RFP 25-05 Q and A v4 Final.pdf

Cape Cod Community College - RFP 25-05 Website and CMS – Questions & Answers

1. We I would like to see clarification regarding the reference requirements outlined on page 8 of the RFP, which stipulates the need for three references from higher education institutions. Would it be possible for you to consider our response for evaluation if we include 2 Federal/State and local government references and provide one recent higher education reference?

Yes, that is possible.

2. We noticed the budget was set at $65,000. From our experience working in higher education a website of this type usually falls in the range of $200,000 to $300,000. Would you entertain proposals in this range, or is that not a possibility?

No, this is not a possibility. Our current website was built for well under $150,000 as a closed sourced model.

3. We are a US based IT staffing and IT Solution firm, based out of MA state. The RFP states "The respondent must also possess strong higher education experience and must provide, at a minimum, three (3) customer references from higher educational institutions requesting similar services to those described herein" on page 4. We do not have 3 website redesign US customer references. However, we have international relevant customer references. Also, we have US customer references in the IT Staffing arena.

a. Can we provide our international relevant references to bid for this RFP?

So long as the references are in relevant higher education spaces.

b. Can we provide our IT Staffing references which are US based to bid for this RFP?

Again, if the references are relevant to the higher education landscape than yes.

c. Can you please elaborate which of the above references will qualify to be submitted with the RFP response?

Higher education references are more relevant than IT references.

d. The website references - Is it mandatory to be from higher educational institutions?

Yes.

e. To qualify bidding for this RFP do we need complete a Massachusetts Secretary of State registration as an out of state business?

You are not required to register with the Massachusetts Secretary of State to participate in this RFP.

However, the winning bidder will be required to provide a W9 (or equivalent for foreign companies) and sign a MA State contract and its Terms & Conditions. Out of State bidders will need to work directly with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts office regarding the required form(s) needing to be completed and filed with them pertaining to you and your organization. More information can be found at https://www.sec.state.ma.us.

4. Does CCCC have a preferred open-source CMS or any specific CMS features that are a priority?

https://www.sec.state.ma.us/

We have no particular preference, with in-house experience in both Drupal and Wordpress. Features that rely on block-based editing would be preferred.

5. What challenges with the current CMS prompted this change?

As a closed-source site we lack flexibility to quickly update UX without incurring significant costs with our vendor.

This is the primary reason we are exploring a new model.

6. Are there particular API standards or protocols required for integrations with existing systems?

Not at this time.

7. Are there specific metrics or KPIs that CCCC uses to measure website performance?

While nothing hard-and-fast, we do look at Google Analytics on the site and regularly monitor search results and clicks to ensure that UX is matching audience need.

8. Are there advanced accessibility requirements beyond WCAG compliance?

No, we are mostly concerned with maintaining the most up to date WCAG compliance necessary.

9. How important is it for the design to reflect specific cultural elements relevant to CCCC’s service areas?

It’s important but more important is for the design to reflect the needs of our prospective students, maintaining a flexible, modern, and visually stunning experience that supports recruitment.

10. Does CCCC need personalized content features (e.g., messages tailored to user types)?

If within the scope of the project as detailed, we would be very open to hearing options in this space, especially if there’s growth opportunity for student portals.

11. Will the CMS require custom workflows or permissions for different departments?

No. Ideally the CMS will allow for user workflow that goes through an approval system, housed within the Marketing department.

12. What are CCCC’s expectations for website scalability (e.g., traffic or content growth)?

Our expectation is that UX will scale with growth, traffic, and user needs.

13. Should advanced data analytics tools (like heatmaps or behavior tracking) be integrated for user insights?

Heatmaps would be an added benefit, but a large portion of our focus is on Google Analytics.

14. Beyond mobile responsiveness, are there other requirements for optimizing the mobile user experience?

Not at this time

15. What are CCCC’s expectations for post-launch technical support, such as issue response times?

A grace period, determined by the successful vendor, where the College could receive support as the site launches would be ideal so we can collaboratively work through any post-launch issues.

16. Is there an incumbent? If so, Will they be bidding?

The incumbent will not be bidding.

17. Is there any preference for local vendors?

Local vendors would be very much welcome, but our focus is on quality and cost.

18. Is the $65k budget all-inclusive for the entire contract? Does this include hosting?

The budget listed is for the development, build, and launch of the CMS only. If there are suggestions for hosting within the proposal, they can be listed separately for consideration. If hosting is required for the service, it must be identified as such.

19. What is your current annual spend on CMS, hosting, and related support?

Roughly $30,000 per year.

20. Who built the current websites - your internal team or a vendor?

The current website was built with TerminalFour in collaboration with our marketing team.

21. If it was a vendor, who was it?

TerminalFour

22. If you used an outside vendor, how much did you spend on the implementation of your current sites?

$125,000

23. How many websites are in-scope for this project?

Just our capecod.edu public website. Any materials related to portal development or microsites in support would be welcome but must be separated in cost from the public website.

24. Is there a plan (or desire, if it's easy to do so) to create more sites in the future?

No firm plan at this time but the marketing department can foresee, at some point, developing a new student, faculty, and staff portal.

25. If open source is a consideration, is there a preference for a specific CMS (i.e., Drupal, WordPress)?

No specific preference but our team has experience in both Drupal and WordPress.

26. What is the current CMS?

27. Are there multi-lingual requirements? Is Google Translate or similar sufficient?

Google Translate is sufficient.

28. What sets firm/org apart from the alternatives?

Creativity, understanding of the modern higher education landscape, flexibility in design, and knowledge of how community colleges can leverage a great website into an even better recruitment tool.

29. Who/what are the primary alternatives?

No current alternatives as we have a closed source model.

30. How many levels of users are needed?

10-15 but centralized so that there is editorial approval from the marketing department. We currently have very limited users outside of the department.

31. Can you provide information on your workflow needs?

Workflow within the site will require any users outside of our department to have any edits reviewed and approved.

32. Are survey/voting tools required?

No

33. Is there a need for a document library?

Not required but would be an added benefit.

34. Do you want email newsletter distribution capabilities?

Not required.

35. Does search need to index the contents of pdf/Doc files?

Yes

36. Does the site search need to index content from other domains?

37. Please describe all integrations with other sites or data sources more complex than an iFrame or embed code.

We use a csv file to populate our directory.

38. Will single-sign-on be used to control administrative access to the site? If yes, please elaborate.

39. Can you provide usage data, or estimate expected traffic to the site?

50k users per month

40. Do you need a contractual SLA for hosting (more expensive), or a best-effort SLA based on a 99.9% historical uptime (less costly)?

Best effort suggestion would be appreciated.

41. Are there granular levels of permissions needed where certain people should only have access to certain sites? Or even certain areas of sites?

Not certain sites but certain pages, yes. For example, a member of the College’s Admissions team will need access to pages in the Admissions area for editing.

42. Where is the CMS/website currently hosted?

43. What is it about your current hosting setup that is making you seek a PaaS offering?

We are looking for a more flexible, responsive CMS and hosting set up that allows us to more quickly edit the UX of the website.

44. Are there any security standards required for your CMS platform? i.e., HIPAA, PCI, SOCII, Fedramp, etc?

45. Please provide the average monthly numbers for page views of the websites combined (to the nearest 100K is fine)

200k

46. Have you dealt with any security issues or malicious traffic on your sites like DDoS attacks, SQL injections, etc? If so, what was the impact?

Not to our knowledge.

47. Are you using anything for CDN or WAF currently?

48. Do you require 24/7 support access in the case of critical (site availability) issues?

49. Do you require specific response time SLAs for critical issues? If so, please specify expectations.

50. Would you describe the existing content as structured, with consistent separation of content and code?

51. What percentage of the current content is obsolete and won’t be migrated to the new site?

30%

52. What is your plan for editing/creating content during the redesign?

Our plan is to do a full evaluation of our current site for content and layout that will translate to a new CMS.

53. Do you expect copywriting or editing services as part of engagement?

54. Do you need us to conduct an extensive discovery process that includes extensive research into user persona development - or a more streamlined discovery based on the web team's input and best practices?

If part of the scope of work this would be welcomed but not a requirement.

55. Can you provide examples of sites that are good models for what you want?

https://www.champlain.edu/ https://www.ccbcmd.edu/ https://www.sandiego.edu/

56. How detailed are the existing branding guidelines?

We have a comprehensive brand standard guide on our website.

57. Please confirm that one design theme will carry across the entire site. If we need sub-themes of any type, please specify.

Design theme will carry across the entire site.

58. Please confirm that the awarded vendor will primarily work remotely, with regular web conference meetings as needed.

This is correct. Remote works for us.

59. Please describe the internal team who will be responsible for the website post-launch (developers, non-tech users, etc) https://www.sandiego.edu/

The website is largely managed by our Digital Marketing Specialist, in-house, with support and integration of any third-party systems from Information Technology.

60. Do different teams/departments manage their own sites? Or does one team own all web work?

Our marketing team provides editorial control over all pages. In the rare case of another department having editorial control over a page, those edits go through a review and approval process with our department.

61. We are a US company with some remote team members working from outside of the US. Is there any restriction on their ability to contribute to the project?

No, that’s fine.

62. Integrations:

a. Jenzabar - Campus Web, https://campusweb.capecod.edu/ICS/ - Capecod.edu is just linking off to this site, correct?

i. Are there any connections to content managed on the EDU environment directly updating content on Campus Web?

b. Moodle LMS - We see that it is listed in the Quicklinks on the ICS. Is it accessible anywhere else within capecod.edu?

c. Element 451 CRM - What is funneling into the CRM from the website that we'd need to keep in mind?

As of right now, at about 75% implementation of Element, there are no integrations beyond the HTML chatbot.

i. Is this form connected to the CRM, https://request.capecod.edu/?

No. It is linked to the current T4 form builder. This will likely be replaced over time with a similar form from Element.

d. Nelnet Financial Aid - Pay Using Nelnet from ICS, anything else to note about this integration?

No, this is a common third party site used for student payments.

e. 25Live - Engine running the site calendar, https://www.capecod.edu/events/. To confirm, is 25Live the tool that is needed for the new site?

f. Course Catalog - Does Clean Catalog, https://live-capecod.cleancatalog.io/, have an API that could be taken advantage of?

https://request.capecod.edu/

Unsure at this time.

g. Same for CourseStorm, https://capecodcc.coursestorm.com/?

Unsure at this time

63. Are there any other integrations that we'd need to factor into our project scope discovery?

64. Would any content need to be translated on this site?

Google translate is sufficient for our website.

65. For the site search, the filtering is helpful. Are there any pain points that are being felt with how it operates today?

Major pains, yes. We are in need of a revamped search engine.

66. We have a question regarding Annex B: Certificate of Compliance with State Tax Law and Unemployment Compensation Contribution Requirements. Our company is based in the European Union and does not operate within the United States. As such, we are unsure whether Annex B applies to us. Could you kindly clarify the following:

Foreign companies are required to work directly with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts office regarding the required form(s) needing to be completed and filed with them pertaining to you and your organization. More information can be found at https://www.sec.state.ma.us.

a. Are non-U.S.-based companies required to complete Annex B? Yes

b. If not, is there an alternative form or declaration that international bidders should submit to confirm compliance with their local tax and employment laws? No

67. We were unclear on the budget parameters based on two different sections of the RFP. While the document states a one-time budget of $65,000 for the entirety of the project, it also mentions that the Board of Trustees will make the final award if the contract amount exceeds $100,000. Could you please confirm the intended budget for this project?

The project’s budget is $65,000. The $100k is a disclaimer noting board approval will be needed for any contracts over this dollar amount.

68. Will you confirm the payment schedule? Do we understand correctly that payment for all design and development services will only occur once the final product is delivered? If not, will the payments be made in installments tied to specific milestones or phases of the project, or will monthly payments be made for time and materials?

Ideally, payment would be broken up into 2-3 phases: payment to launch the project and/or payment at the half-way point or at completion.

https://capecodcc.coursestorm.com/

69. There is some language under the accessibility and security section that we would like to ensure we understand correctly.

a. Can you confirm that the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing will be managing the website post-launch, not just content management? We would like to know if the post-launch accessibility verifications are meant for just the time of launch, or as ongoing maintenance we should prepare and estimate for. (This question came up due to the line that reads: “This project will require pre-and-post launch accessibility verifications.”)

Yes, the College will be managing these accessibility verifications post-launch.

70. Another question of this ilk is regarding keeping the website secure. Do you have team members who will be able to do security updates on the site as they are released?

71. Open source platforms, such as Drupal and WordPress, often release core updates that address security issues as they arise. Sometimes these updates require rather intricate development work on the website that our developers are accustomed to handling. As a result, we wanted to confirm if CCCC has team members who will be able to do security updates on the site as they are released, or will ongoing support services be necessary?

72. Can you clarify if it is acceptable to collaborate with a trusted partner agency for certain components of the project, such as SEO or design, with approval and inclusion in the proposal?

73. Can you clarify what “accessibility verification” means to the CCCC?

a. Accessibility and Security: the new website must meet and easily be maintained in adherence with all federal and state guidelines for web accessibility for all audiences including those with visual impairment, hearing impairment, and any other protected class of individuals with a disability. This project will require pre-and-post launch accessibility verifications. The new website must also be secured from potential cyber-attacks using modern software and/or other methodologies recommended by the provider.

The website must meet current WCAG standards and be in good standing at the end of the project.

74. Can you provide us with the complete list of integrations relevant to your website that you would like included in this redesign project?

The College has multiple third party sites that are linked to the public website (Nelnet, Element 451, Jenzabar are the most notable) but none directly integrate into the site.

75. What will each integration be used for? Specifically for Nelnet and Jenzabar?

So long as links can be made to go to third party sites, integration for each will still be functional.

76. Can you please include/send a copy of the MA Standard Contract form as part of Q&A?

Yes. Please see it as its own attachment.

77. Can you provide any additional details about the website's current hosting provider, including any issues or challenges with their service?

We have no issues with our current hosting, provided by TerminalFour.

78. How often does the website require emergency site recovery, and what are the most common causes of these issues?

Has not required emergency site recovery.

79. Are there any particular language translation features or plugins that you would like the vendor to use or avoid?

No, Google Translate is sufficient.

80. Can you provide any additional information about the site's current security level and any past security breaches or concerns?

No prior security breaches.

81. How often does the site require full backups and disaster recovery tests, and what are the most common challenges or issues encountered during these processes?

82. Can you provide any additional details about the website's current hosting provider, including any issues or challenges with their service?

We have no issues with our current hosting, provided by TerminalFour.

83. Is there a particular CMS you would like to use?

We do not have a preferred CMS, but our team does have extensive experience with Drupal and Wordpress.

84. Is there a particular CMS you would like to avoid?

85. How many individuals will need to be trained on managing/editing the backend of the new website?

5-10 people on the high end.

86. Are there any specific metrics or insights you want the vendor to provide through site analytics?

We use google for our site analytics.

87. Can you provide additional details about the types of optional tasks that might be required and the potential impact on the site's functionality, features, and stability?

88. Will existing content be carried over to the new site or will new content need to be written?

Existing content will largely be carried over, but the Marketing department will be auditing and editing during this process.

89. If yes, what pages / how many pages will need new content?

Any new content will be developed in-house.

90. Are there specific websites or design styles you admire or would like to emulate? (Any industry) https://www.sandiego.edu/ https://www.london.ac.uk/ https://www.brown.edu/

91. Do you have established brand and/or visual guidelines?

Yes, we have a comprehensive brand guide available on our website.

92. What are the biggest challenges you are facing with your current website?

Our biggest issues are:

• Having flexibility to quickly change or update UX to match institutional or audience needs without incurring major costs and time issues.

• Poor search engine.

• Too many internal documents that clog up our search.

93. Can you provide more information about the website's user experience and any feedback you have received from users?

Difficult to navigate and feels old.

94. Are there any specific features or functions the website lacks that you want to see as potential future development?

95. Does your budget ceiling of $65,000 include everything: redesign, ongoing hosting and maintenance, or is this for the website redesign project only?

This cost just reflects the redesign project. Any additional upfront or ongoing costs would need to be listed separately.

96. Can you elaborate on the e-commerce portion of the scope and what that will be used for?

There is no eCommerce portion of the .edu site.

https://www.ccbcmd.edu/ https://www.sandiego.edu/

a. Will ccccfoundation.org be incorporated into the scope of this project?

No, the Foundation’s website is a third party agency and not part of this project.

97. What CMS is the website currently built on? Would we have access to content from the existing site?

It is on TerminalFour, and we will have access to the content.

98. General Project Questions

a. Is figma design available? If yes then there might some new question arise on bases of design, can you provide more information on this?

We currently do not use figma.

b. Do we need to use a specific version of Angular framework or need to work on a different framework

(React js)?

99. Goals and Vision

a. What are the primary goals of the redesign? (e.g., increase enrollment, improve usability, enhance SEO).

Our primary goals are:

• Strengthen and modernize UX

• Become more visually competitive with local 4-year institutions

• Drive enrollment

• Enhance SEO

b. Are there any mandatory deadlines or milestones for the project?

Our primary deadline is making sure the website is ready for launch by early 2026.

100. Current Website Evaluation

a. What are the major pain points with the current website?

• Having flexibility to quickly change or update UX to match institutional or audience needs without incurring major costs and time issues.

• Poor search engine.

• Too many internal documents that clog up our search.

b. Are there any features on the current site you want to retain or improve?

101. Frontend and Design Questions

a. User Experience and Design

Unsure what this question is asking.

b. Are there specific branding guidelines, colors, logos, or styles we must adhere to?

The College has a comprehensive brand standards guide available on our website.

c. Can you share examples of websites you admire or want to emulate?

https://www.sandiego.edu/

102. Accessibility Standards

a. Are there specific accessibility standards or tools (e.g., WCAG 2.1) we must comply with?

We must maintain the most up-to-date WCAG standards.

b. How should we handle multimedia content (e.g., transcripts for videos, alt text for images)?

No need within the confines of the CMS.

103. Responsive Design

a. Do you have user analytics for current devices used (desktop, mobile, tablets) to access your website?

Yes, we use google analytics

b. Should the site prioritize mobile-first design?

Yes?

104. Content Management

a. Will the content on the site be entirely new, or will we migrate existing content?

We will largely be migrating content and editing content along the way.

b. Do you have a plan for updating or creating new content?

c. Should the CMS include a WYSIWYG editor for non-technical staff?

105. Do you currently have any preference for a specific Content Management System (CMS) for this project, or are you open to suggestions from the bidders?

We have no specific preference but do have in-house experience on WordPress and Drupal.

https://www.sandiego.edu/

106. We have not yet had the opportunity to work specifically with higher educational institutions. As the RFP requires three customer references from higher educational institutions, we wanted to inquire if our lack of specific references in this sector would be a disqualifying factor for our application. We do have strong references from corporate clients that we can provide.

Yes, having no prior higher education experience would be a disqualifying factor.

107. Is CCCC open to international vendors for this project?

If the vendor has higher education experience, yes. If not, then we would not consider.

108. Are there any requirements for the vendor resources to be onsite/on-premise during the delivery project?

No, there are no in-person requirements.

109. Please share the current CMS being used by CCCC for its website, this will help us during cost evaluation for migration.

110. Are there any other sites/sub-sites except capecod.edu that are in scope for redesign & migration, please confirm.

111. Is the website expected to be multi-lingual? Please confirm all languages in scope.

No. Google Translate is sufficient for the site.

112. We are assuming that the budget of $65K is exclusive of support and maintenance costs, please confirm.

Correct.

113. Is there an expectation from the vendor to also build a SEO strategy for the newly redesigned site?

No.

114. We are assuming that the provided budget is exclusive of the licensing costs. Please share any approved budget for the licensing of the new CMS.

Budget will be allotted based on suggested pricing from the chosen vendor.

115. What will be the contract duration and renewal frequency for the ongoing support and maintenance of the new website post-implementation?

This will depend on the recommendations of the chosen vendor.

116. Please list all the integrations in scope.

We are currently only integrating an element451 chatbot

117. Are the integrations with other platforms expected to be bi-directional?

118. Please explain the integration-based functionalities expected from the CMS & other platform integrations (e.g., digital academic learning systems).

All existing integrations rely on the website linking off to third party sites or have HTML coded materials, such as the chat bot, on the site. This model is what we’re looking for moving forward.

119. Please share the current site traffic statistics (annual and monthly) e.g., total visitors, demographics etc, as available.

200k page views from 33k visitors per month

120. Please mention any specific compliance requirements for the vendors e.g., insurance, project security, worker's compensations etc.

None.

121. Please mention the content types and volume of content to be migrated.

Content will need to be migrated from existing site with the in-house team providing editing and content migration guidance.

122. Is there an existing workflow in place for content approval and publication?

yes

123. Please share any reference/competitor websites that we can consider for the new design.

https://www.sandiego.edu/

124. Can you provide the Brand strategy/ guidelines that the College follows?

Yes. The College has a comprehensive brand standard guide available on our website.

125. Could you describe any specific pain points or challenges the College is currently experiencing with its website?

• Having flexibility to quickly change or update UX to match institutional or audience needs without incurring major costs and time issues.

• Poor search engine.

• Too many internal documents that clog up our search.

https://www.champlain.edu/ https://www.ccbcmd.edu/ https://www.sandiego.edu/

126. For design iterations, how frequently should feedback be gathered from stakeholders?

At least several times a year, if only informal. Our primary audience for our website is prospective students so we value student feedback above all else.

127. Is there a current incumbent for this project? If so, will they be participating in this opportunity?

128. What is the current website traffic, including unique visitors, page views, and peak usage times?

200k page views from 33k unique visitors per month

129. We understand that the new website is to be designed on open source CMS. Is there any preferred CMS on which the college prefers the new website to be designed?

We have no preference, but our team does have experience in Drupal and WordPress.

130. Are there any existing sub-domains on the current website that need to be incorporated into the new website redesign?

131. Are there any specific requirements for the website’s search functionality, such as filtering, indexing, or integration with external data sources?

Our faculty and staff directory pulls from a csv file.

132. What would be the anticipated volume of content that needs to be migrated from the existing to the new website?

The vast majority of existing content will be migrated with editing being done as necessary by the marketing team in-house.

133. Is there an existing archive of content that needs to be migrated to the new system?

a. How will archived content be handled in the new CMS?

134. Is there a requirement for archiving old content, and if so, what is the preferred method for doing so?

No requirement.

135. Are there specific accessibility requirements beyond general WCAG compliance?

136. Are there specific security standards or certifications that the website must meet (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST)?

137. Are there specific SEO goals, keywords, or content areas to prioritize?

138. Are there any additional third-party integrations required for the new website?

Must work with our Element451 chatbot, GA4, and meta pixels.

139. Is there a preferred project management methodology (e.g., Agile, Waterfall) for the implementation phase?

140. What is the expected term of the contract?

Ideally through the launch of the CMS and a time period thereafter for any bugs or technical issues that arise post-launch.

141. What level of post-implementation support and response times are expected, especially for critical issues?

We do expect post-launch support for an appropriate period of time to ensure any bugs or issues are worked out.

142. How frequently should system updates or security patches be applied post-launch?

143. How long has the current website been in maintenance mode, and who is responsible for administering it?

Our current site has been live since 2019 and is maintained in-house by the Marketing department.

144. Is there an existing issue tracking system in place, such as JIRA or Bugherd?

We do not have our own ticketing system. Our current provider uses JIRA

145. Do you have a DevOps setup in place, or do you expect the vendor to provide it?

146. How often do you do plugin upgrades?

We are currently not using plugins. Our current provider does not allow for that.

147. What level of CMS training is anticipated for staff?

A moderate amount for several staff members but not intensive.

148. Will there be different levels of training for technical and non-technical staff?

149. How many staff members are anticipated to require training, and what is their current level of proficiency with website management tools?

5-10

150. Scope & Deliverables

a. Can you confirm the count of the unique pages to be migrated to the new CMS?

Several hundred pages

b. Are there specific content types (e.g., multimedia, forms) that require unique handling during migration?

We will be able to migrate our multimedia and forms

c. Are there any critical features on the current website that must be retained in the redesign?

d. Are there anticipated future enhancements not covered in the RFP that we should prepare for during development?

e. Are there anticipated future enhancements not covered in the RFP that we should prepare for during development?

151. Technical & Functional Requirements

a. Are there any specific CMS platforms you prefer, or should we propose one based on our analysis and understanding of current website?

We have no preference, but our team does have experience in Drupal and WordPress.

b. What is the CMS platform that is currently used?

c. Should the CMS support headless architecture for future flexibility?

We do have interest in headless architecture

d. Should the new CMS integrate with existing College systems beyond those mentioned in the RFP?

e. Should the website support multi-language capabilities, or is this out of scope for the initial project?

We are not currently looking to support multi-language capabilities

f. Are there specific technologies or frameworks you want to avoid (e.g., due to compatibility or maintainability concerns)?

g. What uptime and response time SLAs are expected for the cloud hosting and maintenance services?

h. Are there specific cloud platforms you prefer (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)?

None preferred. We are currently using AWS

i. Are there any pre-existing contracts or constraints that may limit hosting provider options?

j. Are there expectations for hosting features like auto-scaling, disaster recovery, and backup solutions?

k. Should the new site include analytics integrations (e.g., Google Analytics)?

Yes, we would need to incorporate our GA4 tag

l. Will you provide accessibility testing tools, or should we include this in our proposal?

We are currently using SiteImprove

m. Can you provide the latest brand guidelines to align the website's design and content strategy?

The College has a comprehensive brand standards guide available on our website.

n. Who will be responsible for final content approvals during migration and design?

The in-house marketing team.

o. Can you provide recent brand guidelines, or are these expected to be developed as part of the engagement?

Yes, we have a comprehensive brand standard guide available on our website.

p. Do you already have UX designs or low-fidelity wireframes prepared for the new website?

q. If not, is creating these wireframes part of the provider's scope of work?

r. Should the CMS be compatible with specific tools or extensions currently used by the College?

s. Is off-page SEO (e.g., backlinking, social media signals) within the scope of this project, or is the focus limited to on-page SEO?

Limited to on-page SEO

t. Who will be responsible for ongoing SEO activities after the new website is launched?

The in-house marketing department.

152. Project Timeline

a. Can you provide more details on the availability of internal stakeholders & their roles during the discovery and testing phases?

The necessary review parties will be available during these phases.

153. Training & Support

a. How many team members require CMS training, and what are their roles (e.g., content creators, admins)?

b. Do you prefer in-person or virtual training sessions?

Virtual

c. What duration and type of support are expected post-launch (e.g., bug fixes, feature updates)?

A short time period long enough to ensure all bugs and issues are resolved.

d. Will you need ongoing maintenance or training beyond the initial support period?

Not required.

e. Will the provider be required to populate all content during migration, or is this expected to be handled by the College's team?

The College will be handling this piece.

f. If the provider is responsible, should the proposal account for reformatting or rewriting existing content for the new CMS?

g. What volume and type of data from the old website (e.g., pages, media files, forms) need to be migrated to the new CMS?

pages, pdf’s, photos, and csv file for our faculty/staff directory

h. Are there any specific data formats or databases involved in the migration process?

154. Evaluation

a. Are there specific benchmarks or expectations for what constitutes a "Highly Advantageous" rating?

Creativity, understanding of modern higher education web presence, and understanding of how a modern website supports recruitment.

b. Can you clarify if shortlisted vendors are expected to present live demonstrations? If so, what specific areas should we focus on?

We do not have any specific vendors to note.

155. Budget

a. Should the $65,000 budget cover both cloud-hosting costs and development, or is hosting a separate budget line item?

The budget is for the design only. Any associated costs related to cloud hosting or anything else should be listed separately.

b. Are there additional budgets for lifetime licenses of plugins or tools beyond this project scope?

c. Are there specific third-party costs (e.g., software licenses) that the college expects to be included in the proposal?

Any third party costs, including licensing, should be itemized and priced out separately from the cost of the design and build.

156. Other

a. Is offshore development allowed for this project?

If the vendor is international the expectations on timeline, responsiveness, and experience in higher education remain.

b. If yes, what are the expectations regarding the availability of resources?

There should be no adverse impact to timeline and availability.

157. Please can you specify the onsite requirements at the different phases of the project? Can these be conducted virtually?

Virtual is more than acceptable.

158. Example Sites - Can you provide examples of websites you admire or would like to use as inspiration for the redesign?

https://www.champlain.edu/ https://www.ccbcmd.edu/ https://www.sandiego.edu/

159. CMS - What is your current workflow for creating, editing, and publishing content, and how can the new CMS streamline that process? What is the current CMS?

We are currently using Terminalfour

160. Marketing - Are there any industry trends you want to monitor or analyze for your digital marketing campaign?

161. Analytics - What tools or platforms are you using to track user behavior and engagement on your website, such as

Google Analytics or heat mapping tools?

We are using Google Analytics

162. Security - Are there any security concerns or vulnerabilities with your current website, and have you taken appropriate measures to address them?

No concerns

163. Web Mgt - How many content editors/authors will need access to the new CMS?

164. Analytics - Are there any custom reports or dashboards that need to be set up?

165. Events - The current events feed ( https://www.capecod.edu/events/ ) is powered by 25Live. Is there desire to keep that same system? Are there any other event services or tools that we should consider?

The expectation is that 25Live will carry over, but we are open to hearing alternatives that might work better within a new CMS.

https://www.champlain.edu/ https://www.ccbcmd.edu/ https://www.sandiego.edu/

166. Interoperability - Can you elaborate on the requirements for integration with existing systems? (Jenzabar, Moodle, Element 451, Nelnet, etc...) Do you have examples of where and how each is used currently? Is it sufficient to link out to these providers where necessary, or do they need to display content within the new site's pages in an automated manner?

We link out to providers but use the Element451 chatbot on our site

167. Incumbent - Can you tell us if there is an incumbent and if so, if CCCC is happy with their performance?

TerminalFour is the incumbent. We are happy with the service overall but the cost and lack of flexibility in updating UX has become cumbersome.

168. Content - Will you plan to write your content and will you need the vendor’s assistance in migrating content? Is this consideration reflected in your project budget at this time?

Content will be developed in-house.

169. Vendor Preference - Does CCCC have a preference for selecting a vendor that is on-shore only?

Ideally, the vendor is in the US and has prior higher education experience and an understanding of American community colleges.

170. Vendor Preference - Is CCCC entertaining the possibility of using an off-shore vendor?

As long as they meet requirements.

171. Vendor Preference - Does CCCC prefer to employ an in-state vendor for this project?

No preference.

172. Meetings - Are meetings expected to be in-person, virtual, or hybrid?

Virtual

173. Does your team have prior experience with Wordpress sites? Do you have a preference for or against Wordpress as a CMS/platform?

Yes, our team has experience in WordPress but has no preference.

174. Does your team have prior experience with Drupal sites? Do you have a preference for or against Drupal as a

CMS/platform?

Yes, our team has experience in Drupal but has no preference.

175. To what extent are you currently using Element451 beyond AI/chatbot functionality? What is the relationship and degree of overlap between Element451 products and your other systems?

Besides our chatbot, Element451 hosts our applications and inquiry form

176. Could you elaborate on your hopes for website integration with Nelnet, Jenzabar, Moodle, and any other systems not mentioned?

Nearly all our integrations rely on the public website linking off to third party systems. We would like to maintain this model.

177. Is your established budget meant to include hosting and maintenance services for a certain period of time after the launch of the website? After what time period do you anticipate budgeting additional funds for ongoing hosting/maintenance/upgrades?

Ongoing support or support for a designated time beyond launch will need to be suggested and priced out by the chosen vendor.

178. What is the current CMS that the website has developed?

179. Are you open for WordPress/Drupal CMS?

180. Do you have an incumbent for this contract?

181. Do you have any pain points with the current contract?

Yes, largely related to our needs to quickly and affordably updating UX to meet the needs of the institution.

182. Can you please let us know the place of performance for this contract?

Performance is important to us.

183. Does the resource need to work onsite/hybrid/remote or offshore acceptable?

Remote meetings are acceptable.

184. What level of ongoing support and maintenance is expected from the vendor after the 12-month post-launch period?

At least long enough post-launch to ensure that any lingering bugs or issues are solved.

185. Are there any existing APIs or integrations in use with systems like Jenzabar, Moodle, Element 451, or Nelnet that we should be aware of?

We use Element451’s chatbot on our site