Website Design, Development, and Hosting Issued In North Carolina
Submittal Requirements
Deadline for RFP response is July 15, 2022, no later than 5:00 pm (CST).
Inquiries
Inquiries regarding this Request for Proposal must be submitted via email no later than 5:00 pm (CST), June 15, 2022, and directed to:
Mary Senger
Emergency Management Director
Email: msenger@nd.gov
1. Background
Burleigh County is one of 53 counties in the State of North Dakota, located in the south-central area of the State. The 2020 US Census shows the population of Burleigh County is 98,458 with nearly 75% of the population coming from the Capital City of Bismarck (73,622).
Snapshot of Current Website (2021 Calendar Year)
• Hosted locally
• 1,023,727 Pageviews
• Users spend an average of 1 minute and 62 seconds on a page
• Mobile devices account for 57.2%
• The most visited pages are Sheriff’s Department (Detention), Property Information, Careers (Jobs), Maps (Parcel Viewer).
2. Project Description
Burleigh County completed its last revision of the current website in 2010 and is seeking a new website to enhance the user experience, simplify content management, and provide user-centric information while meeting high standards for design quality and visual appeal. Our staff should be able to easily create and manage website content under the oversight of a central administrator. The new website must be ADA compliant.
The County is seeking the assistance of an experienced company to:
• accomplish the goals and functionality identified in this RFP while having the capability to integrate additional features and functionality that may be identified in the future
• provide website hosting services in a secure data center
• provide 24/7/365 support
3. Required Features
The information below represents required functional capabilities and is not all inclusive; other functionality may be recommended or added.
• Activities: Create classes, display class schedules, limit the number of persons that can sign up per class, and email those who have registered for specific classes
• Alerts & Notifications: Display alerts prominently on website with notifications sent via email and text messaging to subscribers
• Archive Center: Store agendas, minutes, newsletters, and other documents
• ADA Compliance: Latest updates to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 applied to the design and management of the new website
• Browser Adaptability: Adaptability to key browsers (e.g., Chrome, Edge, Firefox)
• Browser Based Administration: Update, delete and create content from any device with internet access
• Calendar: Update/publish calendars for departments/categories with a main calendar to display all events
• Content Scheduling: Set dates for content to automatically publish and expire
• Department Home Pages: Ability for departments to have dedicated pages within the site that follow the same design as the other interior pages
• Directories for Staff: Ability to allow citizens to search for department staff information
• Document Center: Upload/download capability for files up to 1GB, back-end ability to search within published and unpublished documents
• E-Notifications: Electronic subscription (e.g., new content, agendas, public notice, department updates), scheduled notifications for email and SMS
• Frequently Asked Questions: Ability to categorize FAQs by department or page
• Image Center: Store images in a central location on website
• Intranet/Extranet: Restrict pages by login—not for public viewing. An internal website (or portal) for employees to view and/or download policies, forms, etc. It will serve as a website, communications channel, knowledge management tool, and collaboration platform
• Levels of Rights/Permissions: Allow system administrators to establish levels of rights for staff to update/manage/access content based on roles
• Live Edit: Add, edit, and move content directly on the front end of the site without the need to utilize or be trained in writing HTML or CSS code
• Multilingual Support: Using Google Translate or similar
• News & Announcements: Post news releases or updates dynamically to relevant pages based on category
• Online Forms: Create unlimited customizable forms, track, and export results
• Online Payments: Ability to accept secure online transactions
• Permissions: Allow system administrators to establish levels of rights for staff to update/manage/access content based upon roles
• Printable Pages: Print-friendly function
• Responsive Web Design: Fully mobile responsive design—site adjusts to the screen size of all devices its being viewed on, including forms, calendars, etc.
• Request Tracking: Citizens can submit requests with automated workflow to correct individual/department with exportable statistics and reports
• RFP/RFQ/Bid Posting: Allow for easy posting of bids to the site
• Rotating Photos/Banners: Slideshow capabilities
• RSS Feeds out: Registration by Department or Category
• Sharing Capability: Links to share content via email and social media on every page
• Site Search: Internal site search engine and log of search terms
• Site Statistics: Analytics and site audit reports
• Sitemap & Breadcrumbs: Automatically generated and updated sitemap and breadcrumbs
• Social Media Interface: Display social media feeds
• Storage: Unlimited file storage (e.g., pictures, documents)
• Third-Party Integration: Property tax payment (https://itax.tylertech.com), social media platforms, and others identified throughout migration
• Web Forms: Ability for public to complete web forms and staff receive email notifications when submitted
• Webpages: Unlimited number with ability embed media (e.g., video, YouTube) and photos
• Website Visitor Profile: Visitors can pick and choose the information that automatically becomes fed to their profile upon site login
• WYSIWYG Live Editing: Add, edit, and move content directly on the front end of the site without the need to utilize or be trained in writing HTML or CSS code
4. Optional Features
The features listed are not required by the County at this time; however, please include information and availability of future integration:
• E-Communication platform: Create unlimited subscriber lists, and communicate over multiple channels – e-mail, text, and social media from a single point of access
• Custom Mobile App: Citizen-facing mobile app
• Unique Department Home Page: Ability for departments, associated organizations to have a unique separate design and URL
• Video Center: Live streaming video capabilities
5. Format for Proposal
Burleigh County will evaluate vendor experience, qualifications, and capabilities for developing and implementing our new website. Responses should be formatted to address all items outlined below (narrative addressing underlined section, including section bullets):
Executive Summary (two page maximum)
• Overview and summary of how your company will assist Burleigh County in achieving the goals outlined in this RFP
• Any differentiators that set your solution apart from your competitors
Company Profile
• Company overview
o Legal name of company
o Brief company history, highlighting your experience working with local governments
o Length of time the company been in business
o Number of current employees
• Name, telephone number, and email address for the main point of contact during RFP process
Project Team
• Name and define the different roles in your company’s project team
• Explain how your project team will communicate with the County and keep track of the development progress
• List any specific team leaders, including
o Name and title
o Description of role
o Education and experience
One-source vendors are preferred. If utilizing subcontractors for any portion of the project including engineering, design, or support, provide key personnel and company information.
Features, Functionality, & Design
• Detail availability of all features and functionality listed in Required Features and Optional Features sections of this RFP
• Provide a short narrative outlining your company’s design process and benefits.
Implementation Plan
• Typical timeline/schedule
• Detailed explanation of all project phases including consultation, design, development, content migration, training, implementation
• Detailed explanation of County staff engagement/responsibilities in the project
Ongoing Services
• Continuing Service and Support
o Technical support services: emergency and non-emergency availability
o Availability of online training manuals and ongoing support
o Describe product release, enhancement, and upgrade process
• Customer Service: Statement of customer service guarantees
• Maintenance: Vendor shall continually work to enhance and update the systems to include, at a minimum, development, testing, backups, and regularly scheduled fixes, patches, and other enhancements
• Hosting and Security
o 99.9% uptime (outside of scheduled maintenance) guaranteed by Service Level Agreement to be supplied upon request
o Data Center: U.S. based tier II, managed network infrastructure, on-site power backup and generators, redundant network, 24/7/365 system monitoring, multiple data centers
o Hosting: Automated software updates and security patches, redundant firewall solutions, high performance SAN with N+2 reliability
o Bandwidth: Multiple network providers, minimum bandwidth of at least 22Gb/s
o Disaster Recovery: 24/7 emergency support, online status monitor, event notification emails, recovery time objective no greater than eight hours, recovery point objective no greater than 24 hours, preemptive monitoring
o Geographically redundant backups
o DDoS Mitigation
Investment Proposal
All-inclusive/lump sum pricing is required and should include:
• Development and implementation, including:
o CMS Software
o Number of pages for content migration & enhancement
o Number of days/hours of training (specify if virtual, on-site, or combination)
o If on-site, indicate if travel is included or a separate cost
o Additional included products and/or functionality
• Annual services, including:
o Hosting and security
o Maintenance
o Technical Support
• Cost for future website redesign
Fees
• Total first year cost (combined one-time fees and first year annual fees)
• Annual fees beginning year 2
Separately list any optional project enhancements you believe will benefit the County’s project.
Additional Products Offered (limited to one page)
• Give brief descriptions of other products offered by the company. Do not include marketing brochures, promotional collateral, or excessive non-relevant information.
6. Schedule
Approximate RFP schedule:
Issuance of RFP June 1, 2022
Last day to accept questions and requests for clarifications on the RFP June 15, 2022
Proposals due 5:00 pm (CST) – July 15, 2022
Vendor interviews and reference checks July/August 2022
Vendor approval, enter negotiations, execute a professional services agreement August/September 2022. Dates subject to change at the discretion of Burleigh County.
7. Submittal Requirements
The deadline for proposals is July 15, 2022, no later than 5:00 pm (CST)
Email Submittal
Submit one electronic file (.pdf) of response, no larger than 25 MB, via email to: msenger@nd.gov
Subject Line: Burleigh County Website RFP Submittal – [Vendor Name]
Unbound Hardcopy Submittal
Submit five (5) unbound, hard copies of response. Sealed proposals must be clearly marked on the outside of the envelope with the following description:
Burleigh County Website RFP Submittal – [Vendor Name]
Proposals shall be mailed to:
Mary Senger
Burleigh County Emergency Management
4200 Coleman Street
Bismarck ND 58503
Submittals not received on or before the specified deadline will not be accepted (no exceptions). Proposals submitted in response to this RFP shall be valid for 90 days from the submittal due date. Burleigh County reserves the right to request follow-up information or clarification from vendors in consideration. Vendor is responsible to ensure delivery by the specified date and time.
Burleigh County reserves the right to reject any or all submittals, to compare the relative merits of the responses, and to choose a vendor which will best serve the interests of the Burleigh County.
