Specification for Website Design Services
Background information
The mill complex at Cromford has been described as the most important preserved textile heritage site in the world, as shown by its World Heritage Site status. It is from these buildings that Sir Richard Arkwright developed technology that changed the world we live in, giving rise to the industrial revolution by creating the modern factory system.
Today Cromford Mills is owned and managed by The Arkwright Society, an educational charity and Building Preservation Trust concerned primarily with the preservation and regeneration of industrial buildings. The Society was founded in 1979 when it purchased a large part of the Cromford Mills site. Its key objective states that the Society is committed to the regeneration of the site and to the reuse of the buildings in ways that will provide them with a sustainable future and which offers year round employment that will contribute positively to the local environment.
Cromford Mills are Grade I Listed and in 2001 were inscribed by UNESCO as part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS), the only World Heritage Site in the East Midlands. Following half a century of dilapidation and dereliction the Society has, over the last three decades, brought a number of these redundant buildings of significant historical importance back into economic use and has prepared a masterplan to rejuvenate the entire complex of buildings, subject to funding.
Over the next month the first phase of the development masterplan will be completed and create a new use for Cromford Mills Building 17, an iconic five-‐storey mill building within the mill complex. It will be repaired and converted to create on the four upper floors “Cromford Creative”, managed workspace units intended to attract a cluster of creative industries businesses, and on the ground floor a visitor “Gateway” centre for the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
Cromford Mills has, up until now, done very little in the way of marketing as development of the product has been the key focus. However, a number of commercial activities do already take place on the site including retail, catering – 2 cafés with additional buffet services for the conference and meeting rooms -‐ guided tours, educational programmes, volunteering programmes and events. An extensive events guide is produced twice a year (copy enclosed) and distributed via the Arkwright Society membership, arts boxes, local libraries and on site and more recently conferencing literature has also been produced. The Society is also landlord to a number of tenanted businesses on site and additionally manages areas of its off site estate in the Lumsdale Valley, Slinter Woodlands and Dunsley Nature Reserve.
The Website Design consultancy scope of work
The existing website www.cromfordmills.co.uk was developed approximately 5 years ago and though it has served its purpose well it is now deemed to be out of date, too extensive and not entirely on message. As activities on the site and on the wider estate have been extended and changed it is now hoped a fresh website will better reflect the Society’s activities and ambitions.
The new website should reflect the brand and the Arkwright Society’s activities. It will incorporate the content and functionality of the existing Cromford Mills website though anything not specifically mentioned in the brief is open to discussion. The new website will need to provide information about the Society and its activities whilst also providing calendars and booking services for events, the facility to purchase products and membership, and the capability for users to make donations via the site.
The Website Design consultant will be responsible to The Arkwright Society Board of Trustees, reporting via the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Project Requirements
Website Function
The website is required to fulfil a range of functions that provide information and other facilities to Cromford Mills visitors. These include;
1. General information about the site, prices, location, access information etc. for Cromford Mills, Lumsdale Valley, Slinter Woodlands and Dunsley Nature Reserve
2. Easily editable section on special events and activities that can be updated by staff
3. Sell tickets for “The Arkwright Experience” audio-‐visual show in the visitor Gateway centre and other special events 4. Shop functionality; buy gifts from our gift shop
5. Information and downloadable education resources for teachers 6. News / blog area which can be updated by volunteers and staff 7. Information and pictures relating to Cromford Mills’ history
8. Display pictures and video, hosted by Cromford Mills or elsewhere e.g. YouTube
9. Information on joining the Arkwright Society with downloadable application forms, and an area detailing social events, etc. for Arkwright Society members that can be updated by staff, including an online booking facility
10. A password-‐protected ‘members only’ section for Arkwright Society members to include a forum and downloadable pdf files of old newsletters
11. Dedicated areas promoting the Gateway and Cromford Creative; the latter to include details of tenants that can be edited by staff
Budget and Timescale
The total budget for the website is £15,000 to include all fees and VAT. This includes hosting for the first year. The new website should be up and running in time for the beginning of the tourist season in March 2016.
Payment schedule
A schedule of payments will be agreed with the successful applicant for each element of work, with review points. The final payment will be made upon completion and following approval by the Arkwright Society and relevant project funders of the work specified by this brief.
Web Specifications
Design and Style
The Arkwright Society has few defined ideas regarding the layout and visual appearance of the website though in general, the design should reflect the Arkwright Society’s operations and ethos. Tenderers are asked to submit details of three websites they have designed and delivered for initial consideration. Only the successful tenderer will be asked to produce a small range of visual concepts in draft form and take part in a reasonable amount of discussion, led by the designer.
Functionality
Some areas of the website should include embedded social media, including Youtube, Twitter and TripAdvisor; appropriate disclaimers absolving the site of responsibility for third-‐party content should be visible on any page where third party content is visible.
Visitors should be able to download resources appropriate to their visit in pdf format, such as education resources for schools, a self-‐led worksheet for a family or access information.
There should be a mobile version of the site which is optimised for viewing on mobile devices such as phones and tablets.
There should be merchant options for selling gifts from the shop, as well as to book tickets for “The Arkwright Experience” in the visitor Gateway centre and other special events.
Website Brief
The purpose of the website is to provide information for visitors to Cromford Mills. The range of information and facilities expected for the website is detailed above. Additionally there should be:
• Minimal use of Flash or other similar programming which generates long page load time.
• From the back end, the Arkwright Society require the ability to create new events and pages that match existing pre-‐
created templates, such as extra event dates which are bookable, a new page to display competition entries on a gallery template, additions and deletions of shop merchandise and prices, changes to membership offers and subscriptions, etc. These would always be expected to fall into the existing top-‐down menu structure.
• There should be the option for visitors to sign up for automatic updates by email when new content has appeared on
the site or the Arkwright Society has news (i.e. a mailing list); this option could be incorporated subtly into every area of the site, or on a static dedicated page.
Search Options
The entire site requires a search function which allows a visitor to search for the information they require. This should be at the top of every page, perhaps linked to the navigation bar. It should be easily identified as a search bar, but could be fairly subtle in
appearance. The search results should be presented clearly. If possible, the search bar could suggest pages as the user types for obvious searches, such as opening times.
Hosting
A cost for provision of a dedicated URL and hosting package should be included only when tenderers have been informed that they have been shortlisted to the second round tender stage. Ideally, this should include hosting for the first year.
A range of website addresses will need to be acquired and all point to the website, to ensure visitors can easily find the website. These can be discussed after the successful tenderer is appointed. Whatever the address, a seamless transition from our current site to the new one will be required.
Content Management System (CMS)
The basic requirements of the content management are set out below.
The website will have a backend content management system, such as WordPress; as no specialist knowledge of volunteers who will be the moderators can be assumed, this should be very simple to operate.
Basic training and a training manual will be required for Arkwright Society staff so that they can update and maintain the website.
It must be able to generate and send out email notifications (which users can subscribe to) automatically as new content is added to the site in relevant locations (such as new products in the shop, blog posts, education resources, etc.)
It is important that accurate web statistics are monitored and recorded. Google Analytics is the preferred option but another analytics package would be considered if it is possible for multiple users to access.
A clear, accessible method of logging into the CMS is required, including:
• Restricted access to the Content Management System, which is easy to use, maintain and update;
• Appropriate login/password administration and security to ensure that only assigned editors can approve content.
User Testing
The development of the website must be subject to user testing, focussing on ensuring that the website can be easily searched and navigated, and is well designed and accessible.
Legal
We require a service level agreement for the CMS that clearly states the level of technical support provided, security, the level of service, maintenance updates, cost of additional development work, the dispute procedure, termination procedure and the copyright/IP of any code generated as a result of the project.
Copyright of all documents produced under this commission is to be assigned to The Arkwright Society Limited. The consultant is to clear copyright approval for any illustrations or other material used.
Communications
The web company must provide progress updates to the Arkwright Society at mutually agreed project milestones, either verbally or by email.
The web designer may be required to attend certain meetings with the client, to discuss design, progress, etc. which can be agreed at a later date.
Following their appointment, the web designer will be expected to produce outline display proposals for the website in visual form for client approval and for use as presentation visuals by the client.
Information required to tender
First round tenders are required to include only professional background / CVs of the designer(s) proposed to work on this commission and detail three examples of websites that have been designed by members of that design team. Contact details of referees at those clients must also be included.
First round tenders not containing all of the elements above will not be considered.
Second round tenders will be required to include the following: a) proposed approach and methodology;
c) itemised breakdown of costs, including CMS training and a manual and whether it includes travel and other expenses; if it does not, include a description of any likely expenses to be incurred and an estimated cost;
d) fee scale for additional work should any need arise that is beyond the scope of work detailed in this brief and whether it includes travel and other expenses;
e) itemised breakdown of annual website maintenance costs;
f) confirmation of current professional indemnity insurance and the level of cover.
Second round tenders will be assessed on cost and approach to all areas of the brief, as well as the quality of previous work. If a short-‐list is required, references from previous clients and responses at a face-‐to-‐face interview will also be taken into account. Initial graphical ideas for site design and layout are optional, and are not required as part of the brief. The successful tenderer will be expected to submit a range of proposals once they have been awarded the contract.
Submission of tenders
Completed first round tender proposals should be sent by email, to arrive no later than 5.00pm on Friday 30th October 2015, to
the following email addresses: [email protected] david@dts-‐solutions.co.uk
If it is also chosen to provide a hardcopy, this must be sent in a plain envelope marked ‘Tender – Cromford Mills Website ’ and addressed to Sarah McLeod, Chief Executive, The Arkwright Society, Cromford Mills, Mill Lane, Cromford, Derbyshire DE4 3RQ. Applications received after the due date and time will not be considered.
Only those invited to will be required to submit second round tenders and the closing date for these will be included in the invitation to tender.
Evaluation of tenders
First round tenders will be assessed against the items in the ‘Information required to tender” section above and failure to submit any of the required information will result in your tender being rejected.
Second round tender submissions shall be judged on both quality and price based on the following criteria: the maximum quality score will be 75%; the maximum price score will be 25%.
Criterion and sub-‐criteria Weighting
Quality:
• relevant skills and experience and a proven track record of success
• a demonstrated understanding of the brief
• quality of the proposed approach and methodology
• timetable • communication skills 75% Price:
• fee to cover all elements of the scope of work detailed in this brief
• fee scale for additional work should any need arise that is beyond the scope of work
detailed in this brief
• annual website maintenance costs
25%
The Arkwright Society does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender, and no person making a submission will be remunerated for any trouble or expense incurred in its preparation.
Contact details for further information
For further information about the tendering process please contact:
David Trevis-‐Smith tel: 0121 288 2007
(DTS Heritage Solutions) email: david@dts-‐solutions.co.uk
For further information on technical aspects of this brief please contact:
Sarah McLeod tel: 01629 823256
(CEO, The Arkwright Society) email: [email protected]
Appendices
Appendix A: Example of current Events Guide
Appendix B: Example of current conferencing literature
Appendix C: Marketing Strategy document including DVMWHS Tourism Strategy 2011-‐16 and the Draft Visitor Development
Plan for the Arkwright/Cromford Cluster
Being an element of the Cromford Mills Creative Cluster & Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site project, this appointment is part financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund and by the East Midlands ERDF Competitiveness Programme of the European
Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013; visit www.hlf.org.uk and www.communities.gov.uk/erdf for more
information. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs.
