CMS migration RFP template

An editable brief for choosing a CMS migration partner, with a workbook to compare proposals and three-year costs.

DOCX 26-section RFP with content inventory, vendor questions and evaluation criteria.
PDF The complete template for reading and sharing.
XLSX Score three vendors and compare costs, with editable weights and formulas.

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Free to edit and use under your own name.

Scope questions from sections 4 and 13 of the RFP.

Migration scope
Decision	Buyer provides	Vendor must explain
Content volume	Item counts by type, language and migrate / archive / drop decision.	The expected automated and manual split, and the basis for it.
Transformation	Rich text, embedded components, media and relationships in scope.	The transformation pipeline and how references and media are preserved.
Verification	Content owners and acceptance requirements.	Who compares the migrated content, the sample size and pass threshold.
Cutover changes	The content freeze window and publishing constraints.	How changes during the build reach the new system through a delta import.

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The full response schedule also asks vendors to price content inventory and mapping separately.

Example criteria from section 24. Confirm mandatory requirements and agree weights before scoring vendors from 0 to 5.

Vendor scoring
Criterion	Weight	Evidence to request
Content migration	20%	A transformation pipeline, an automated / manual split and an operational verification step.
Redirects and search	10%	URL inventory sources, redirect ownership, monitoring and a retention commitment.
Cutover and rollback	10%	A runbook, rehearsal, rollback trigger and named decision maker.
Commercials	10%	An itemised schedule, three-year run costs and a priced change process.

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Four of nine criteria shown; the full set totals 100%. A score of 4/5 at 20% earns 16 points. Totals appear once all scores are entered.

Use one currency, tax basis and start date for all bidders. Enter implementation once, then the three annual run costs.

Three-year cost
Cost line	Include	Clarify before scoring
Implementation	Discovery, build, migration, QA, training and cutover.	Fixed price or estimate; exclusions, assumptions and contingency.
Licences and hosting	Each year’s platform, infrastructure and tooling costs.	Editors, locales, traffic, storage, API calls and environments.
Operating cost	Support and internal effort over each of the three years.	Service scope, response targets and the internal team needed.
Transition and exit	Old-platform overlap and a stated exit allowance.	Anything already included elsewhere, and costs still unknown.

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The workbook totals undiscounted costs. A blank means unknown; enter 0 only for a confirmed zero. Remove duplicate costs before comparing totals.

Full contents: 26 sections and 4 appendices

Published by WAYF. Version 1.1, September 2026.