Website Redevelopment Services

The Vendor is required to provide for the complete redesign and redevelopment of the state university website using a modern, scalable, and accessible content management system (CMS).
- Redesign and develop the official university website to improve usability, accessibility, content management, and overall user experience.
- The new website will serve as the primary digital gateway for prospective and current students, faculty, alumni, and stakeholders.
- improve user experience (UX) by enhancing usability and navigation, and by providing accessibility in compliance with WCAG 2.1 level AA, with a goal of eventually attaining 2.2 compliance.
- Ongoing compliance must be assured throughout the life of the website.
- Streamline content management through a user-friendly design that enhances content management capabilities for university staff and faculty.
- Implement a modern, responsive, mobile-friendly, and visually appealing design.
- Optimize website speed, security, scalability, and SEO performance of the website.
- Ensure scalability for future enhancements.
- Integrate third-party systems (e.g., student portal, LMS, CRM, and payment gateways).
- Provide training and documentation for administrators and content creators.
- Discovery, research, and planning
• Conduct stakeholder interviews and workshops.
• Perform content audit and information architecture review of existing website, identifying strengths and weaknesses.
• Identify technical requirements and integration needs (e.g., student portals, authentication, and third-party systems).
• Benchmark competitor university websites for best practices.
• Define user personas and key user journeys.
- Design and development
• Develop wireframes and interactive high-fidelity prototypes for approval.
• Create a modern, university-branded design aligned with accessibility best practices and develop a visual style guide consistent with the university’s branding.
• Design a homepage and internal templates for key sections (admissions, academics, research, alumni, etc.)
• Implement a CMS (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, modern campus CMS, or another recommended solution).
• Develop reusable templates and components for content management.
• Ensure ADA compliance, mobile responsiveness, and cross-browser compatibility.
- Content strategy & migration
• Develop a new information architecture (IA) and the site navigation structure.
• Audit and clean existing content for relevance and structure while optimizing readability and engagement.
• Implement a standardized content template system for ease of updates.
• Provide content editing tools and training for university staff.
• Migrate content from the existing system to the new CMS.
• Optimize multimedia and images for performance and accessibility.
- Development & CMS integration
• Develop the website using a modern technology stack (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, or a custom CMS).
• Implement key features:
○ Online application and admissions portal integration
○ Event calendar and news blog
○ Faculty and department directories
○ Secure login for student and faculty portals
○ Search engine with filtering capabilities
○ Social media and multimedia integration
• Ensure multi-device compatibility (desktop, tablet, mobile).
- Testing and quality assurance
• Conduct cross-browser and cross-device testing
• Perform security audits and vulnerability testing.
• Perform usability testing with key user groups.
• Conduct accessibility testing to meet WCAG 2.1 level AA compliance and assure ongoing compliance; the goal is to eventually attain 2.2 compliance.
• Execute functional and performance testing.
• Conduct usability testing with key stakeholders.
• Optimize website performance and page load speed.
• Fix any identify bugs and optimize site performance.
- Deployment & launch
• Deploy the website to a staging environment for final review.
• Develop a launch strategy and timeline.
• Conduct a final round of testing before go-live.
• Migrate the website to the live environment.
• Monitor post-launch performance and resolve any issues.
- Contract Period/Term: 5 years