TorahWeb Redesign RFP
TorahWeb Redesign RFP
TorahWeb Redesign RFP
Request for
Proposal
ISSUED BY
TorahWeb Foundation
CONTACT
Judah Diament
diament@torahweb.org
Background
The TorahWeb Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, was founded in 1999
at the initiative of members of the community. Its goal is to disseminate divrei Torah and
hashkafa, with special attention to contemporary religious and social issues. TorahWeb's
board consists of Rav Hershel Schachter, Rav Michael Rosensweig, Rav Mayer Twersky,
and Rav Mordechai Willig. Neither the authors/speakers nor any other individuals
involved in TorahWeb earn any money from TorahWeb. TorahWeb is supported by
donations and income from sales of seforim it publishes.
TorahWeb has three ongoing projects:
1) Publishing a dvar Torah each week from one of a set of rabbis (see torahweb.org’s
front page for the list of authors). All past divrei Torah are available on the web site.
2) Free in-person public shiurim a few times a year given by a subset of the same
rabbis. These shiurim take place in the NY metro area. Audio and video recordings
are posted on torahweb afterwards. Audio and video from past events are available
on the web site.
3) Publishing seforim. Thus far we have published 6 volumes of Rav Hershel
Schachter’s notes from Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik’s gemara shiurim, as well as 3
volumes of English divrei Torah generated by our other two ongoing projects.
In addition, we hope in the foreseeable future to begin the posting of hundreds of audio
shiurim by Rav Mayer Twersky.
The objective of this RFP is to identify a web development company that is familiar with
the Orthodox Jewish market in America and can execute a redesign of our web site as well
as create a mobile app for TorahWeb.
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Project Description
The purpose of this project is as follows:
1. Redesign TorahWeb.org to:
a. nave a “scalable” user experience, which will maintain ease of use as the
amount of content grows
b. be mobile friendly
c. be easier for users to find what they want
d. be easier for users to share TorahWeb content with others
2. Create Android and iOS apps for TorahWeb
3. Enable users to easily discover and purchase the books we have printed
4. Both the visual design as well as technology choices should be “built to last”, i.e.
should be able to survive for approximately five years; we need longevity more than
trendiness.
Customer interactions to support:
1. For divrei Torah, audio, and video:
a. receive notification of new content, and/or the content itself, via email
b. get notification of new content and events via the app, Twitter, WhatsApp,
blog/Feedly, etc.
c. receive notifications of upcoming events/shiurim
d. keyword search on TorahWeb
e. tag, topic, and category based search
f. navigate to any content via TorahWeb UI (by author, by parsha, etc.)
g. highlight new, or other specific, content on the home page
h. tag and view favorite content
i. show a user their recent reads/listens/views
j. users share content with other users
2. For all Audio & Video:
a. Play, at variable speeds
b. save locally (web site or app)
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Project Stages
1. Proposals submitted. Proposals must include:
a. Basic initial visual design ideas/sketches for site and app
b. Description of technology to be used on clients and server
c. Project road map, including:
i. visual and technical design
ii. iteration on, and acceptance of, designs
iii. a description of stages of development, preferably using an agile
CI/CD software development approach
iv. Time to complete each step
d. Cost
e. Porting of all content from current site to new site
2. TorahWeb interaction with bidders for clarifications, etc.
3. Winning bidder selected, contract signed
4. Execution of proposed plan
5. Final delivery
Evaluation Factors
TorahWeb will rate proposals based on the following factors:
1. Responsiveness to the requirements set forth in this Request for Proposal
2. Relevant past performance/experience
3. Samples of work
4. Cost, including an assessment of total cost (time and money) of ownership
5. Technical expertise/experience of bidder and bidder’s staff
TorahWeb reserves the right to award to the bidder that presents the best value to
TorahWeb as determined solely by TorahWeb in its absolute discretion.
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