Website Platform and CMS Services

The Vendor is required to provide website platform and CMS services for include:
1. Strategic design and information architecture
•    Mobile-first UX: implementation of a fully responsive design optimized for mobile phones and tablets.
•    Sitemap development: collaborative creation of a new site hierarchy with clear ownership designated for individual schools and departments.
•    Visual identity: a joint design process to produce approved site mockups and templates that reflect the district's branding.
•    Uniform usability: ensuring a consistent look and feel across all web-enabled devices for improved community engagement.
2. Native accessibility compliance
•    Standard conformance: the platform must natively meet WCAG 2.1 level AA standards (or the most recent version) to comply with ADA title ii and state policy.
•    No overlays: the system must achieve compliance without the use of automated "accessibility overlay" widgets or toolbars.
•    Documentation: submission of an accessibility conformance report (ACR) based on VPAT® 2.4 or higher.
•    Editor tools: built-in tools for staff to ensure compliance, such as mandatory alt-text prompts and color contrast checkers.
3. Integrated district calendar system
•    Integrated master calendar: implementation of a district-wide website calendar that natively syncs with and displays events from existing google calendar feeds via ICAL.
•    Granular filtering: ability for users to filter events by school or specific types (e.g., athletics, school committee).
•    External syncing: automated syncing with existing public google ICAL feeds for departments and schools.
•    Personal sync: functionality for community members to sync district events to personal google or outlook calendars.
4. Back-end content management (CMS)
•    WYSIWYG editor: a user-friendly "what you see is what you get" editor for non-technical staff like teachers and secretaries.
•    Role-based permissions: granular user groups (teacher, principal, Admin) with restricted editing access to specific pages.
•    Scheduling and revision: ability to schedule posts to appear or disappear on set dates and a full history log of all changes by user and date.
•    Sandboxing: a duplicate environment for testing new layouts and features before they go live.
5. Advanced search and directory
•    Cross-site search: a keyword-based engine that indexes both the CMS and external district sites, such as google sites, food services, and employment listings.
•    Centralized staff directory: an easily updated directory filterable by school, title, and department.
•    Data integration: automated directory updates via csv upload or integration with PowerSchool or google workspace.
•    Email privacy: methods for visitors to contact staff without exposing clear-text email addresses.
6. Technical integrations and SEO
•    Core systems: seamless integration with PowerSchool, parent square, and google workspace.
•    Social media: direct feeds from district Facebook and Instagram accounts.
•    SEO automation: automatic sitemap updates for major search engines and standard open graph (OG) tags for social sharing.
•    Language translation: translation integration for at least 200 languages (e.g., google translate).
7. Managed hosting and security
•    Environment: a secure managed hosting environment with a documented uptime guarantee.
•    Security protocols: description of proactive security practices, including network monitoring and intrusion detection.
•    Broken link management: integrated or add-on tools to automatically detect and report broken links across the platform.
8. Content migration services
•    Inventory and audit: a comprehensive review of the current site to determine which assets to migrate, rewrite, or discard.
•    Automated migration: execution of a plan to move high-priority content into the new CMS during development.
9. Training and ongoing support
•    Tiered training: customized programs for different user levels, from basic editors to advanced it administrators.
•    Service level agreement (SLA): a clear definition of technical support costs, help desk availability, and guaranteed response times.
•    Knowledge base: ongoing access to a documentation knowledge base post-launch.