Website Design Requirements That Should Be Included By Every RFP

Website Design Requirements That Should Be Included By Every RFP

I have been recently talking a lot about requirements related to website design, contracts, and proposals. I have done this because I know the launching of a successful website is more than text, images, and software code.

The success of a website design is a direct result of solid documentation and a structured process.

Execution of a successful website design project begins and get ended upon solid documentation. This documentation can be a statement of work, contract, or proposal. Details which are contained within the document are more crucial than the name of the document.

Whether you are a small business or you are a large enterprise, documentation is the biggest key element for the execution of a website design project that is on- task, on budget, and on time.

The more you will document in the sales process, the more smoothly your process will go for every person who is involved in this.

Evaluation of RFP Responses

It sounds very easy that review RFP responses, right? Well, honestly, it sounds easier than it is genuinely in the practice.

If the project team has solicited quotes from a large number of design agencies, the task of the review of website design proposals can feel overwhelming. Ok, not you just feel that it might be very intense.

The larger is the number of RFP injuries, the greater will be the variations & response pool within all those proposals. Hopefully, prior to sending out the RFP, a shortlist of website developers was made, which will keep the number of proposals limited and will make the process of review a bit easier.

As the proposals for the website arrive, it is very crucial to ask yourself some basic questions to begin. These questions include:

• Was the RFP response served within the allowed period of time?
• Was the RFP response presented in a proper professional manner?
• Is the RFP response written in a proper manner?
• Is the RFP response addressing all the requirements related to website design?
• Is the proposal for the website within the budget constraints of the proposal?
• Is the website proposal serving within the timeline of the project?

The above questions are very high-level questions that are designed to assist in the elimination of any design firm that is clearly not a fit. A late, incomplete, or unprofessional RFP response must be a red flag which is about potential developers. An RFP response should be a matter of concern that is priced at twice your budget or a third of your budget.

Now, that you have received your responses and you have done the eliminated any red flag vendors. It is high time to thoroughly review each RFP response for the comparison of responses in a more apples-to-apples manner.

Requirements Related to Website Design to Look for in each RFP Response

An RFP response can be of numerous lengths. So, I just want you to lay special emphasis on the number of pages or volume of text. What matters is the content and the solution presented within it.

When you are doing a review of your RFP responses, you have to ensure that each response covers some core elements of any project related to website design. These requirements which are related to website design includes, however these are not limited to, the following details

Project Plan

Your project plan should include a high-level list of tasks related to the project. However, it will not be as detailed as the actual project plan itself, but there must be enough details for you to have a proper understanding of the design, development, flow of discovery, and build.

Project Management Tools

The website design company should make a list of their project management toolset. As there are a huge number of options available, it will vary by firm. The crucial thing is to do the verification that there is a structure of the process of project management and that owners, dates, and tasks will be well documented.

Team Members

Different agencies of website design will have different structures for their teams. As large as the agency, as will be the project team. It is very crucial for you and your buyer that who will be working on your team and to what capacity of work they will serve. You don't have the requirement of full resumes of each player, but you must know who will be working within the coming months.

Content Management System and Baseline Technology

If your website RFP is not specified as a desired CMS solution, it will be a very crucial element of your proposal. You have to ensure that your RFP responses list out the CMS of choice and any additional technology that might be taken into use in coding and deploying your new websites. You have to take special notes of anything proprietary. A proprietary CMS package should be a red flag, as it used to lock you into that developer for the sake of the life of the website.

Deliverables

A list of deliverables is very crucial because it is known for the validation of what is going to be delivered at the point of go-live. It could be inclusive of the number of design templates, utilization of plugins, the volume of content migration, etc.

Mobile Responsiveness

Mobile responsiveness is a very crucial part of any modern-day website design project. The only exception to this rule is the large websites that have separate mobile apps or websites. If you are not having a separate mobile website, you have to ensure your proposal which includes language for the management of display that is adapted to tablets or mobile phones.

Third-Party Integration and/or APIs

Enterprise and mid-market companies usually have a multitude of software packages and systems within the organization. These systems are required to be communicated with the new website by pushing, pulling, or syncing data. If APIs or integration has the requirement to be used, you have to ensure that the proposal defines the third-party system, data transfer, data points, and responsible party.

Ongoing Maintenance

Most often maintenance is confused with warranty periods, but these are totally different. An agreement related to maintenance is paid for on a monthly or annual basis and it would be used for serving developers with the updates to the software over time.