Creation of new website

Description

Farnham Town Council's website has many users and a great deal of content. The information architecture will be key to the success of this project as we want people to find the information they came for quickly and easily, and ideally, to find something new and of interest along the way. Key objectives include: • The website experience should be improved to make it more accessible for all. • Deliver an effective self-service website for Farnham Town Council activities and to signpost users to other councils and service providers in the most useful and easy way possible. • With 70% of users accessing the website via a mobile device, the site should be designed to be mobile first. • The navigation needs to be improved with a first-class search facility on the site so that users can find information quickly and efficiently. • Allow Farnham Town Council to push its latest news and information. • The design should appeal to a wider age group and ensure it is future-proof and remains technically relevant. • By delivering a site that satisfies people's need to find information about the town, there is an opportunity to promote and encourage greater engagement in council business. • Increase website traffic to events during the first year of launch. • As easy to use content management system. • Maintain and improve SEO so the site ranks high for agreed key words. Lot 1: Farnham Town Council's website has many users and a great deal of content. The information architecture will be key to the success of this project as we want people to find the information they came for quickly and easily, and ideally, to find something new and of interest along the way. Key objectives include: • The website experience should be improved to make it more accessible for all. • Deliver an effective self-service website for Farnham Town Council activities and to signpost users to other councils and service providers in the most useful and easy way possible. • With 70% of users accessing the website via a mobile device, the site should be designed to be mobile first. • The navigation needs to be improved with a first-class search facility on the site so that users can find information quickly and efficiently. • Allow Farnham Town Council to push its latest news and information. • The design should appeal to a wider age group and ensure it is future-proof and remains technically relevant. • By delivering a site that satisfies people's need to find information about the town, there is an opportunity to promote and encourage greater engagement in council business. • Increase website traffic to events during the first year of launch. • As easy to use content management system. • Maintain and improve SEO so the site ranks high for agreed key words. Scope of work 3.1 Problems/challenges for which Farnham Town Council is seeking a solution • Content which is not being discovered / seen by the end user. • Content is 'buried' and it takes too many clicks to get to. • Out of date content - not easy to manage time sensitive content. No scheduling facility to ensure content is regularly checked. • Annual review of directory of Farnham services is very resource intensive. Need a more efficient and quicker way of requesting that organisations check their content and for the entry to be removed if there is no response. • Removal of old events and images from the Events calendar so that only the most recent appear on Google search. • Site does not automatically refresh so people do not always see the latest content. • As a one-stop shop for all things Farnham, much of the content will signpost users to third party sites. A solution is needed for ensuring this is efficient and effective. • Images do not automatically resize to fit frame. • Difficult to cross reference content without recreating pages. For example, open spaces belong under council services but should also be seen under places to visit. 3.2 Pages and features required Home page • Quick links to popular services • Latest news • Events - what's on today and coming up Council services • Detailed info about services • Online forms and applications • A to Z of services • Options for donations / payment (Mayor's charity / event tickets / sponsor / stallholders) Egovernment and transparency • Agendas, minutes and reports via modern.gov • Financial info, policies etc via modern.gov • Who's who at the council Community engagement • Events calendar with filters for different types of events • Directory of Farnham services with filters to find specific types of business or organisations such as those that support young people • Detailed consultations, surveys or informal polls to gather public opinion • Feedback button • 'Report It' facility for matters needing attention. To be linked to appropriate organisations (eg Surrey County Council for pot holes, Waverley Borough Council for refuse collection). News and updates • Regularly updated news section • Breaking news feature • Community news • Social media feed • Traffic camera feed showing East Street, South Street, West Street, Castle Steet and Longbridge. • Enewsletters and other service specific council newsletters Tourism and attractions • Information on local attractions, places to visit, parks etc • Annual events • Accommodation (business directory) • Downloadable guides and leaflets 3.3 Functional requirements • Content Management System (CMS) for easy updates • To be built for mobile first • Search functionality • Good on page SEO • Link to social media platforms • Display information stored on modern.gov • Display traffic camera feeds • Video • For each page to include a 'Last updated...' stamp which is automatically populated when the page is updated • A pop-up screen which can be turned on in an emergency • An 'other content you may be interested in' feature • A way for Farnham Town Council to push/feature content it wishes to highlight • Transfer of all existing 'friendly urls' • Any old pages should redirect to relevant new pages using 301 redirects • All functions on existing website • A backend system which provides a manageable content and media library so that images, articles and other assets can easily be found and re-used • Google Analytics 4 and a dashboard so the council can easily track and measure agreed KPIs. 3.4 Technical requirements • Ability to allocate various levels of admin rights to staff • Webmaster to be able to edit any content that is visible to the user • Hosting on a reliable, UK based server with regular backups and minimal down time should there be any problems or a cyber attack • Compliant with latest accessibility and cyber security standards • Compatibility with major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) • Compliance with GDPR and other relevant regulations • Security measures, including SSL certificate • The current domain name is to be used • A digital copy of the old website for storage at Surrey History Centre. Additional information: The evaluation process The steps include: Validation of the bid - Verify that the information requested has been supplied and the sufficiency of the tender. Shortlist the bids - a maximum of four will be invited for interview. Canvassing of councillors, officers or contractors associated with the Council will lead to disqualification of the bid. All submissions will be treated as confidential and will be viewed only by the evaluation panel. The process for submitting a bid Applicants should send one copy of their proposal to Iain McCready, Business and Facilities Manager by 12 noon on 11 November 2024. The proposal should demonstrate that you have read and understood the requirements and answered all questions. Tenders should be posted to Farnham Town Council, Town Hall, South Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7RN. Envelopes should be marked 'Website Tender. Not to be opened until 11 November'. Shortlisted suppliers will be contacted within a fortnight, with interviews likely to take place w/c 25 November. It is likely the contract will start the week commencing 6 January 2025. The successful applicant will be notified by email and telephone, and unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email thereafter. Any questions regarding this tender should be directed by email to iain.mccready@farnham.gov.uk. Any questions received will be circulated to all submitting companies to ensure fairness.