project assessment questionnaire, pre RFP

rfp questions needs. website development template

[DesignoryguyLA]

I am a creative director looking to do some new freelance projects for some small and mid sized businesses.

I am looking for a good general template or needs assessment questionnaire I can give to potential clients upfront as a guide to writing a website development RFP. As some of you are aware smaller and midsize businesses are in the habit of simply asking" how much does it cost to design a website" and that is it. Being a creative director, I am not all that well versed with what questions to ask related to technologies and back-end development. This would be something i also would need some direction on or sample.
Thanks much

Designoryguyla

[TGecho]

sitepoint.com has a whole kit, but you have to pay for the whole forms.

I'd be interested in an answer to this, as I still don't relish the idea of rolling my own.

A base contract wouldn't hurt either :)

[TGecho]

Just curious, is it wrong to copy 'n paste a form/contract another business has posted on their site? My gut says yes, but I figured I'd pick your brains.

[Travoli]

Most of the time they are copyright protected.

[Marcia]

I'm also looking to update forms and systems, hunting around and trying to come up with ideas for a few versions. Probably gathering different ideas and turning them into something original will work. That's how I'm trying to approach it.

They're not complete but Microsoft Template Gallery (easily found with a search) has documents that give some really good ideas. I've seen a couple that are good starters.

There's one that's a follow-up letter asking if they're still interested, that the proposal price was for a limited time. Not a bad idea to put in. I've had people unexpectely contact me after 6 months or more; there was just one this week, and another last week - and fees have changed. It's easier to make that clear at first than to have to explain it later on.