Roural Councils Victoria Website Madelyn Jarvis Monday 15th September2014

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1 Project Project Coordinator Date of issue Roural Councils Victoria Website Madelyn Jarvis Monday 15th September2014 It is our understanding that Rural Councils Victoria is seeking indicative fee submissions for the redevelopment of a new website. The aims of the project are to:» To make the site user friendly and easy to navigate» To encourage more members to use and recommend the site» To attract more traffic into the site and encourage longer visits» To ensure that all information and tools on the site are up to date» To have greater visual impact and legibility on entering the site» To ensure the prominence of key RCV messaging and information» An ongoing portal providing access to information and resources targeted to rural councils RCV Tomorrow (RFQ 2013/2) RCV Procurement 2 of 5» To provide suitable options for ongoing website maintenance» To incorporate space for future sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Project requirements: Design and programming of a website with an easy-to-use content management system for Rural Councils Victoria to upload, maintain and edit content. The website will need to work across the following devices:» Desktop and tablet screens (960px)» Mobile devices (480px) We understand that the look and feel of the website will be in keeping with Rural Councils Victoria s brand guidelines. Orasy would use the City of Melbourne websites as benchmark for reference. Target audience: The target audience for the Rural Councils Victoria Website can be broadly broken into two groups: Membership Councils and Key Stakeholders The website is a key location where RCV stores its completed project tools and templates, research, final project reports, and event information. ABN

2 Website structure: Orasy builds all websites using a series of templates, which ensure content can be presented in the most appropriate way, while still maintaining a manageable and cost effective approach. We anticipate that the Rural Councils website would require the following unique design templates: Home Page Template We usually develop a unique template for the home page. This could incorporate an introduction to the project and a portal into the various sections of the site. The home page could include a rotating carousel to showcase feature messages; a drop down menu system to allow users to jump straight to content 2-3 levels deep; a series of promo panels leading users into the four top-tier projects and a social media feed etc. Landing / Portal Page Template This template is often used for top-level ( parent ) pages which have other pages sitting underneath them ( children pages). This type of template often provides users with an overview of the content which sits underneath. A good example of this might be if the user selects Resources, it would take them to a Resources landing page, from where they could select from a list of categories, and from there down to the individual Resource page. General Content Template This page template is usually reasonably generic as it provides you with a framework to use for a range of different pages throughout the site. Single Templates for Resources, Recent Projects, Media Releases We would recommend creating a custom template so that all resources can follow the same layout. Some will have considerably more information than others, but it would be good for them to follow the same style. These templates would include the ability to house video content (streaming from YouTube); images; infographics; and downloadable PDF case studies. We would also recommending housing much of the information as live text on the website so that it is easily searchable and more accessible. These template could use accordion sections as a way to easily categorise content and not overwhelm the general public with too much technical information. A good example of accordion content can be seen on the Young and Well CRC website, where more detailed research project information is housed within drop-down areas: Committee Template Provide a custom grid of all committe members with easy to upload and format control from the admin template using custom fields, currently this is difficult to manage on the live site. Please refer to the indicative site map overleaf for an indication of which pages would fall under each template design.

3 Website Platform: Orasy proposes building the website using a fully customised Wordpress CMS. As the world s largest open source CMS it provides the depth, versatility and functionality necessary to deliver a product which is engaging for audiences, while also easy to manage for administrators. Site Architecture / Wireframes: Current content and proposed content will be reviewed and restructured to provide the user a more logical path of navigation. Word Press feature images will be intruduced to create a more visual interactive experience. A site map and wireframes will be developed for approval before moving to design. Design Direction: Main menu navigation will be moved to the top header area allowing template structure to span full width and provide improved realestate for content layout. Home page can incorporate a carousel with descriptive labels to help guide visitors to main content areas. Include feature thumbnail images to represent pages and posts in portal templates to help improve visual presence. Current site pages tend to be very text heavy, making it difficult to follow and find information. Incorporate banner space for future sponsorship and advertising. Footer will house a subscribe to our newsletter field.

4 Functionality: We understand that Rural Councils Victoria is looking to integrate the following functionality across the site: 01 Search Function A basic search function would include the programming of keyword-based search, allowing users to type a word into a search field. This will return a list of search results in a custom page layout. Search will look at meta keywords, page descriptions, and body copy to return results. 02 Social Media Provide a Twitter or Facebook feed along with share buttons to help promote the website. 03 Responsive layout» Desktop screens (980px)» Touch-screen kiosk screens (fixed width, size TBC). Note that external links will need to be disabled for the kiosk version.» Mobile devices (480px) 04 RCV Members Forum (Secure Login Area) Install and configure bbpress to providing the ability to open discussion forums within Word Press Executive Committee (Secure Login Area) Password protect certain pages. 06 Online Feedback Form Provide the ability for visitors to provide user experience feedback via an online form. 07 Permission Based Site Administration Word Press allows for the setup of various role based accounts. Required roles TBC.

5 Functionality (continued): 08 Webinars For the ability to run webinars we suggest using an existing reputable service such as GoToWebinar or Webinar Ignition: A suitable account will need to be setup for the number of attendees. Orasy can integrate either option with Word Press. 09 Mailchimp / Campaign Monitor Feed We suggest integrating the subscription form in the footer with a newsletter management service such as Mailchimp. Orasy can design and integrate a template for a scheduled newsletter to be sent to a managed list/s, inviting subscribers to visit the website as new information becomes available. 10 Search Engine Optimisation Setup and Training for Pages and Posts For improving website ranking and managing keywords and meta descriptions, we find Yoast SEO to be an invaluable tool. Yoast simplifies the process by including a specialised SEO module on all pages and posts withing WP. The user can set the focus keywords for the page and visually track the information has been entered in all of the recommended locations to provide the page with a highly improved chance of being well indexed. 11 Google Analytics Setup Google Analytics account and add tracking script to all pages of the site. This will provide visitor data and various other statistics.

6 Functionality (continued): 12 ithemes Security Most WordPress attacks are a result of plugin vulnerabilities, weak passwords, and obsolete software. ithemes Security is a plugin that hides the places those vulnerabilities live, keeping others from learning too much about your site and keeping them away from sensitive areas like login, admin, etc. Orasy activates the main features of this plugin and configures it to secure the site. We won t activate all options as they can cause issues accessing the site for the end user/admin. 13 XML Site Map Generator Development of an XML Site Map Generator. This means that WordPress will generate a site map and send this to Google on a daily basis this assists with search engine indexing and discoverability. CMS Training and User Guide: While Wordpress is a very intuitive and easy-to-use CMS with considerable online support available, Orasy provides on-site training for 2-4 staff which enables the website admin team to familiarise themselves with the CMS and prepare to upload content across the site. Training will cover all aspects of site maintenance, including:» Adding / Editing text and images» Page management, including new page generation» Template set-up and customised fields» Adding and removing menu items» Formatting and styling text» Switching content online and offline» Adding videos and Webinars Accessibility: We understand that the Rural Councils Victoria needs to meet the same accessibility standards at the Victorian State Government. With this in mind, time would be allocated to creating text scaling functionality, ensuring adequate contrast levels and ensuring content is live and searchable.

7 Content upload: Orasy will be responsible for migration of certain pages from the current site as well as the additional content which will be provided by the RCV project manager. Test: Orasy will test the website for display and performance across multiple platforms/devices and browsers to ensure the site is ready for production. Conflict of interest: There are no conflicts of interest in Orasy working on this project, we have been involved in making certain updates to the site for several years and feel we have a strong understanding of the direction required to bring the RCV site to today s standards and provide the web authors the controls and flexibility currently lacking with the current site. Please advise if you require any other additional items to be scoped out as part of this project. References: Orasy has been developing and maintainig websites for over 10 years. We pride ourselves on delivering a highly customised and manageable Word Press website by making sure content is easy to author through the use of extensive custom fields. Where possible, we setup all CSS / Styling so the end user requires very little formatting knowledge to ensure the site remains professionally formatted. Recent projects include: Referees: Laura Cornhill Studio Binocular Ph: laura@studiobinocular.com Jonathan Wallace Alter Ph: jonathan@alter.com.au

8 Sample Site Map & Template use HOME Please note, current site map will most likely change after site review and additional content is introduced. Current proposal consists of 7 unique templates. About Current Projects Resources Media Contact Us GD2B Vision 1 Fleet Management Toolkit Media Releases Chair 2 Economic Development Guidelines Committee Executive Committee 3 Rural Recruitment & Retention Pilot Project Membership 4 Managing Small Lots - Tool Kit Governance 5 Expo & Open Day - Tool Kits Templates: Home Page Portal / Landing Page RCV Program Current Projects / Single Page Resources / Single Page General Content Page Media Releases Comittee Template