Website patriots point museum

The State Fiscal Accountability Authority, Division of Procurement Services, is seeking proposals on behalf of the Patriots Point Development Authority for a comprehensive website redesign and replacement for the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. The project requires a qualified contractor to develop a secure, visually appealing, and user-friendly website with multiple complex functionalities, including online ticketing, point-of-sale system integration, Spanish translation capabilities, virtual exhibitions, collections portal integration, educator resources, facility rental promotion, and online shop connectivity. Contractors must utilize an open-source content management system like WordPress, meet South Carolina state security requirements, ensure ADA compliance, and implement responsive design across all browsers and devices. The evaluation process will occur in two phases, with an initial technical and price proposal review scoring up to 100 points, followed by live demonstrations worth an additional 25 points. Key dates include a pre-proposal conference held on January 5, 2023, via Teams, with questions due by January 6, 2023, at 2:00 PM ET. The proposal submission deadline was extended to February 13, 2023, at 11:00 AM ET, with an anticipated award posting on March 17, 2023, and a contract term of five years (one initial year with four optional renewal years).

The solicitation does not specify specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises. The incumbent vendor is Blue Ion, which has managed hosting and website services for approximately 10 years. The project requires integration with existing systems, including the Gateway ticketing system, Catalogit collections database, and Sharpspring email marketing platform. While no specific funding amount is identified in the solicitation, a preliminary estimate suggested around $100,000, though this was noted as incomplete and not representative of the full project scope. The museum serves approximately 300,000 annual visitors with an operating budget of roughly $13 million and currently generates 80% of sales in-person. Contractors will be responsible for all third-party plugins, licenses, and hosting, with Patriots Point maintaining SSL certificates and merchant card processing. The museum anticipates a website launch in November 2023, with the selected contractor required to provide training for up to four staff members and ongoing maintenance and technical support throughout the contract period.