News CMS RFP Template: What to Send Before Asking for Quotes

Explain the business problem before listing features

Begin with why you are buying. A publisher replacing an unreliable archive, a newspaper launching its first digital edition, and a media group adding regional desks need different proposals. State the problem, its effect on the team, and the outcome you want to improve.

Describe the current publication: sites, languages, editions, article volume, contributor count, archive size, and important formats. Include the commercial model and systems that must continue working. If a number is unknown, mark it for discovery rather than presenting a guess as a firm requirement.

Describe publishing scenarios a vendor can demonstrate

A requirement such as “advanced workflow” is difficult to evaluate. A scenario is clearer: a reporter submits a draft and photo, an editor requests a correction, a publisher approves it, and the live story receives an update. Explain which roles can perform each action and which actions require approval.

Choose a few scenarios that matter to your newsroom. They could include a regional-language story, an ePaper edition, a breaking update, a headline image, or a branded reel. Ask the vendor to show the actual steps and identify any work that would be configured or developed after the contract.

Give every requirement a response format

Separate must-have requirements from useful additions and later phases. Ask for an answer, evidence, dependencies, exclusions, and cost implications for each item. A simple yes/no response cannot explain whether a feature is included today or depends on another project.

Include migration and launch in the buying decision

Provide an outline of the content to move, available export methods, important URLs, media, and integrations. Ask how a sample import will be reviewed and how stories created during implementation will reach the new system. Specify whether the publication can tolerate a controlled handover window.

Request a launch plan covering editorial training, technical readiness, responsibility for failures, and post-launch support. Keep detailed credentials and private reader data out of the initial RFP. Arrange an appropriate data-sharing process when a shortlisted provider needs access for discovery.

Make support, ownership, and costs comparable

Ask who manages hosting, upgrades, backups, monitoring, and incident response. Request support hours, escalation routes, recovery arrangements, usage limits, and the process for exporting content if you leave. These answers should be part of the proposal rather than assumptions based on a product label.

Request separate prices for implementation, migration, training, recurring services, optional modules, and usage-dependent charges. Use the same archive and traffic assumptions for every vendor. Explain your evaluation process and commercial timetable so proposals are prepared against the same decision.

Use the template to start a focused discussion

The download includes a publication profile, project objectives, workflow scenarios, requirements response format, migration brief, service questions, pricing schedule, and acceptance checklist. Replace the bracketed fields and remove sections that do not apply. A short, accurate brief is more useful than a long document of requirements nobody owns.

Review the draft with editorial, technical, and commercial representatives before sending it. Collect vendor questions and keep a shared clarification record. Once proposals arrive, use the same scenarios in each demonstration and record what was actually shown before selecting the platform.