Website RFP Issued By Ontario Council for International Cooperation
OCIC is looking for a website design/development firm or organization to help migrate our current WordPress site to a new WP theme that could maintain most of the look and feel and functionality of the current site. On the new site, the designer/developer will help redesign and improve parts of the website, specifically the Membership Renewal setup, What We Do page redesign, and Event Board improvement. The designer/developer will work alongside OCIC to ensure that the new theme and design are accessible, user-friendly and mobile-friendly. Your contribution will help OCIC to provide better services, communications, opportunities and resources to organizations, institutions and individuals working towards sustainable development in communities worldwide. The project should be completed by no later than December 15, 2020, in order to soft launch in January 2021. The project budget is $6,000 CAD, inclusive of HST, excluding costs associated with the purchasing of an existing theme, plugin(s) or software licensing, if applicable.
Background:
The Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) is an expanding community of Ontario-based international cooperation and global citizenship-focused organizations, institutions, and individual associate members committed to working for global social justice, human dignity and participation for all. As a Council, OCIC supports our members and the development of the Ontario international cooperation and global education sectors by sharing resources and providing capacity building, networking, and public engagement opportunities for collective reflection and action towards sustainable development.
Current Challenges
OCIC’s current WordPress site uses a child theme of TheLeader, which is no longer updated. Besides security concerns, this has caused ongoing clashes between the website’s theme and several plugin updates. The Final Tiles Gallery plugin, for example, has stopped functioning and resulted in the failure to update some key website pages, such as the What We Do page, which usually showcases our latest programs, activities and resources. The WordPress updates also cause JavaScript errors that fail to redirect users to payment pages when they renew or apply for membership.
Scope of Work:
The ultimate goal for this project is to improve both the front and backend of the website to provide better user experience and services to our members and audiences. At the same time, we are putting emphasis on website accessibility, in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and WCAG 2.0.
Key objectives include:
● to maintain most of the current clean look and feel of the OCIC website
● to resolves errors and glitches caused by the current theme and WP update clash
● to streamline our membership data collection and the annual membership renewal processes
● to improve the What We Do page to provide better user experience and to help our members and new users locate resources, programs and opportunities available
● to improve the user experience for the site’s Event Board
● to incorporate accessibility design and functions to the website to better comply with the AODA and WCAG 2.0 AA standards The firm or organization is expected to work with OCIC:
● to determine and select a new WordPress theme
● to lead a secure website backup process and set up a staging site
● to complete plugin updates on the testing site, and provide any technical support during the project timeline
● to understand OCIC’s operational needs and improve the membership database functionalities on Formidable Forms, including report generation, tagging, automated renewal process, etc.
● to propose and implement a redesign for the What We Do page
● to materialize aspects of a UX design prototype prepared previously for OCIC for our Event Board (including event listing page and posting page)
● to incorporate recommendations and considerations for web accessibility, including conducting user testing with users with accessibility needs
● to conduct user testing on the testing site, with support from OCIC
● to provide guidance around web maintenance and sufficient documentation specifying how to create new content, upgrade program modules, troubleshooting tips, and admin functions
● to provide technical support at a co-determined level of minimum frequency after the project, for up to two years
The overall process will be discussed and designed by the firm or organization in consultation with the OCIC Communications Specialist, Director of Operations, and Executive Director. In consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic, meetings and activities will take place on Zoom.
Proposal Requirements
The ideal candidate(s) will showcase in your proposal a work plan for theme selection (or customization) and migration. You will also demonstrate strong knowledge of and experience in website backup, user experience testing, and accessibility compliance (AODA, WCAG 2.0).
We encourage you to include:
● an introduction to you/your company and key differentiator(s)
● a brief overview and/or examples of your recent web design/development projects (experience working with nonprofits and charities is a plus)
● explanation of proposed methods to select and migrate to a new WP theme
● explanation of proposed methods to improve OCIC’s current What We Do page
● proof of proficiency and knowledge of Formidable Forms, if applicable
● an outline of website user experience/accessibility improvement ideas based on observations of OCIC’s current site
Due Date:
September 9, 2020
Address:
Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC) 192 Spadina Ave, Suite 424 Toronto, ON (M5T 2W7) Contact: Elisa Chang, Communications Specialist (elisa@ocic.on.ca)
Agencies to consider include Hunter PR and Magrino PR.
