Shopify Agency RFP Template: How to Write an Effective Brief

Why Most Shopify Agency RFPs Fail

You're about to spend $50K–$500K on a Shopify agency. A sloppy RFP is how you end up with scope creep, missed deadlines, and a partner who doesn't understand your business. Yet most brands write their first RFP in an afternoon, no strategy.

Here's what kills most agency RFPs: they're either too vague (leaving room for misinterpretation) or too prescriptive (locking out better solutions). The best RFPs sit in the middle—they define business outcomes and constraints clearly, then let vendors propose HOW.

The average midmarket e-commerce brand evaluates 3-5 agencies and signs a contract within 4-6 weeks. But that timeline works only if your RFP is tight from day one.

Part 1: Define Your Scope Upfront

Before you write a single RFP line, nail down what you actually need.

The Five Scope Buckets:

1. Platform & Architecture — Is this a Shopify standard build, Shopify Plus, or headless? Do you need API integrations, custom apps, or theme modifications? Are you migrating from another platform (WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento)?

2. Feature Requirements — Product filtering, variant management, subscription options, marketplace integrations (Amazon, Walmart), payment gateways, international multi-currency support, loyalty programs?

3. Performance & SEO — Site speed targets (Core Web Vitals), SEO architecture, structured data, faceted navigation, internal linking strategy, duplicate content cleanup (especially for variants)?

4. Design & UX — Custom design vs. theme customization, mobile-first approach, accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA minimum), checkout flow optimization? How many design iterations?

5. Support & Maintenance — Post-launch support duration, SLA response times, monthly retainer or hourly billing, who owns Shopify admin training?

Pro tip: Assign rough budget to each bucket. This prevents vendors from padding weak areas and gives you negotiation leverage. A typical Shopify build splits roughly 40% design/UX, 35% development, 15% integrations, 10% testing/QA.

Part 2: Structure Your RFP Document

Use this template. Adjust sections for your needs.

Section 1: Executive Summary

• Your company mission and brand positioning
• Annual revenue (or projected for new brands)
• Current platform (if applicable) and why you're changing
• High-level business goals for the next 12 months
• Budget range (be honest—vendors appreciate it)

Section 2: Project Overview

• Detailed scope statement (reference your five buckets above)
• Timeline and critical milestones
• Team structure—who's the project sponsor, technical contact, approver?
• Geographic or regulatory constraints (GDPR, California privacy laws, international shipping)

Section 3: Technical Requirements

• Explicit list of integrations needed (e.g., ERP, CRM, email platform, analytics)
• Performance benchmarks—page load time targets, conversion rate targets
• Browser/device support matrix
• Data migration requirements (if applicable)
• Security and compliance requirements

Section 4: Design & User Experience

• Link to reference sites you admire (competitive analysis)
• Accessibility requirements and testing
• Mobile-first vs. desktop-first priority
• How many design rounds are included?
• Who provides product photography or imagery?

Section 5: Post-Launch Support

• Support duration (3 months, 6 months, 1 year?)
• Bug-fix SLA and severity definitions
• Training requirements for your internal team
• Ongoing maintenance and retainer scope

Section 6: Vendor Evaluation Criteria

• List 10-15 criteria (see Part 3 below)
• Assign point values (e.g., 100 points total)
• Weighting (e.g., team experience = 25 points, timeline = 15 points)

Section 7: Response Format & Deadlines

• Requested submission date (typically 2-3 weeks)
• Maximum document length (keep it reasonable—20 pages max)
• Required sections vendors must address
• Q&A deadline (usually 1 week before submission)

Part 3: Set Vendor Evaluation Criteria

This is where most brands fail. They score based on gut feeling. Use this rubric instead.

Team & Experience (25 points)

• Years in e-commerce (minimum 5+ years, bonus if Shopify Plus Partner)
• Portfolio of similar project size and complexity
• Dedicated account manager and lead developer assigned to your project
• Case studies with verifiable client references and revenue impact data

Technical Capability (20 points)

• Proven API integration track record with your required platforms
• Performance optimization expertise (Core Web Vitals, Lighthouse scores)
• Headless commerce experience (if applicable)
• Custom development vs. reliance on premade solutions

Timeline & Delivery (15 points)

• Realistic milestone-based schedule
• Buffer for design iteration and client feedback
• Proof of on-time delivery (ask for 2-3 references to validate)
• Clear definition of project scope creep (change order process)

Design & UX (15 points)

• Portfolio of mobile-first, accessible designs
• Conversion rate optimization track record (provide metrics)
• User testing and validation approach
• Post-launch analytics and reporting

Value & Cost (15 points)

• Cost breakdown by phase (discovery, design, dev, testing, launch, support)
• Justification for cost vs. deliverables
• Retainer options and support pricing clarity
• Payment schedule (upfront, milestone-based, post-launch?)

Risk & Transparency (10 points)

• Clear communication of project risks and mitigation
• Honest assessment of timeline/scope trade-offs
• Willingness to sign an SLA with penalties for misses
• References willing to discuss challenges and how agency handled them

Scoring Rule: Require a minimum threshold on "Risk & Transparency"—if a vendor scored low here, red flag them regardless of other scores. You want honest partners, not salespeople.

Part 4: Vendor Questions to Ask

Send these questions to shortlisted agencies during the Q&A phase. Their answers separate real partners from resume-builders.

On Team & Process:

• Walk us through your discovery process. How long, what outputs, how do you validate assumptions?
• Who will be our day-to-day contact? What's their experience with projects similar to ours?
• How do you handle scope creep and out-of-scope requests?
• Describe a project that went over budget or timeline. How did you handle it?

On Technical Execution:

• Our key integration is [system X]. Walk us through your approach to building that integration—what are the failure modes, and how do you test?
• How do you approach Shopify Plus vs. standard Shopify? Are there trade-offs we should know about?
• What's your approach to Core Web Vitals and mobile performance? Show us metrics from a recent project.
• Do you use a staging environment? What's your QA and UAT process?

On Design & Conversion:

• Show us 2-3 recent Shopify builds you're proud of. What metrics did they achieve (traffic, conversion rate, AOV)?
• How do you approach mobile checkout? Do you have conversion rate data from recent launches?
• What's your process for gathering user feedback and iterating on design?

On Support & Ongoing:

• What does post-launch support include? What's excluded?
• How do you prioritize bug fixes vs. feature requests?
• If we need extra features post-launch, how do you handle scope and billing?
• Do you provide monthly analytics reporting? What KPIs do you track?

Red Flag Answers:

• "We'll handle the details in discovery" (means they haven't thought about your project yet)
• "We always use our proven process" (lack of flexibility)
• "We can start immediately" (likely overboooked)
• No specific metrics or case studies (all talk, no proof)

Part 5: Negotiate Like an Operator

Once you've shortlisted 2-3 agencies, use these tactics.

Tactic 1: Create Competitive Tension

• Let vendors know you're comparing 2-3 proposals
• Ask shortlisted agencies if they'd like to present findings to your team
• This creates natural competition without being aggressive

Tactic 2: Break Down the Budget

• Ask for detailed cost breakdowns by phase and deliverable
• Challenge line items that seem inflated (e.g., "design iteration" at 40 hours)
• Identify where you can reduce scope to lower cost—maybe cut a few design rounds or defer features post-launch

Tactic 3: Use Milestone-Based Payments

• Don't pay 50% upfront. Use milestones: 25% kick-off, 25% design approval, 25% dev complete, 25% post-launch support
• This aligns incentives—the agency is motivated to hit milestones to get paid

Tactic 4: Lock Down Scope in Writing

• Every feature, integration, and deliverable goes in a Statement of Work (SOW)
• Define "out of scope" clearly—this prevents scope creep
• Use a change order process for add-ons (with cost and timeline impact)

Tactic 5: Require SLA & Clawback

• Demand a Service Level Agreement specifying response times (e.g., critical bugs within 4 hours, high within 8)
• Include a small clawback (e.g., 2-3% final payment withheld) if you don't hit performance targets
• This is standard in enterprise deals—any good agency will accept it

Tactic 6: Reference Checks

• Don't just call references the vendor provides—dig deeper
• Ask: "What surprised you during the project? What did they do better than expected? What would you do differently?"
• Best signal: "Would you hire them again for another project?"

Part 6: Red Flags During Vendor Selection

Walk away if you see these:

No Shopify Plus Experience (if that's your platform)

• Shopify Plus is a different beast than standard Shopify. It requires dedicated expertise.
• Ask: "How many Shopify Plus merchants have you worked with? Show me 3 case studies."
• If they dodge or show weak examples, next vendor.

No Performance Benchmarks

• A mature agency can tell you "Our last 10 builds average 85 Lighthouse score and 2.3s page load time."
• If they say "performance depends on scope," they're not specialists.

Vague Timelines

• "5-6 months" with no milestones is a red flag. Good agencies break projects into 2-week sprints with deliverables.
• Demand a detailed Gantt chart with milestones.

Pushback on SLAs or Scope

• If they won't commit to response times or sign a change-order process, they're not ready for professional relationships.

One-Size-Fits-All Process

• Every project is different. If they say "We follow the same process for everyone," they're templating, not customizing.

No Post-Launch Strategy

• The best agencies stay engaged post-launch with analytics, optimization, and ongoing improvements.
• If they hand off at launch and disappear, that's a problem.

Part 7: The Evaluation & Selection Process

1. RFP Distribution (Week 1-2): Send RFP to 5-7 agencies. Give 2-3 weeks for response.
2. Q&A Phase (Week 2-3): Collect vendor questions. Answer within 48 hours. Send compiled Q&A to all vendors.
3. Proposal Review (Week 3-4): Score proposals using your rubric. Identify top 2-3 candidates.
4. Reference Calls (Week 4): Call 2-3 references per finalist. Ask the hard questions.
5. Final Presentations (Week 5): Invite top 2 vendors to present findings and answer questions live.
6. Negotiation (Week 5-6): Final conversations with top choice. Lock down scope, timeline, cost, SLA.
7. Contract Signing (Week 6): Get legal review. Sign SOW and MSA (Master Service Agreement).

Part 8: Contract & Legal Essentials

Have a lawyer review these sections:

1. Scope of Work & Deliverables

• List every deliverable (design mockups, code repos, documentation, etc.)
• Define "complete" (e.g., code passes QA, meets performance targets, passes accessibility audit)
• What happens if deliverables are late or incomplete?

2. Payment Terms

• Milestone-based schedule (not upfront lump sum)
• Late payment penalties (interest, suspension of work)
• Currency and payment method

3. Intellectual Property

• Who owns code, designs, custom assets post-project?
• Typical model: agency assigns code/design to you once final payment clears

4. Term & Termination

• Project duration and critical dates
• Either party's right to terminate for cause (missed milestones, non-payment)
• Penalties for early termination without cause

5. Service Level Agreement (SLA)

• Bug-fix response times by severity
• Uptime guarantees for post-launch support
• Penalties (service credits) for SLA misses

6. Confidentiality & NDA

• Protection of your business data and strategies
• Non-compete clauses (if applicable)

7. Dispute Resolution

• Mediation vs. litigation (mediation is cheaper)
• Which jurisdiction's laws apply

Part 9: Sample RFP Outline (Ready to Use)

Use this as your starting template. Customize for your business.

SHOPIFY AGENCY RFP

Company: [Your Company]
Project: [Project Name]
Budget Range: [e.g., $100K–$150K]
Timeline: [e.g., 4-month project, launch by June 2026]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Mission & brand overview
- Current annual revenue and 12-month goals
- Budget and timeline expectations

PROJECT SCOPE
- Platform: Shopify / Shopify Plus / Headless
- Key integrations needed: [List]
- Geographic constraints: [List]
- Team structure and approval process

DETAILED REQUIREMENTS
- Design & UX: [Mobile-first? Accessibility WCAG 2.1 AA?]
- Technical: [Performance targets, API integrations, custom apps]
- Post-Launch: [Support duration, retainer vs. hourly, SLA expectations]

EVALUATION CRITERIA & SCORING
[Use the 6-point rubric from Part 3]

TIMELINE
RFP Distribution: [Date]
Q&A Deadline: [Date]
Proposal Due: [Date]
Shortlist Presentations: [Date]
Vendor Selection: [Date]

RESPONSE FORMAT
- Max 20 pages
- Must include: team bios, case studies with metrics, detailed SOW, realistic timeline, cost breakdown
- Q&A to [email]

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Ready to Find Your Shopify Agency Partner?

A well-written RFP doesn't guarantee a perfect partnership, but a bad RFP guarantees friction. Use this template to run a professional selection process. You'll get better proposals, smarter negotiations, and a clearer partnership from day one.

Tenten has helped 50+ brands navigate the Shopify agency selection process. We know what separates generalists from specialists. If you're ready to shortlist agencies or need help evaluating proposals, reach out to our team at tenten.co/contact.

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Editorial Note
RFPs aren't bureaucracy—they're your north star. A clear brief eliminates 80% of the friction that kills agency relationships.

Frequently Asked Questions