Specifications include, but are not limited to:Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) is requesting proposals for comprehensive redesign of the district’s public-facing website at www.baltimorecityschools.org and staff website at www.baltimorecityschools.org/Page/1769. The project will include (but is not limited to) analysis of current web metrics and other data and information sources to inform website development; creation of information architecture to guide development of structure and navigation; “look and feel”; Content Management System (CMS) and other functionality for high-quality user experience; content migration; and testing. Goals With the redesign of the website, City Schools is looking to: Present City Schools as dynamic, relevant, high-quality, and an excellent choice for families exploring school options in Baltimore City. Build confidence in all stakeholders of the district’s ability to educate and prepare students for college and career. Present information to stakeholders in a clear, concise, and easily accessible manner. Project Scope 1) Information architecture and structure/navigation a) Collection and analysis of user data, including existing website metrics and other data sources to be proposed by the vendor (e.g., surveys, focus groups) b) Analysis of existing and to-be-developed content c) Recommendations regarding taxonomies, tagging d) Navigational structure and site map development for public-facing and staff websites, based on analysis of content and users, with the goal of improving “findability” of content e) Recommendations regarding parallel presentation of content in Spanish (publicfacing site only) 2) Design a) For public-facing and staff websites, creation of wireframes for homepage, main section pages, and “standard” webpage; for public-facing site, wireframe also for school profile pages (see below for specifics of the school profile page requirement) b) Responsive, “mobile first” design that also displays well on desktop and tablet devices c) Look and feel to be professional, attractive, contemporary, and culturally relevant d) Strong use of images and graphic elements e) Colors and other elements that can become part of City Schools’ “brand” – i.e., the websites should be envisioned as a primary marketing and promotional tool for the district, as well as a source of information for the public and staff. 3) Content Management System (CMS) a) Nonproprietary, so that maintenance and upgrading after launch can be performed by in-house staff or by other, external contractors without need of relying permanently on website development vendor b) Fully compatible with latest and emerging browsers c) Support for integration with Active Directory d) Capacity for staff website to be behind log-in for staff members, based on City Schools’ network log-in credentials e) Intuitive and easy to use for staff working as web editors, who have minimal programming or other technical expertise; WYSIWYG editing as well as ability to work in HTML f) Ability to define users with roles and permissions, including administrators, editors, and content creators, with access controlled based on role and webpages or website sections g) Distinct content creation, content review, and publishing capacity, such that no content can be published without review by someone with editor or administrator permissions h) Audit trail, showing date of content creation, editing, publishing, and revisions, with name of user performing each; version control features i) Distinct development and live environments, so that content can be reviewed by external content owners in the development environment prior to publication on the live website(s) j) Ability to create and define content types (e.g., events, announcements) and taxonomy/categories/keywords to apply to content types k) Ability to schedule publication and expiration of content
