10 Logo Design Print Contracting Branding Standards Mail Campaigns Lead Generation Marketing Prompt Service Do you outsource any aspect of a given project to other countries? q Yes q No Does this agreement include a non-compete in terms of SEO? q Yes q No I consider our development processes: q Conducted with Extreme Detail q Conducted with reasonable detail Has your organization ever used accused of using blackhat techniques in SEO? q Yes q No What is your response time policy? How do you handle emergency issues? What is your preferred solution?

11 If you have multiple people on your staff, what certifications do the people have that will work hands-on with this project? For example, the actual designer, programmer, or marketing professional. Who is our point of contact and what is their role? Phase 4 - ecommerce (Supplemental) Does your organization successfully setup and configure ecommerce Systems? YES q NO q Our website requires the ability to buy and sell services. We require the following features. Ability to sell products with a regular price and sell price Standard payment gateway(s) (Authorize.net and Paypal) Subscription recurring payments Coupons Product images Product details Ability to categorize and subcategorize products/services Shipping Taxes Related products Cross selling Admin area for product purchases Virtual products (ebooks, software, etc) SKU Number Regular/sales price Ability to add categories with images, header, and synopsis of category We require your organization load number of products. Each product will contain number of photos, a synopsis, main description, price, SKU number.

12 We require your organization preload number of categories. What ecommerce System will you use for this project? Please provide a URL to complete feature list (it is assumed your ecommerce system will meet our minimal requirements): Assuming we provide timely responses, what is the turnaround time for this entire project based on your experience with a project of this scope? Weeks What do you find is the greatest hinderance to providing your services in a timely fashion? Proposal Should be Made Assuming The Following Content Is Provided To You: Domain We will provide domain information to winning contractor. Our domain should not be moved or the administrative information changed for any reason without written consent. Content - We will provide all copy, photos, logo, and descriptions. We will require your staff to optimize images, make basic color adjustments to images, and make recommendations to content based on keyword densities. Site architecture outline for products/services and hierarchy structure. Strategic positioning within the market (to be elaborated upon with your team) Target audience demographic research

13 Estimated Cost: Cost should be for the total package minus any discretionary costs described in the RFP. Phase One: Hourly Rate: Phase Two: One Time Fee: Recurring Fees Phase 3: One Time Fee: Recurring Fees Phase 4: One Time Fee: Recurring Fees Your Required Terms of Service: q Month to Month q 3 Month Minimal q 6 Month Minimal q 1 Year Agreement (Terms of payment will be discussed in detail with the chosen provider.)

14 8 WEB DEVELOPMENT RFP-CHEAT SHEET This chapter contains duplicate questions from the last chapter EXCEPT it includes notes to use as a guide. The general process is to print, complete, and give the RFP form to perspective developers. I also deleted any obvious questions and tightened up the spacing where applicable. Phase 1: Strategic Planning Does Your Organization Offer Professional Marketing/Consultation/Strategic Planning Services? YES q NO q We will require marketing collaborative services. This will encompass message, call-to-action, traffic generation, closure rate optimization, etc. on and hourly basis. These meeting should be conducted in person or via a webcast with visual capabilities. These qualities are the most integral part of the web development process. You need to make sure they have abilities in this arena. Phase 2: Resarch, Web Development, and Implementation Does Your Organization Offer Keyword Analysis Services? YES q NO q We require a keyword analysis for the following number of products/services. The keywords and geographic outreach will be given to the winning provider. We require a minimal of Google Adwords to be used as a keyword research tool. Use your site architecture created in Chapter 2 to indicate the number of products and services you want to target for your campaign. Use the schematic in chapter 2 as a reference (the items in the yellow box). NOTE: Fewer keywords are more cost-effective.

15 Does Your Organization Offer Competitor Analysis Services? YES q NO q We require winning vendor perform a competitive analysis on our top competitors to identify their back linking strategy, keyword focus, keyword density, and other relevant factors. How many years of experience do you have creating a competitive analysis? A good competitive analysis looks at your top online competitors to find out how they are performing and what techniques they are using to achieve their goals. These are powerful tools when building your SEO campaign. NOTE: The more competitors you want researched, the higher the cost. Does Your Organization Absolutely Understand Onsite SEO? YES q NO q We require the following SEO operations to be performed on each pre designed web page: Keyword density adjustments, meta information, URL optimization, Site hierarchy Optimization, alt tags, and nest keywords within images. There are two main areas involving SEO: Onsite & Offsite: Onsite make sure your actual website is setup correctly and Offsite builds your reputation on the web overall. Both are integral components of SEO. Web Development This website is to be built using Wordpress. How many years of experience do you or your firm have with Wordpress? Years. Wordpress is a powerful open source (simply means publicly available) system for building & managing websites.this content management system is the backbone for businesses of all sizes. It s easy-to-use and will fit most needs. If you have another preference for a CMS cross out Wordpress and add your preference. If you don t know about CMS systems, I strongly recommend going with Wordpress in most cases. The web design must be a 100% custom design. A responsive framework may be used but the physical design (theme) must be original. What framework are you planning on using and how

16 much experience do you have with this particular framework? This is emphasizing a custom design is required. There are a lot of games played in web development. Developers have been known to use templates or pirate other designs to streamline their production costs or disguise their limitations. Make it clear a custom design is required to make your business not look cookie-cutter on the web. All submitted proposals must include number of theme-based revisions. Website should be 100% responsive to smart phones, tablets, and other devices. A composite theme design of the home page delivered in PDF format in both desktop & mobile versions. Any revisions should be applied to both versions of the website design Add the number of revisions you want in your quote. Only you can answer the number of revisions you want to include. If you are a very particular person, you may want more revisions in the proposal, otherwise use less. A common number to request is 2-4 revisions. These revisions relate to your theme (or overall layout). NOTE: The more revisions you want included, the higher the cost. If someone offers unlimited revisions, this could a warning flag they are prone to overcommit or exaggerate services. What is the average timeline to receive revised designs (for example, if we submit our revisions to a design today, how long before it take for your organizations to supply revised files)? workdays»» Its good to know what to expect in terms of revisions. Some developers take an inordinate amount of time to provide revisions. Typical answers should be 1-2 workdays. Timelines are often a point of frustration. Make sure you always provide prompt answers and revisions to keep the ball rolling and eliminate excuses.

17 If we exceed the number of included revisions, what is your cost per additional revision and how is this charged (30 day net, etc.)? Understanding as much as possible about revisions and associated cost will help eliminate racking up additional fees from your developer. Website Content Pre designed pages: We will need number of web pages included in this project. Our expectations are layouts for these pages to be fully functional. We understand we can add additional pages with Wordpress. The goal is have a certain number of pages 100% completed. See the Content Section for how content will be delivered. How many custom graphics are included on each pre designed web page? Please describe what you consider a custom graphic? How many revisions are included with each pre design web page graphic? What is the cost for additional changes to these custom graphics beyond the scope of included revisions?»» Think of design in two main areas: The overall design and then the content that goes on each page. This relates to the actual content. There will be two major ways to add content. With this RFP, you will be able to add/remove/edit content easily, but you will lack the professionalism that only a GOOD designer can bring to the table. I recommend letting the designer add all the content for at least your main pages. (The home page and main content pages (yellow areas in schematic from chapter two). Once you get the proposals and select a developer, then you can negotiate the number of pages, etc.

18 Device/Browser Compatibility Testing What is your policy with cross-browser testing? Many businesses don t realize that a website can display different depending on the browser & device that is being used to pull up the site. It s important that a website works at least on all modern browsers and devices. Some developers do not include a comprehensive browser service. Expected Website Standard Features We require the following standard features to be included. These features should be third party Wordpress Plugins. Check the box of each that apply. q Featured Slide Show Setup on the home page, but training on how to add additional slides as needed. We require number of pre-designed slides with number of revisions per slide. If we decided to have your organization create new slides in the future, what is the cost per additional custom slide design? How many revisions are included with each slide? What is the average turnaround for additional slide creation?»» A slideshow a main image on the homepage displaying your key features/products.

19 q Blog Given the site is Wordpress, a standard blog page should be setup. We will submit articles to be integrated by the selected provider. You may not be planning on having a blog initially, but its already a standard component of Wordpress. Your developer can add it and have it ready to turn on with a minimal investment. q Form Builder We require a visual form builder for the site. We will need one form created on the page with the following fields: Forms are a standard way to collect information. Examples of common form fields are: Name, Address, Phone, , Date To Start, etc. Most people add their main form on their contact page. q Gallery We need the ability to add galleries as needed with a light box zoom feature. We will need you include gallery on the page. A gallery is a collection of photos. A lightbox is a nice accent to show the images (Wordpress default gallery isn t as nice.) q Events Calendar... With ability to add recurring events, one time events»» If you want to have a calendar, check this option. Its perfect for displaying upcoming events, etc. Our system even has a way for

20 attendees to RSVP using social media. q Social Media We require: Social Share Icons - Ability for visitors to share our content on all major social networking sites. This proposal should encompass both the ability to link to our social pages as well as allows social sharing across visitor s social network (such as like us ) The following social media sites should be included: q Google Plus q Linked In q Facebook q Twitter q Pinterest q Instagram q Flickr Others: This does not mean they will setup your social media campaigns or strategies, but rather its adding social share icons to your website. FAQ s q We require and frequently asked questions section pre populated with questions and answers. If you have FAQ s check this option and fill in the number of predefined Q&A s you will give to the developer initially. Testimonials q We require the ability to add testimonials either on a single page or randomly throughout the site. The testimonials should allow for photos in addition to name, business, and comment. Self-explanatory q Podcasting/Audio Ability to add audio files to the site. This option is best is for podcasters and churches.

21 q SEO Plug-in We need the ability and training to enable to add appropriate meta tags to each web page. We also require permalinks be configured so the URL is rewritten to the page title. This is an easy way to integrate search engine optimization components to each page you create. Make sure you cover onsite SEO in your training session. q Google Analytics We require a Google Analytics account and snippet be installed on our website and admin access to the account. This is your tracking tool. With it, you can see how many visitors come to your site, where they enter, where they leave, how long they are on your site, where visitors are located, and tons of additional information. q Additional»» Do you need a feature that is not described above? If so, describe it here. Obviously the scope of the standard features doesn t encompass social sites, custom needs, etc. Use another sheet if necessary and don t worry about using technical language. Describe what you need in everyday language. Make sure to tell the service providers you prefer a plugin over custom programming. Custom programming will cost you much more and in most cases, is much less reliable than a well supported plugin.

22 Does Your Organization Offer Interactive, Live Training? YES q NO q We require a live training course of minutes. This can be live or through the web as long as both audio and visual aids are provided in a live format that allows for questions and answers. We require training on the following topics: General content management, adding & removing web/blog pages, adding photos, copy, SEO content (meta tags), general usability, and feature management. If we need to reschedule the training session, are their any rescheduling fees? If so, what are those fees? This is important. Most businesses don t think about their need to manage content. Wordpress is extremely user friendly, but without a training session, you will spend unneeded time and frustration trying to figure things out. You may even want to ask your developer to break your training into multiple sessions. Does Your Organization Offer Web Managed Services? YES q NO q While it is our desire to manage actual content, we will need the chosen provider to all perform regular updates to the theme, plug-ins, and Wordpress core. What frequency will the site be updated? What is your strategy and when will be updates be performed?»» There are two main areas for website management: The content and the actual site itself. Managed services handles all the technical updates behind the scenes, such as upgrading Wordpress and it s plugins. I highly recommend you have your site managed unless you already have the skillset to manage it effectively yourself. You can save money by not having it managed, but you are in danger of either having your site hacked by not consistently updating it or having it break with updates don t play nice with each other.

23 Hosting Services Hosting should be provided by the chosen provider. In case we decide to use other services in the future, contractor needs to provide us with an export of our website and provide a list of any third party plug-ins used that are nontransferable. We require GB of disk space, MySQL DBs, and unlimited bandwidth (can be adjusted with our needs). How much for each additional GB of space? How much for each additional DB? q Services We require number of addresses to be setup and fully managed. s should be setup at. q Backups We require developer have daily backups with a 30 day retention or greater. If a restoration is needed, what is the cost per restoration? How quickly can the site be restored? hours. I recommend letting your developer manage your hosting as well. If something goes wrong, you only have one point of contact. Again, you can save by going with cheap hosting, but it can hurt your business in numerous ways. Phase 3 Search Engine Optimization: Does Your Organization Offer Search Engine Optimization? YES q NO q Offsite SEO We are targeting the following products/services with our SEO campaign. The products/services are as follows:

24 Our target geographic area is Success will be gauged based upon visibility, web traffic, and ROI. Offsite SEO is expensive and is a recurring subscription. The more keywords (products/services) you target, the more expensive the service. Make sure to read everything in this book regarding SEO. Questionnaire What experience/certifications do you have in web design? What experience/certifications do you have in SEO? What experience/certifications do you have in marketing? How long has your organization been in business?

25 Years Please rank your skills using the following (1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest). Although some of these skill sets are beyond the scope of this project, we are interested in how your organization can best serve our needs as services are needed. All of these skills can be of use for your business, but only a few are needed to pull off your beachhead. Each item is bulleted in either green, yellow, or red. Skills with a green bullet are absolutely needed (4 or 5 rating), Yellow skills require an intermediate knowledge (3+) and the skills labeled red are good for your developer to have but not relevant to the project scope of this book. You always should consider your needs as well. For example, if you need a logo, or already have a success marketing campaign, perhaps you want your developer to have those skills as well. Be weary of all 4 s and 5 s. Custom Web design Wordpress General & Responsive Frameworks Search Engine Optimization Creating Content (text) Facebook marketing Twitter marketing Linked In marketing Creating Marketing Campaigns Squeeze Page Optimization Google Analytics Google Trends Google Adwords Paid Advertising (Google Adwords, etc) Programming Wordpress Theming Wordpress Technical

26 PHP/MySQL Support during development Support response time after the site is live Ability to communicate in a non-technical fashion Server uptime Honesty Customer Retention Strategic Planning Creativity Optimized Content Creation (copy) Online Reputation Management Print Design Logo Design Print Contracting Branding Standards Mail Campaigns Lead Generation Marketing Prompt Service What is your preferred solution? If you have multiple people on your staff, what certifications do the people have that will work hands-on with this project? For example, the actual designer, programmer, or marketing professional.»» If you have s already setup, maybe you don t need their services. Personally I recommend Google Apps (not the same thing as a free

27 Gmail account). I personally use Google Apps. Sometimes other managed s are problematic, but not always. The only definite is your address should be setup to be at your url (myname@ mybusiness.com). There is nothing more unprofessional than a free address used for business purposes. Phase 4 - ecommerce (Supplemental) Use this section only if you want to have an ecommerce system (shopping cart). Does your organization successfully setup and configure ecommerce Systems? YES q NO q Our website requires the ability to buy and sell services. We require the following features. Ability to sell products with a regular price and sell price Standard Payment Gateways (Authorize.net and Paypal) Subscription recurring payments Coupons Product images Product Details Ability to categorize and subcategorize products/services Shipping Taxes Related products Cross selling Admin area for product purchases Virtual products (ebooks, software, etc) SKU Number Regular/Sales Price Ability to add categories with images, header, and synopsis of category We require your organization load number of products. Each product will contain number of photos, a synopsis, main description, price, SKU number.

28 Products are what you are selling and categories are the main groupings. For example, Shoes is the category and Red Brand X Running Shoes is a product. You should have your developer load at least some products for you to use as a sample. The more they load, the higher they cost. We require your organization preload number of categories. See previous note. What ecommerce System will you use for this project? You need to know what system they are using. It keeps everyone honest. Please provide a URL to complete feature list (it is assumed your ecommerce system will meet our minimal requirements): Since they are letting you know what system they are using, they can send a complete list of features for you to review at the developer s site. Make sure there recommendation has all the features you need. Assuming we provide timely responses, what is the turnaround time for Phases 1, 2, 3 based on your experience with a project of this scope? Weeks Absolutely critical to let your developer know time is of the essence. What do you find is the greatest hinderance to providing your services in a timely fashion?

29 Take this to heart and make sure your team addresses their needs for timely development. Proposal Should be Made Assuming The Following Content Is Provided: Domain We will provide domain information to winning contractor. Our domain should not be moved or the administrative information changed for any reason without written consent. Content - We will provide all copy, photos, logo, and descriptions. We will require your staff to optimize images, make basic color adjustments to images, and make recommendations to content based on keyword densities. Site architecture outline for products/services and hierarchy structure. Strategic positioning within the market (to be elaborated upon with your team) Closing RFP Thoughts Pay attention to how the organizations submitting their proposals fill out the RFP. Quick, short answers and a handful of stapled standard information sheets could indicate that particular organization s model is based on heavy production and little engagement. Look for honesty in the answers. Honesty admits deficiencies and is better than someone who over-ranks their organization. Obviously you want the most qualified, cost-effective and best fit for your needs above all. And lastly, remember your goal is to get RFP with consistent variables so can assess proposals in an apple to apples format. The final proposal can be fine tuned with your selected or narroweddown choices.