Sample Proposal Company X Prepared for: Prepared by: Ms. Smith Kim Hoyer Stone kim@blankslateinteractive.com Overview Company X specializes in (products or services). The (industry type) firm is seeking to redesign its existing web site to appeal to and gain an advantage in a highly-specialized but competitive market. Page 1 of 9
Client Needs & Goals Company X recently acquired Company Z. A re-branded and high impact web site is necessary to effectively reach new customers and provide an edge over the competition. Company X requires a site that: Provides a modern web presence Blends the two brands and product lines Increases and converts visitors Gives current and potential clients the means to contact the firm Provides password-protected access to client documents Offers technical information to purchasers and users of its products Also required is a content management system that will allow Company X to easily manage content on the site. Solution We recommend the development of a new website built on WordPress, the world's most widely-used CMS. A professionally-designed theme will be fully customized to match the brand and meet the Client's functional needs. Emphasis will be placed on attracting new clients through easy-to-understand product specifications, a focus on features that make the company's products superior to the competition, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Project Fees Service Item Cost Page 2 of 9
Corporate Website Re-Design Professionally-designed and fully customized theme built on the world's most widely-used and user-friendly CMS platform, WordPress. Design comps: 3 home page layout options will be presented to Client. Upon selection of home page layout, 3 internal page layouts will be provided. Up to 3 edits per round as requested. Population of up to XX pages: Setup of navigational structure per final site map developed by Blank Slate Interactive. Population and HTML formatting of title and copy on individual pages. Copy to be provided by Company X. One image per page. Images and placement guidelines to be provided by Company X. Sourcing of royalty-free images can be done upon request for an additional fee. Other site elements: Custom header with Client logo Full width auto-slider design on home page with up to 5 slides. Footer with up to 4 data sections (e.g. text, video, image, and/or links). Company contact and location page with data capture form. Data collected in form to be sent to email address of choice. Site "Search" functionality. Social media integration. Social profile URLs to be provided by Company X. Password-protected access to PDF library. PDFs to be provided by Company X. $0 Content management system features: Internet-based administrative access to CMS to enable management of site content and to add news items or new products and specs. Setup of up to XX administrative users with unique usernames and passwords. Up to 2 hours of one-on-one WordPress training using GoTo Meeting. Page 3 of 9
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) The ultimate goal of SEO is to reduce the amount of time a website's target market spends searching for it. This is achieved by taking strategic and methodical steps to elevate the website to the top 5-10 positions of search results on major search engines. SEO is the deliberate, multi-step process of refining and streamlining various aspects of a website. The process starts with the selection of the site platform (Google loves WordPress!) and site architecture and extends to activities like image and page tagging, link popularity, and article marketing. The result of these efforts are two-fold: 1. 2. A website that is technically prepared for maximum results when indexed by search engines, and A website that consequently ranks in the top 5 of search results and garners trust and authority in the marketplace. Blank Slate Interactive's SEO services include: $0 Integration of Google Analytics to monitor performance and trends Search engine submission - submitting site URL to top search engines Keyword research and selection of up to 30 keywords Page title & URL optimization Image description & file name optimization Internal site linking to archive pages Development of a dedicated site map page Development of a dedicated outbound link page Inventory of 3 competing websites for inbound links, keywords, and page rank Free & paid directory submissions (up to 10 sites, directory listing fee excluded) Integration of "ShareThis" widget on select pages SEO is completed within the first 30 days of the site launch. Project Total $0 Fee Schedule The above pricing is effective through date here. One half of the project fee is due upon contract Page 4 of 9
acceptance with remainder due upon project completion. Fees are accepted via check, money order, or online via PayPal and addressed to Blank Slate Interactive. Payment via PayPal can be arranged upon request. Next Steps To proceed with this project, Company X is expected to take the following steps: 1. 2. 3. Accept the proposal as-is or discuss desired changes. Please note that changes to the scope of the project can be made at any time, but additional charges may apply. Finalize and sign contract. Submit initial payment of 50% of total project fee. Once these steps have been completed we will begin the project with a kick off meeting to introduce relevant personnel and begin preliminary project activities. References The following individuals have either hired Kim Hoyer Stone or collaborated with Blank Slate Interactive. Each can attest to the company's tireless commitment to quality and service. David Cholewa C&A Marketing West dcholewa@camarketingwest.com (720) 934-8448 Ryann Anderson ryanneanderson@gmail.com (720) 936-0831 Michael Shearer Net Experienced LLC michael@netexperienced.com (720) 257-9520 Sarah Maronn Page 5 of 9
SNO Public Relations sarah@sno-pr.com (720) 297-0471 Standard Terms and Conditions The agreement contained in this contract constitutes the sole agreement between Company X (Client) and Blank Slate Interactive regarding all items included in this agreement. TARGET COMPLETION DATE. The Client has communicated to Blank Slate Interactive that the target launch date for this assignment is date here. From the start of this assignment (date of contract acceptance and receipt of initial payment) it is agreed that website development for a 50-page site will take between 6-10 weeks after delivery of all assets (e.g. logo, site map, content, graphics, and multimedia) to Blank Slate Interactive. Every effort will be made on the part of Blank Slate Interactive to meet the target launch date set by the Client. However, the target launch date listed here can only be guaranteed if all assets are delivered to Blank Slate Interactive by no later than date here. Failure to deliver all assets by that date releases Blank Slate Interactive from any guarantees or liabilities related to failure to launch site by the target date listed. Additionally, in the event the the Client has not submitted all necessary assets within six weeks after signing of this contract, an additional continuation fee of 10% of the total contract price will also be assessed each month until the website is published. MAINTENANCE & HOURLY RATE. Upon launching the site, the Client is granted a "settling-in period" of two weeks where minor changes to a page can be requested at no charge. This does not include structural changes the overall site. After the "settling-in period" maintenance required of the site will be charge at an hourly rate of rate is effective through 12/31/2011. Time will be charged in 15-minute increments. $75 per hour. This FINAL PAYMENT. Final payment must be received within 15 days of the site launch date. Failure to pay within that time frame will result in the website being taken offline and loss of all rights to its use or duplication. Debt collection fees required to receive final payments are the responsibility of the Client. DESIGN CHANGES. The Client assumes that all additions, alterations, changes in content, layout or process changes requested will alter the time and cost. The Client shall offer Blank Slate Interactive the first opportunity to make any changes. Page 6 of 9
If the Client or an agent other than Blank Slate Interactive attempts to update the website s pages, infrastructure, or source files in a way that causes damage to individual pages or the site s architecture, time to repair web pages will be assessed at triple the hourly rate. OWNERSHIP & COPYRIGHTS. Ownership (copyright and title) of the final work become the property of the Client, having unlimited, indefinite, and royalty-free use of the image upon payment of all fees. Blank Slate Interactive retains rights to display the artwork in portfolio and advertising materials. All concepts, or other preliminary materials, which are not selected by the Client or are not included into the final delivery, remain the full property of Blank Slate Interactive. All material including text, images and code supplied by the Client and used in the construction of the Client s website, will remain the Client s property. All such material will be assumed to be the property of the Client and free to use without fear of breach of copyright laws. The copyright for any material provided by Designer, such as HTML code, graphics, photographs and text, but excluding software code, will remain the property of Designer until payment has been made in full whereupon they will become the property of the client. The Client will be given access to the source code and may take the code to another developer for purposes of maintaining or extending upon the system. CREDIT LINES. Blank Slate Interactive shall receive a credit line with any editorial or development usage. Credit to be cited should be shown as Blank Slate Interactive. RELEASES. Blank Slate Interactive assumes the Client has permission from the rightful owner to use any images or design elements that are provided for inclusion in the website, and will hold harmless, protect, and defend Blank Slate Interactive from any claim or suit arising from the use of such elements. The Client shall indemnify Blank Slate Interactive against all claims and expenses, including attorney s fees, due to the uses for which no release was requested in writing or for uses that exceed authority granted by a release. CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS. Modifications of the terms of this contract must be written and authorized by both parties, involving the implementation of a new version of the contract as a whole following standard procedures of documentation and approval. UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE. The terms incorporate Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. CODE OF FAIR PRACTICE. The Client and Blank Slate Interactive agree to comply with the provisions of the Code of Fair Practice. WARRANTY OF ORIGINALITY. Blank Slate Interactive warrants and represents that, to the best of its knowledge, the Page 7 of 9
work assigned hereunder is original and has not been previously published, or that consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis; that all work or portions thereof obtained through the undersigned form third parties is original or, if previously published, that consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis; that Blank Slate Interactive has full authority to make this agreement; and that the work prepared by Blank Slate Interactive does not contain any scandalous, libelous, or unlawful matter. This warranty does not extend to any uses that the Client or others may make of Blank Slate Interactive s product that may infringe on the rights of others. Client expressly agrees that it will hold Blank Slate Interactive harmless for all liability caused by the Client s use of Blank Slate Interactive s product to the extent such use infringes on the rights of others. CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE. Blank Slate Interactive agrees to hold confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets ("confidential information") in trust and confidence and agrees that it shall be used only for the purposes of the web site project, shall not be used for any other purpose, or disclosed to any third party. No copies will be made or retained of any written information or prototypes supplied without the permission of the Client. At the conclusion of any discussions, or upon demand by the Client, all confidential information, including prototypes, written notes, photographs, sketches, models, memoranda or notes taken shall be returned to the Client. Confidential information shall not be disclosed to any employee, consultant or third party unless they agree to execute and be bound by the terms of this Agreement, and have been approved by the Client. TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS. Blank Slate Interactive assumes that the Client has performed research on the company name to be sure the name is not already in use and secure a trademark or service mark to protect the Client's legal rights to any name or image. Blank Slate Interactive is not and will not be held responsible for any legal action that may result from improper due diligence on the availability of a company name or image. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. Client agrees that it shall not hold Blank Slate Interactive or its agents or employees liable for any incidental or consequential damages that arise from Blank Slate Interactive s failure to perform any aspect of the project in a timely manner, regardless of whether such failure was caused by intentional or negligent acts or omissions of Blank Slate Interactive or Client, any Client representatives or employees, or a third party. ABANDONMENT. If the Client fails to respond to information requests by Blank Slate Interactive via phone, email, or other communication methods for a period of 45 days, the project is considered abandoned and is closed. Ownership of all copyrights and the original artwork shall be retained by Blank Slate Interactive. All fees collected by Blank Slate Interactive to date are non-refundable. Additional expenses or time already incurred shall be paid by the Client. An administrative fee of $250 will be assessed if the Client wishes to re-open the abandoned assignment. CANCELLATION. In the event of cancellation of this assignment, ownership of all copyrights and the original artwork shall be retained by Blank Slate Interactive, and a cancellation fee for work completed, and expenses already incurred, shall be paid by the Client. A 100% cancellation fee is due once the project has been finished, Page 8 of 9
whether delivered to the Client or not. DISPUTE RESOLUTION. Any disputes in excess of the maximum limit for small-claims court arising out of this Agreement shall be submitted to binding arbitration before a mutually agreed-upon arbitrator pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The Arbitrator s award shall be final, and judgment may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The Client shall pay all arbitration and court cost, reasonable attorney s fees, and legal interest on any award of judgment in favor of Blank Slate Interactive. All actions, whether brought by Client or by Designer will be filed in Colorado. Page 9 of 9