Downtown Hattiesburg is soliciting responses to this request for qualifications for grant compliance services regarding Mississippi Main Street Revitalization Grant Program funds from the Department of Finance and Administration from an allocation received by the State of Mississippi under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
All responses to this request should be submitted by email to:
Andrea Saffle, Downtown Hattiesburg Association Executive Director at andrea@downtownhattiesburg.org with the subject: “RFQ: Downtown Website Design/ Support and training” by Friday, Sept. 27, at 5:00 p.m. CST.
This project will span from October 2024 to January 20024. The allocated budget for this project is up to $10,000 and the selected firm will be responsible for assisting in the development and support of Downtown Hattiesburg’s website to maximize communications efforts aimed at key markets. Pulling on the NEW look and feel of the brand, develop a website highlighting Downtown’s vibrancy and specific attributes that make it compelling to visit. The agency must be able to integrate/connect with Downtown’s social media channels, VibeMap App, and other owned websites.
Note: Applicants should provide a detailed understanding and strategic analysis of the demographics of Hattiesburg, Miss., including national and/or regional trends on successful strategies for similar sized locales where applicable.
Scope of Services
The selected agency responsibilities will include the following components:
COMPONENT A: REDESIGN / RESPONSIVE WEBSITE:
PRIMARY GOAL: Enhance the organization’s credibility as a source for visitors through a fully responsive, robust, easy-to-navigate website.
Website Functionality Requirements:
Must be mobile responsive and designed to work across browsers and devices, including in areas with low bandwidth
Content / blog section for regularly updated new content
Must include a banner at the top for alerts/updates
Engagement tactics and lead generation features
Integration of video & motion elements
Integrate with CMS (VibeMap), Threshold 360, Newsletter platform, and social media accounts
Implementation of Facebook Pixel across the site
Cleaning and migration of archived content from the existing website to the new CMS
Auto-generated site map
Key metadata and other standard content promotion and indexing technologies
Search engine optimization
Support for Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Google Search Console
Quality assurance for the new site, including a beta testing period and a system for internal / beta users to report glitches and user experience issues
Accessibility for blind or limited-vision users, with recommendations from the vendor to ensure maximum accessibility
ADA Compliant (AA Minimum)
GDPR Compliant
Specific Desires:
Convert current site, which contains a substantial amount of content, into a site that offers users an easily navigable experience that inspires them to visit Downtown
A new design that is bold, engaging, inspiring, clean, and consistent with new branding.
Links on every page to share content via email and social media.
Create and implement branded, short URLs for links
Ability to feature content on all main landing pages
Implement uniform image sizes for individual listings and featured content
Ability to create customized buttons throughout the site
Functional “search” feature
Recommendations for linking Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google Business reviews for retail, restaurants, hotels and other attractions
Provide a recommendation for promoting local events, considering options like “VibeMap” for event information acquisition
Capability for new businesses to submit updated or new information for their listings, with a preference for a system beyond current Google Form
Develop a tagging system that allows users to follow breadcrumbs to related or suggested content, including blogs, attractions, and events
A fully designed and functional digital map featuring retail, restaurants, venues, and visitor trails with links to partner websites. Ideally, this map should connect to our CRM
Support for multimedia content (video, photo slideshows, podcasts) across various page types
The ability to make content and design changes in-house without additional fees, including updates to banners, campaign creative, additional pages, menu links, and functionality
Freedom to add additional site functionality (within reason) in-house
Preference for an open-source CMS that is easy to manage by a small in-house team
A detailed site migration plan
COMPONENT B: ANNUAL SUPPORT / MAINTENANCE:
PRIMARY GOAL: Establish the most efficient processes for all aspects of the DHA website and social media including support, maintenance, and reporting.
Annual Support & Maintenance will include:
Site testing
Regular maintenance
Technical support, including platform enhancements, compliance updates, and security improvements.
Staff training, including recommendations for ongoing website maintenance (such as metadata, image sizes, etc.) and troubleshooting post-launch.
Ongoing customer service post-launch
Recommendations for updates
Support for Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, as needed based on notifications and alerts.