We are putting out a tender for a start-up, niche online dating site. The brief is attached. Please let us know if this looks interesting and you would like to submit a response. Additional supporting documents can be provided on request, as per the brief.
Brief for provision of web solutions for a niche dating website (start up) Please email an acknowledgement of receipt and intent to submit. Additional supplement documents to accompany this brief can be sent on request. Final submissions should be emailed
Introduction
1. Start up niche dating website (“business”, “site”) seeking web solutions provider – web
design, logo design, site creation, hosting and ongoing maintenance with server facilities.
Founding team (“us”, “we”) is looking for a solutions provider (“provider”) with experience
of having worked on a dating site previously or with demonstrable understanding of the
requirements of a dating website. We are seeking a creative and responsive team who can
appreciate the unique vision for the proposed site and deliver a solution that addresses the
particular needs of the business.
2. About the proposed website
a. Online dating website will target a particular sub-set of Indians who are resident in
India and globally dispersed, non-resident Indians. The sub-set refers to the
English speaking (generally thought of as the Facebook and Linked-In using
Indians) high-income, highly educated Indians above the age of 20 years. The
website must also appeal to the parents of this target group through its appearance
and ease of use.
b. Current market is dominated by a number of very similar looking Indian dating
services and sites. It is important to note the common characteristics of these websites that the proposed site is strictly aiming to avoid. The aim of these services is to provide “matrimonial” matches and they are very formal, cluttered and unprofessional in
appearance. They aim for the lower income, less educated, domestically resident
Indians mainly.
c. The targeted group currently do not have any online dating website to access.
Their avenue for finding partners is to post advertisements in Indian daily broadsheets or use in-person, high-end services that charge above $200 per person up to even $500.
d. The USP: Creating a professional and fun-to-use online interface that will appeal
to customers of the high end in-person service by addressing the gap: connecting individuals online and replacing the in person service that is used. The key is to create a site that has the right look to attract the targeted demographic. Affluent English speaking Indians will find the site appealing as they have a higher rate of finding Indians of a similar background rather than on other sites where the number of members is larger but they are not of the right type.
e. Loosely speaking, the proposed site should be: simple, elegant, and subtle in appearing “Indian”. Photographs of members should be clearly displayed, as this will be the key asset that indicates to the targeted group that this is where their kind of crowd can be found. The site should avoid the feeling of overcrowding that many dating websites exude. It should avoid appearing “precious” as many “exclusive dating” sites do. The site should appear “fun”.
f. Initially the regions from where traffic is expected will be UK, US and India. Aim will be to grow user base across other countries such as Australia, Singapore, Hong-Kong, South Africa, etc where there is a large Indian population.
3. The site is also intended to be an anti-dote to the current dating sites targeting Indians. It also aims to appeal to those who hitherto are not comfortable with online dating. It aims to do so by not disclosing a member’s identity, by providing additional privacy settings so that members can restrict who sees their photographs i.e. bookmarked profiles only or paying members with profiles only, etc. The real identity of any Member is only revealed by their explicit approval and is only revealed to a particular Member who may have requested additional information to contact them in person.
4. The proposed site has to appreciate the practices and traditions preferred by affluent
Indians when seeking out suitable matches but also deviate from the norm by delivering a
professional, simpler and more effective platform. Specifically, it must appeal to the
parents of eligible members as well as the members themselves. The registration process
should also allow for a parent/sibling/family member to sign up on behalf of the intended
single member.
5. The minimum value proposition that the site intended to launch with is explained in the
schematic in Appendix A.
6. A mock-up of the website to indicate appearance and content has been drafted and is can be provided on request. Please note that this is for guidance only and is not binding.
7. The domains have already been registered by the founders through
8. We reserve the right to not accept the cheapest quote.
Functions, format and content
9. The site is intended to be an anti-dote to the current dating sites targeting Indians. It also aims to appeal to those who hitherto are not comfortable with online dating.
10. Information provided on the profiles will be different to existing sites by focusing on
personality along with basic factual information. It will also encourage communication by
providing “ice-breakers” to especially assist those who have not yet been online. Profile
structure can be shared on request.
11. At launch the main content will be the profiles of the initial members including multiple photographs per member (max of 5) and descriptive text
12. Users are of 3 types:
a. Visitors; browsing through pictures, using basic search to find profiles and access
profiles where member preference allowing general browsing access i.e imited pool
of profiles will be available to “visitors”
b. Registrants; account info set up with name and contact details entered. This will
allow them to bookmark interesting profiles. To make contact or request
additional information from another member, a “Registrant” will have to
complete the profile and pay subscription. Advanced search options are only
available on completion of a profile (even if not paid subscription).
c. Members; fully paid and with profile. They can access all tools such as contacting
other members, requesting more photographs etc.
13. The site must include advanced search facilities by specific categories (based on profile
sections)
14. When a User sees a profile that they like, they have the option to contact the person
through a set text message delivered via email and also flagged on the online account of the Member. The content of this message will be set text and the response will be either
“accept” or “decline”. Accept will lead to the targeted member’s contact details being sent
to the member who made the request. A “decline” will lead to a commiseration email
based on set text.
15. Form to be filled by new members to set up their profile and upload photographs
16. Ability to accept online payment via credit cards, paypal, etc
17. To be discussed – option to log in via other log in accounts such as Gmail, FB, etc
18. Blog page including twitter feeds
a. Should be easily updated by founders of the business
19. Members should be able to contact the management team of the site (us) for queries on
their account. Any technical issues relating to the website will need to the resolved by the
provider.
20. At launch the site will aim to have 5 new members sign up to subscribe on a daily basis. In time the aim will be to increase this rate significantly.
21. Phased development
a. Pre-Launch
i. Holding page with sign up link for early-bird registrations and free Membership will be offered in this pre-launch stage before the full website goes live.
b. Launch/Phase I
i. At least 50 profiles at launch including up to 5 photographs each and text
ii. Customisable privacy options for each user to restrict photograph being views by everyone, members only, bookmarked profiles or on request
iii. Quick search based on age range (from, to), location, gender
iv. Advanced search based on additional categories included in the profile
v. Function to bookmark profiles
vi. Send request to other members with set text to request either view photographs and / or request contact details.
vii. System-wide messages posted to member account page and sent as email
viii. Automatic, or selectively, new profile notification sent to members
c. Phase II
i. Online messaging system between users on the system
ii. Saved searches
iii. Automatic generation of matches based on common categories from the profile
iv. Building database entry with names of universities, cities and countries that users select from a drop down menu when creating profile
v. Targeting advertising of third party, related products and services
Budget
22. The project does not have a fixed budget as we wish to seek the most effective and creative solution for implementation
Submission should include
23. First draft of pre-launch holding site and website
24. Cost
a. Outline of what services will have to be provided for initial set up of site and ongoing support – design, coding, infrastructure, updates
b. Total cost and break down by each service proposed
c. Including total fee for
i. All design
ii. Any images to be purchased
iii. Build costs
iv. Ongoing maintenance and development
v. Website analytics
vi. Inclusion of ad word or other targeted marketing
vii. Mobile friendly site (especially for UK, US and India to begin with)
viii. SEO
ix. Web analytics
d. Please explain costing method and if there is an hourly rate
e. Projection of expected cost relating to growth of business including
i. Cost of server space depending on growth of membership base and traffic
ii. Corrections to website based on agreed template on launch
iii. Changes to website post launch
iv. Upgrades and major changes
i. Changes to appearances
ii. Provision of additional services such as twitter feeds from the management
team displayed on the site
25. Please indicate any previous experience with start-ups businesses and the longevity of your involvement with them, including any reasons for the termination of the relationship.
26. Expected timeline for:
a. Initial draft of website
b. Beta version online for user testing
c. Responsiveness towards queries or ongoing developments of site post launch
27. Working practice
a. Please explain how the interaction will work post appointment – will there be a
dedicated team/individual working on this site at launch and ongoing?
b. Guidelines on number of interactions and reviews of initial site – will this be in
person/phone/skype?
c. Please confirm whether all aspects of this solution will be handled in-house by the
provider or will some aspects be outsourced
28. Supporting information: Relevant examples of previous work
29. Two client references with contact details
30. Please state any assumptions or pre-requisites such as
a. Client ability to the host account/CMS
b. Who’s responsible for security updates or updates to the hosting software etc.
c. Which browser is being used as the base case
d. Assumed screen resolution
e. Reliance on plug-in such as Flash
General Guidance
Submissions from all providers will be compared on the basis on competency, creativity and responsiveness. The aim is to engage with a provider to establish a long-term partnership. The founders are also open to discussing options in the contract to share potential future success of the venture with the provider. In general, we encourage the agency to provide comment and ideas on what may be effective to the site. Additional supporting documents available on request:
a. Draft website sketch – only to be used as a rough guideline, not binding.
b. Profile outline
Sites we like
a. website 1
b. website 2
Competition / Sites we don’t like:
a. website 3
b. website 4
Appendix A
Site visitor path