How many agencies should I include in an ecommerce RFP?

Three to five agencies is the ideal range. Fewer than three does not give you enough comparison. More than five creates diminishing returns — evaluating six or more detailed proposals is time-consuming and the marginal value of each additional proposal decreases. Quality of shortlist matters more than quantity. Do your research upfront and only invite agencies that are genuinely credible for your project.

Should I include my budget in the RFP?

Yes. Including a realistic budget range in your RFP saves everyone time. It allows agencies to scope their proposal appropriately and prevents you from receiving proposals that are wildly outside your budget. It also tests whether agencies can deliver value within your constraints rather than just pricing to whatever number they think you will accept.

How long should the RFP process take?

A well-run ecommerce agency RFP process takes 4-6 weeks from issuing the RFP to making a decision. Allow 2 weeks for agencies to prepare proposals, 1-2 weeks for evaluation and shortlisting, and 1-2 weeks for final presentations and decision-making. Rushing the process leads to poor evaluation. Dragging it out beyond 8 weeks leads to agency disengagement.

Should I ask agencies to do spec work as part of the RFP?

No. Asking agencies to produce speculative design work, build prototypes, or create detailed technical plans for free is a significant red flag. It signals that you do not respect the agency's time and expertise. It also tends to select for agencies that are desperate for work rather than those that are genuinely good. Instead, ask for case studies, process documentation, and references.

What is the biggest mistake brands make during the RFP process?

The biggest mistake is choosing based on the proposal document rather than the people. Proposals are marketing documents — they are designed to win the pitch, not predict the quality of the working relationship. The most important evaluation criteria should be: do you trust the people you will be working with, do they understand your business, and can they demonstrate relevant expertise through verified case studies and references?

Should I use a scoring matrix to evaluate agency proposals?

A scoring matrix can be helpful for ensuring consistency and reducing bias, but do not over-engineer it. Weight the criteria that actually matter: relevant experience, team quality, cultural fit, understanding of your business, and value for money. Avoid giving equal weight to every criterion — a beautifully formatted proposal is nice but less important than the agency's ability to deliver results.

The Agency RFP Process: How to Run It Without Getting Burned

We have been on both sides of the ecommerce agency RFP process. As operators running our own brands, we have issued RFPs and evaluated agencies. As an agency, we respond to them. That dual perspective gives us a clear view of what works, what wastes time, and what leads to genuinely good agency relationships.

The uncomfortable truth is that most RFP processes are broken. They optimise for the wrong things, take too long, and often select the agency that writes the best proposal rather than the agency that will do the best work. This guide is designed to fix that.

Why most ecommerce RFPs fail

Before we talk about how to run a good RFP, it is worth understanding why so many go wrong.

The brief is vague

A vague brief produces vague proposals. If your RFP says "we need a new website" without specifying scope, objectives, technical requirements, or budget, you will receive wildly different proposals that are impossible to compare. One agency will quote £8,000, another will quote £80,000, and neither number will be wrong — they are just scoping different projects.

Too many agencies are invited

Sending your RFP to ten or fifteen agencies feels thorough but is actually counterproductive. The best agencies are selective about which RFPs they respond to. If they see a wide distribution list, they know their chances of winning are low and may decline to participate. You end up with a shortlist biased towards agencies that are less busy — which is not always a good sign.

The evaluation is subjective

Without a structured evaluation framework, the decision often comes down to which proposal looks the nicest or which presenter was the most charismatic. Neither of these is a reliable predictor of project quality.

Common RFP process failures illustrated with cause and effect — The three most common RFP failures — vague briefs, too many agencies, and subjective evaluation — are all preventable with proper planning.

Spec work is requested

Asking agencies to produce free design concepts, technical architectures, or strategy documents as part of the RFP is problematic on multiple levels. It is exploitative (the agency invests significant time with no compensation), it is inaccurate (design work done without a proper discovery phase is guesswork), and it selects for the wrong quality (agencies that produce the prettiest pitch deck are not necessarily the best at delivery). Good agencies will often decline RFPs that require significant spec work.

Before you write the RFP

The most important work happens before you write a single word of the RFP. This preparation phase determines whether your process will surface the right agency or waste everyone's time.

Define your objectives

What is the project supposed to achieve? Not what it should look like or what technology it should use, but what business outcome it needs to deliver. Be specific:

"Increase online revenue from £1.2M to £2M within 18 months" is a good objective.
"Improve our website" is not.
"Reduce our customer acquisition cost from £45 to £30 while maintaining volume" is a good objective.
"Get more traffic" is not.

Clear objectives allow agencies to propose solutions rather than just listing deliverables. They also give you a framework for evaluating whether the agency understands your business.

Set a realistic budget

We know this is uncomfortable for many brands, but including your budget in the RFP is genuinely in your interest. Here is why: without a budget range, agencies either scope to what they think you can afford (based on your brand's perceived size) or they scope to the maximum because there is no constraint. Neither approach produces the best outcome.

If you are unsure what a realistic budget is, our guide on how to choose a Shopify agency includes typical price ranges for different project types.

Identify your decision-making team

Who will evaluate the proposals? Who has final sign-off? How will disagreements be resolved? Sort this out before you start. RFP processes that stall because of internal politics are frustrating for everyone, including the agencies waiting for a decision.

Research your shortlist

Do not send your RFP blindly. Research agencies before inviting them to participate. Visit their live portfolio sites. Run those sites through PageSpeed Insights. Check their own website's performance. Read their blog content. Look at their case studies. Only invite agencies that pass this initial screening. As we cover in our guide to website ownership, understanding how agencies structure their client relationships is critical before you even engage.

Pre-RFP research checklist for evaluating potential agencies — Pre-RFP research is the most overlooked step. Spending an hour evaluating each potential agency before inviting them saves weeks later.

Writing the brief

A good RFP brief is comprehensive but concise. It gives agencies everything they need to produce a meaningful proposal without drowning them in irrelevant detail.

What to include

Company overview. Who you are, what you sell, your target market, and your current revenue (at least a range). This helps agencies understand scale and context.
Project objectives. The business outcomes you expect the project to deliver.
Current state. Your current platform, pain points, what is working and what is not. Include access to your current site if it is live.
Scope of work. What the project includes. Be specific about what is in scope and what is out of scope. If you are unsure about some elements, say so and ask agencies for their recommendation.
Technical requirements. Platform preferences (e.g., Shopify), integration requirements, specific functionality needs.
Budget range. A realistic range, not a single number.
Timeline. When you need the project completed, and any fixed dates (e.g., "must be live before Black Friday").
Evaluation criteria. How you will evaluate proposals. This transparency helps agencies focus their proposal on what matters to you.
Process and timeline. When proposals are due, what the next steps are, and when you expect to make a decision.

What to leave out

Design direction. Do not prescribe design solutions. Let agencies demonstrate their approach. If you say "we want it to look like [competitor]", you will get derivative work.
Technology mandates (unless necessary). If you have a genuine reason for a technology requirement (e.g., "must be on Shopify because our team is trained on it"), include it. If not, let agencies recommend the right approach. Consider reading our guide to proprietary platforms to understand why some agencies push specific technologies.
Spec work requests. Do not ask for design mockups, wireframes, or detailed technical architectures. These require discovery work that should be paid for.

Shortlisting agencies

Three to five agencies is the right number. Here is how to build that shortlist.

Sources for finding agencies

Referrals from peers. The most reliable source. Ask other ecommerce brand owners who they use and whether they would recommend them.
Platform partner directories. The Shopify Partner Directory, for example, lists agencies with verified Shopify expertise.
Industry directories. Clutch, DesignRush, and similar directories provide reviews and verified portfolios.
Content quality. Agencies that produce thoughtful, expert content (like this blog) tend to have genuine expertise. If their blog is full of recycled, generic advice, their work may be too.

Initial screening criteria

Do they have verifiable experience with projects similar to yours?
Are their live portfolio sites performant and well-built?
Do they specialise in your platform (e.g., Shopify) or are they generalists?
Is their team the right size for your project?
Do they work with brands at your revenue level?

Evaluating proposals

Once proposals arrive, you need a structured way to evaluate them. Here is the framework we recommend.

Evaluation criteria and weighting

Criterion	Weight	What to look for
Understanding of your business	25%	Does the proposal demonstrate genuine insight into your market, challenges, and opportunities? Or is it a generic template?
Relevant experience	25%	Have they done similar work for similar brands? Can they provide verifiable case studies with measurable results?
Team and process	20%	Who will actually work on your project? What is their process? How do they handle scope changes and communication?
Value for money	20%	Is the pricing competitive for the scope proposed? Does it include everything you need, or will there be add-ons?
Cultural fit	10%	Do they communicate in a way that resonates with your team? Are their values aligned with yours?

Note that we deliberately weight "understanding of your business" and "relevant experience" higher than price. The cheapest proposal is rarely the best value. An agency that truly understands your business will deliver better results, even at a higher price point. For more on evaluating agencies, see our guide to the true cost of agency lock-in.

Agency proposal evaluation scoring matrix with weighted criteria — A weighted scoring matrix prevents subjective decision-making and ensures you evaluate proposals consistently across all criteria.

Red flags in proposals

Generic content. If the proposal could have been written for any brand, the agency did not invest time understanding yours.
No questions asked. A good agency will have questions after reading your brief. If they submitted a proposal without asking a single question, they either did not read the brief carefully or they are not thorough.
Vague timelines. "We will deliver your project in Q3" is not a timeline. Look for specific milestones with dates.
Hidden costs. If the proposal mentions "additional costs for" or "not included in this estimate", add those up. The total cost is what matters, not the headline number.
No team information. You are hiring people, not a brand name. If the proposal does not tell you who will work on your project, ask.

The pitch meeting

After evaluating written proposals, invite your top two or three agencies for a presentation or chemistry session. This is where you evaluate the people you will actually be working with.

What to assess in the meeting

Who is in the room? Are the people presenting the same people who will work on your project? If the senior partner presents and then hands you off to a junior team, that is a concern.
Do they listen or just present? Good agencies ask questions and respond to your specific situation. Bad agencies deliver a rehearsed pitch regardless of what you say.
Can they explain their process? Ask them to walk through how a typical project runs, including how they handle problems. Agencies that cannot articulate their process clearly probably do not have one.
Do they challenge you? The best agencies will respectfully push back on ideas that will not work. If an agency agrees with everything you say, they are either not experienced enough to know better or not confident enough to tell you.

Questions to ask

Who specifically will be working on our project, and what is their experience?
Can you walk us through a recent project that went well, and one that had problems?
How do you handle scope changes mid-project?
What is your approach to SEO during a build or migration?
What does post-launch support look like?
What is your average client tenure? Can we speak to a current client?
What would make you turn down a project?

Reference checks that actually work

Always check references. But do not just ask the questions the agency expects you to ask. Here is how to get genuine insight.

Ask the agency for three references

These will be their happiest clients. That is fine — start there. But also do your own research: look for brands in the agency's portfolio and reach out directly. The brands the agency did not suggest as references are often more revealing.

Questions for references

Did the project come in on time and on budget? If not, why?
How does the agency handle problems? Can you give me a specific example?
Were the people who pitched the project the same people who delivered it?
How responsive are they to requests and questions?
Would you hire them again? For the same scope, or for something different?
Is there anything you wish you had known before starting?

Reference check conversation framework for agency evaluation — The most valuable reference check questions focus on how the agency handles problems, not just whether they produced good work.

Making the decision

Once you have evaluated proposals, attended presentations, and checked references, it is time to decide. Here is how to avoid analysis paralysis.

Trust your scoring matrix

If you built a proper evaluation framework, use it. The agency with the highest weighted score should be your first choice unless there is a specific, articulable reason to override the data.

Consider the long-term relationship

You are not just hiring an agency for a project. You are (ideally) starting a partnership. Consider whether this agency is someone you want to work with for the next two to five years, not just the next three months. The best agency relationships compound in value over time as the agency builds deeper knowledge of your business.

Communicate your decision promptly

Once you have decided, tell the winning agency immediately. Then tell the unsuccessful agencies promptly and professionally. Provide brief, honest feedback on why they were not selected. This is basic professional courtesy that many brands neglect. It also maintains relationships — an agency you do not choose today might be the right fit for a future project.

Contract negotiation

The contract is where the details matter. Here are the key elements to negotiate carefully.

Ownership of work

You should own everything the agency creates for you: designs, code, content, and data. This should be stated explicitly in the contract. If the agency retains ownership, you are locked in. See our guide on why you should own your source code for more on this critical issue.

Payment terms

Standard agency payment structures include: upfront deposit (typically 30-50%), milestone payments (tied to specific deliverables), and final payment on completion. Avoid paying 100% upfront. The agency should have enough financial incentive to deliver the project to completion.

Scope change process

How will scope changes be handled? The contract should specify a process for requesting, scoping, and approving changes — including how they affect the timeline and budget. This prevents both scope creep (where the project grows without corresponding budget adjustments) and gold-plating (where the agency adds unnecessary features to increase the bill).

Termination clause

What happens if the relationship is not working? The contract should include a reasonable termination clause that allows either party to end the engagement with appropriate notice (typically 30 days). If the contract has no termination clause, or requires six months' notice, that is a red flag.

What not to do

We will end with the mistakes we see most frequently. Avoiding these will improve your RFP outcome significantly.

Do not use the RFP to get free consulting

Some brands issue RFPs with no intention of hiring — they just want free strategic advice from agencies' proposals. This is short-sighted. It burns bridges with agencies who will remember being used, and it devalues the agency community that you will eventually need to hire from.

Do not ghost agencies

If you decide not to proceed, tell the agencies. If your timeline changes, tell them. If you go with a different agency, tell the others. Professional courtesy is not optional.

Do not choose solely on price

The cheapest proposal is often the most expensive in the long run. An agency that underquotes will either cut scope, cut quality, or come back with change requests that inflate the final cost beyond what a properly scoped proposal would have cost. Our web design approach, for example, is priced to include proper discovery, testing, and optimisation — elements that cheaper quotes often exclude.

Do not skip the reference check

Proposals are marketing documents. References are reality checks. Never skip them.

Do not let the process drag on

Four to six weeks from RFP issue to decision. That is the window. Longer than that and agencies will assume you are not serious, your requirements will evolve, and the proposals you received will become stale.

The best agency relationships start with clarity, honesty, and mutual respect. A well-run RFP process sets the tone for the entire partnership. Get it right and you will save yourself years of frustration.
Andrew Simpson, Founder

Agency selection decision framework with key evaluation checkpoints — A structured RFP process with clear evaluation criteria leads to better agency selections and stronger long-term partnerships.

Running a good RFP process takes effort upfront, but it pays dividends in the quality of the agency relationship you build. The key principles are: be specific in your brief, be realistic about your budget, invite only agencies you have pre-screened, evaluate proposals objectively, and make your decision based on people and expertise, not just proposals and price.

If you are about to start an agency search and want advice on structuring the process, start a conversation with us. Even if we are not the right fit for your project, we are happy to point you in the right direction.