Request for Proposal www.sachamber.org & www.conocesanantonio.com Website Redesign September 10, 2014
Introduction The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce has initiated a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to identify a business qualified to plan, execute and redesign the Chamber s English and Spanish websites ( [ http://www.sachamber.org, and http://www.conocesanantonio.com ]). The San Antonio Chamber requires a business that has demonstrated experience in managing website projects and expertise with best practices regarding successful website design, development and deployment. The organization that is selected must also be a member in good standing with the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. About the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce The San Antonio Chamber has served businesses in San Antonio since 1894. Our goal is to build a stronger community by propelling business success for San Antonio and our region. We accomplish this through services and programs focused on business advocacy, economic development, workforce development, business networking events and direct services to our members. The Chamber is a private, 501(c)6 non-profit organization and we currently have just under 1,800 member companies. The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce serves businesses around the world; however a majority of our members are located in Bexar County. Project Background The current website design is seven years old, and the functionality and interactivity the site provides is limited. Analytics from the site show that visits to the site have consistently declined over the past 3 years, levelling out at approximately 14,000 unique visitors a month. The Content Management System (CMS) utilized is a proprietary product of our database company, Weblink International. At the time of the design, the technology was young and since then it has not been upgraded in any significant way. We do not see that continuation of this system is a preferred option. Instead, we can set up an API (or multiple) with the company to pull the necessary information from the database for functionality purposes. The Chamber has recently completed significant branding updates, which is the catalyst of the redesign of the website. Customer needs for personalized interactivity, delivery of online services and products, and a mobile friendly design is also a primary concern for the Chamber as we look at this project. Project Goals Launch of customizable interactive areas for groups within the Chamber such as committees and task forces Integration of social media channels within the site that doesn t require going to the outside page Full scalability for use with mobile devices
Award winning design At least a 20% increase in site visits per month Generate at least $20k in revenue in the first year Improvement of the bounce rate by at least 10% Servers/Hosting The Chamber does not have an onsite website server. The proposals must include recommendations on how the website would be hosted and potential hosting services (at least two options with pros and cons comparisons would be preferred). The proposals should include costs of the hosting service, and any add on costs that are recommended. The recommendation should include a background, history and security benefits of the provider. The hosting service must be well established and follow industry leading security and customer service. If preferred, the Chamber can also bid this out separately, if your company prefers this strategy. Style Guidelines The design style sheets on the site will follow the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Style Guide developed in 2014. All colors, fonts, graphics will fall within these guidelines to maintain the integrity of the brand and the look and feel that we have developed for all our messaging. While both the English and Spanish language pages will use the same branding look and feel, the Spanish site will tie to the English site for most services (member directory, events, committees and task forces, relocation, visitors, military, etc). All pages will not be translated, and only critical resources will have to be on the Spanish site. Photography needed for the site should come from Chamber resources and will not require a photographer unless absolutely necessary. The Chamber has a robust stock photo catalog which can be utilized for the project. To see a sample of the photos from events, visit the home page and select Photo Gallery from the left hand column. Chamber Input and Staff Assignments Because the flow of the content and design will have to follow our standards, and the Chamber will be updating future content and designing some of the pages, our team must be a central part of the process, decision making and implementation. The Chamber s staff including Brynn Ray, Graphic Specialist and Christine Rodriguez, E-Communications Specialist must be included in all planning meetings, including creative brainstorming, content planning, etc. They will adjust their work schedules to be on the team developing the site, and meeting with your team(s) regularly. They will also be working with the partner to design and implement the website.
Becky Bridges Dinnin, Vice President for Image and Communications will serve as the project manager and will be the primary contact for our partners. Content and Target Audiences The content on the site will be written from the view of critical audiences that use the website as a business resource. 1) Chamber members 2) Nonmember business leaders and employees in San Antonio and south Texas 3) Military 4) Media 5) Elected officials 6) Tourists coming to San Antonio 7) Relocation site selectors 8) Newcomers moving to San Antonio 9) Spanish speaking business leaders 10) Misc. interested parties in news and information about the San Antonio and South Texas. The content architecture will be structured around user types in mind. Content must include a site search on every page and complete site map. Content should be scalable and automatically adjust to browsers of the user. Content must be tested and easily viewed on every widely used/known browser. Membership Software and Connectivity The website CMS should have the capability of linking in to the Weblink software that will update automatically to the member login section, business directory, the events registration and listing and banner ad measurement functionality. (This may mean the design integrates some pages designed in the Weblink platform.) In Addendum C, there is a description of the agreement with our database company. The design should be able to integrate with the banner ad capabilities of our Weblink software. There may be a setup cost for this, which is mentioned in an Addendum. Administration and Content Management The Chamber would like to utilize an open technology content management software system such as WordPress. The content management software should be easy to use, WYSWIG style, with internet update capabilities. The CMS must also be flexible in order to customize areas of the site if needed with HTML.
The Chamber staff will be updating content and proposals should not include content management. The CMS should be internet based. Required elements Design must be readable from all standard browsers, on mobile devices including tablets and mobile phone, all which integrate the San Antonio Chamber Graphic Standards. Design templates should be tested with all main browsers (Explorer, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.) Design must be compatible with all standard mobile platforms (ios, Windows phone, Android, Java ME, Symbian, Blackberry, etc.) Design that does not require Flash. Design will integrate widgets that feature our Social Media channels and content (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, Youtube and Picasa) Customizable for users Design that integrates sections that allows users to register on the site to allow for customizing the pages to meet the preferences of the site visitor based on what they select and the pattern of what pages they visit, as well as interpret what would be of interest to the site visitor. Customization would include a way to verify their membership status automatically with their email, or verify if their email is in the database system. Interactive features to include polling, surveys, live Twitter feed from the Chamber s account, blogs for issues and news with capabilities of setting categories and accept comments on blogs Search Engine Optimization Pages should have optimized SEO so the main pages show up on top of rankings in natural rankings. Show how you will work with staff to help establish those tags and what kind of upkeep might be required. The Chamber will not be investing in pay per click. Each major page will come with already researched and quality metatags and keywords News is automatically SEO optimized for keywords and links News articles should be searchable on Google and able to set up as an RSS feed Reporting and Analytics The site will use Google Analytics, any additional tracking programs should be itemized. Tracking of revenue for banner ads (available through Weblink connection) Tracking for members to see their clicks/hits and emails sent to them (a Weblink connectivity capability). Tracking should include mobile usage.
Training Proposal should include training on how to use the CMS for at least 5 members of the Chamber staff. The training can be held at the Chamber and offered by a qualified instructor (not just videos online). Include costs of training in the detailed budget Timeline Goals Proposals due to Chamber by Oct. 15. Selections and interviews Oct. 21-27. Selection made by Oct. 30. Architecture complete by Nov. 26. Design style sheets complete by Dec. 12. Testing of first release of pages begin by Feb. 1, 2015. Training finished by Feb. 9, 2015. Release of priority pages and first phase by Feb. 15, 2015. Priority pages include the sections that are utilized every day for providing Chamber services and top 25 highest ranked pages on the site. Budget A detailed, itemized budget should be included in the budget The phases of development should be outlined, with budget items required for the phasing. The Chamber already owns photography, video and other design elements required for design. Any additional would need to be estimated in your proposal. Budget should include website hosting services, preferably with a chamber member company. This should be itemized in the proposal along with the recommendation of what company will be hosting the site. Proposal Instructions All proposals should be submitted to the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce via email and or direct mail no later than 5 p.m. Oct. 15th. Direct emails to Becky Bridges Dinnin (bdinnin@sachamber.org) or mail to The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, 602 E. Commerce, San Antonio, TX 78205.