Our primary objective is to continue to build brand identity, awareness and interest in our local and statewide services. We want to provide a platform for staff from N.C. CCR&R organizations across the state to use for gaining knowledge and sharing information critical to the CCR&R system and the services provided.
The new website is expected to consist of a main CCR&R statewide site for the public with separate pages as required to incorporate all current website content and all of the services offered within the statewide system. The architecture that is the basis for the immediate upgrade must be able to handle three levels of “membership” with information only available to a) Council management, b) lead CCR&R agencies, and c) local CCR&R agencies across the state. It must also be able to handle increased content and additional features through the use of content management system (CMS) templates and add-on components/plug-ins.
To be effective, the new website must be:
- Easy and intuitive for users
- Fresh, modern and visually pleasing
- Mobile-friendly
- Informative, comprehensive, consistent
- Safe and secure
- Easy to maintain and update
Background:
The N.C. Child Care Resource & Referral Council (Council) (Organization) is seeking proposals from a firm or individual designer/developer (Vendor) to redevelop our current website (www.childcarerrnc.org) to enhance its overall online presence and performance. The website design and function should reflect our position as a statewide network working to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for all families in North Carolina by supporting lead and local child care resource & referral (CCR&R) agencies across the state.
The existing Council website is more than a decade old and is maintained at Child Care Services Association (CCSA) with in-house resources. The immediate goal of this project is to redesign the current website’s content into a format that will be easily navigated and updated, contains downloadable documents, offers two to three levels of membership/access and will position the website for further growth and development in the future.
Scope of Work:
The Vendor must deliver a new fully operational website based on the following scope of work.
- Develop a project plan for the entire scope of work with input from a Council/CCSA Website Committee.
- DESIGN – Redesign of Council’s website (childcarerrnc.org) to include at a minimum:
- Unique, custom website
- Consistent look and feel for the website, including color schemes and graphic elements to unify the website based on collaboration with the Committee about its branding.
- Provide three (3) different design prototypes of a new home page for the Committee to consider. Then to ensure agreement on the design concept, the Vendor will design a minimum of five (5) pages as determined by the Committee, based on the selected prototype. CCSA on behalf of the Council will sign-off on the design before the Vendor proceeds with the development of the new website.
- Vendor will propose a navigational layout for the entire website. The Organization will sign-off on the design navigation before the vendor proceeds.
- Design must conform to a look and feel that works with mobile and tablet browsers using responsive website design (RWD). This is to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning and scrolling—across a wide range of devices.
- Website architecture design, including recommendation for use of open source software, web templates and plug-ins.
- Website should hook into Google Analytics and use Google Webmaster Tools.
- Website that meets ADA/508 standards compliance.
- Website must display correctly in all major browsers, minimally including Edge, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
- DEVELOPMENT/IMPLEMENTATION of the new website using the proposed Content Management System (CMS)
- The proposed CMS must be open-source and released under a free software license.
- Develop the website based on the agreed/signed-off design.
- Develop the website and CMS templates to allow staff to easily update and maintain all website content and documents.
- Work with designated staff to incorporate CMS permissions and content approval processes.
- Complete all other work necessary to develop and fully test the website.
- Ensure that the website is fully operational, without problems or broken links. CCSA on behalf of the Council will signoff when completed.
Due Date: 12:00 Noon EST, Wednesday, August 2, 2021.
Address:
Kara Shultz, Development Manager
Child Care Services Association
PO Box 901, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Relevant agencies to consider for this assignment include Hunter PR and Ketchum PR.