Hoffman Estates Park District (HEParks) is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to design, develop, and host a modern, mobile-first, responsive website. The selected vendor will also provide ongoing consulting services for future development needs and site maintenance.
The new website should provide a fun, engaging, and family-oriented experience. The new website will integrate seamlessly with Vermont Systems RecTrac/WebTrac API to manage registrations, memberships, facility rentals, and billing, while being optimized for performance, SEO, scalability, and ease of use by both staff and users. It should cater to a diverse audience, including Hoffman Estates residents, nonresidents from adjoining communities, job seekers, elected officials, local businesses, volunteers, and visitors.
Our current website presents challenges related to performance, user experience, and scalability during peak periods like program registration. We aim to develop a solution that improves usability, enhances the user experience, and maintains seamless integration with our backend systems.
Project Scope
2.1. Modern and Family-Oriented Design
• E-commerce-Like UX: The website should deliver a seamless and engaging user experience similar to leading e-commerce platforms with advanced search capabilities, intuitive browsing, and advanced filtering for Hoffman Estates Park District programs, events, memberships, and facilities.
• Mobile-First, Edge-to-Edge Design: The design must prioritize mobile responsiveness with edge-to-edge layouts optimized for all devices. The website should offer visually dynamic experiences across mobile, tablet, and desktop platforms.
• Simplified Top Navigation Menu: Implement a clean, user-friendly top navigation menu that allows users to quickly access key sections like programs, events, memberships, and facility rentals.
• Advanced Search and Filtering Functionality: Implement a robust, intuitive search engine with advanced filtering capabilities that enable users to filter results by categories such as programs, events, facilities, locations, and dates and provide search functionality across the main domain and subdomains (e.g., Vermont Systems RecTrac/WebTrac pages). The functionality should include administrative reporting metrics capabilities to track search queries and improve content strategy based on user behavior. For inspiration, we like Oak Park Park District.
Design Aesthetic and Branding
• High-Impact Visuals: The design must include large, high-quality, full-screen visuals, especially in the hero section and on key pages. These visuals should create an immersive and engaging experience for users. For inspiration, we like Wilmette Park District.
• Dynamic Hero Section with Video Shutoff Capability: The homepage should include a fullscreen hero section with an autoplay video, similar to Pure Michigan, which includes the ability for users to toggle between the video and a static edge-to-edge image. Prominent calls-to-action (CTAs) should drive users to key sections like program registration or event details.
• Card-Based Layout for Featured Sections: Use a card-based layout to showcase key programs, events, facility rentals, and promotions. These cards should be visually appealing and feature strong CTAs that encourage user interaction.
Interactive Parks and Facilities Map
• Searchable Parks and Facilities Map: Develop an interactive, searchable parks and facilities map (similar to the current map at HEParks Park Map). The map should allow users to filter parks by amenities, location, and facility type. It must be mobile-responsive, easy to navigate, and visually appealing, providing detailed information on park locations and features.
Integration with Vermont Systems RecTrac/WebTrac API
• Core Functionality Integration: Seamlessly integrate with Vermont Systems RecTrac/WebTrac API to manage:
- Billing and Payments: Handle transactions for program registrations, memberships, and facility rentals.
- Customer Data and Membership Management: Manage user profiles, memberships, and customer data through the API.
- Facility Rentals and Scheduling: Allow users to browse and reserve facilities with real-time availability pulled from Vermont Systems.
Known Limitations:
Final transactions (registrations, payments) must be completed on the WebTrac subdomain, requiring user redirects for the final steps.
- Vermont Systems has bandwidth limitations during peak registration periods, which can cause performance issues.
• For further details, vendors should refer to the official Vermont Systems documentation provided at the following link:
- Vermont Systems RecTrac API Documentation
SEO Optimization and Metadata Control
• SEO Capabilities: The website must be built with SEO best practices in mind, ensuring fast load times, mobile-friendly design, optimized images, and clean URL structures.
• Admin Metadata Control: Admins must have the ability to edit metadata (e.g., page titles, meta descriptions, and keywords) through an SEO management tool such as Yoast SEO or a comparable platform.
Performance and Scalability
• GTmetrix Performance: The website must be optimized to score at least a Grade B or above on GTmetrix testing.
• Load Management: Implement caching, load balancing, or other performance optimization strategies to handle high traffic during peak periods, particularly during quarterly registration events.
Content Migration
• Provide a plan for transferring the current website content (text, images, documents, and metadata) to the new platform.
• Ensure existing SEO metadata (page titles, descriptions) is preserved or improved during migration.
• Handle URL redirects from old pages to new ones, with monitoring and fixing any broken links.
Beta Testing and Rollout
• Beta Testing: Manage a beta testing phase for the new website before launch. Collect feedback, make adjustments based on testing, and fix any issues.
• Updates: Outline your plan for post-launch updates, including bug fixes or performance improvements.
Ongoing Monitoring, Maintenance, and Support
- Training: Provide a comprehensive training plan for Park District staff to manage the CMS, update content, and use site features.
• Ongoing Monitoring: Vendors must provide a plan for ongoing monitoring of the website to ensure optimal performance, including regular checks on uptime, speed, and overall site functionality. The proposal should outline how the vendor will monitor for issues such as broken links, server outages, or degraded performance over time.
• Maintenance: The vendor must provide details on regular maintenance services such as security updates, software patches, CMS updates, and performance optimization tasks. Proposals should specify the frequency of maintenance tasks and how any downtime will be communicated and minimized.
• Technical Support: Include the level of technical support that will be provided post-launch, such as response times for support requests, escalation procedures for critical issues, and how vendors will handle urgent matters like site outages. Vendors should also detail any available support packages (e.g., 24/7 support, business hours only, etc.).
• Performance Reporting: Proposals should include a strategy for delivering regular performance reports, covering key metrics such as website uptime, traffic, and user engagement. Vendors should provide details on how often these reports will be shared and what they will include (e.g., security incidents, speed optimization).
Web Page Translation Capabilities
• Google Translate or Similar: Implement a web translation tool (e.g., Google Translate) that allows non-English speaking users to easily translate the entire website into their preferred language. The feature should be easily accessible and prominently displayed to ensure inclusivity for diverse users.
Due Date: January 31, 2025
Contact: Marisa Anstey manstey@heparks.org
