Design and Development of DRI's Website - Terms of Reference

Background  

Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is an independent non-profit organisation committed to defending and improving democracy worldwide.       

We analyse threats to democracy and advocate for solutions during key legislative and political processes. By bringing impartial analysis and policy recommendations to policymakers, we encourage them to act before emerging concerns become pressing problems.  

Together with citizens and civil society groups committed to democratic renewal, we establish and improve democratic institutions that preserve people's freedoms. Our reference points are internationally agreed democratic principles.   

With a presence in eight countries, local teams and wide networks of partners, we listen to communities and together chart the best path towards change. We have expertise on a wide range of issues related to democratic governance and can react quickly to the latest trends and developments in different countries.   

Aim 

Design and development of DRI website to improve its current look and positioning. Url: https://democracy-reporting.org/ 

Objectives

DRI strives to provide relevant and timely information on democratic topics and political developments. 

The organisation’s website plays a critical role in ensuring this. Its main purpose is to: 

1. Build awareness of DRI's work 
2. Drive engagement to strengthen DRI brand building;  
3. Deliver a pleasant user experience to encourage recurrent visits and position DRI in the competition landscape.

Project requirements 

Delivery date: November 2024 (some flexibility allowed) 

Other requirements:  

• Respect SEO recommendations 
• Ensure a 301 redirection of old URLs from the old site to their correspondence in the new development. 
• Migration to the latest versions of the technologies used 
• Using open graph tags 
• Integrate structured data tags. 
• Managing meta tilts 
• Ensure monitoring using console search 
• Ensure that all indicators are green in Page Speed Insights. 

The Service Provider must provide the following deliverables according to the development and operation phases of the software requested during the performance of the contract: 

• Deliverable 1: Well-commented source codes 
• Deliverable 2: Construction and deployment scripts. 
• Deliverable 3: Installation Manual 
• Deliverable 4: Training after GO live to ensure managing the back-office with documentation

Guidelines for proposals 

This project covers the development of the site, as well as its hosting and maintenance. 

The costs of creation, development, integration, and acceptance must be detailed. 

Hosting costs must be detailed in installation (set up) and monthly operating costs. The hosting platform must provide a pre-production and production environment. The service provider must be our intermediary with its hosting partner and will thus remain our only contact. 

SEM service: The project should include a warranty period after going live to correct any bugs/problems that may appear once the website is public. 

Services to be provided  

Part 1 – Website design and development based on an existing Figma design

The company’s services will be tasked with updating and completing the existing website design and developing DRI’s site, which includes a series of sub-sites for its country offices. To better grasp the scope of the project, please refer to this documentation.  

• Website Structure 

• Website description of features

• Existing Figma Design 

Find some additional features and services to be provided.  

• Develop a speedy, responsive and accessible website with a user-friendly backend interface allowing for broad control of the website content and functionalities.  
• Provide well-founded suggestions for the navigation structure, functionality, and seamless transition between pages on the website, drawing from the detailed descriptions of pages and features provided 
• Provide content migration of all the news, publications, events and stories in DRI’s existing knowledge hub.  
  • Other services:  
    • Provide integration with Google Analytics 4 and Tag Manager
    • Optimise the website for SEO (An analysis of our current SEO challenges is available upon request) 

Part 2- Hosting and Security 

Select a hosting provider that meets the website's technical and data requirements. 

The selected hosting provider: 

• must be able to withstand DDoS traffic attacks and similar attacks on the website and not lead to outages; 
• should ensure all website data and files on their server are safe and in line with EU GDPR (including backups and security reports); 

The selection of hosting should follow the common website security standards. 

Part 3 - Maintenance and support

The company will provide maintenance and support up to three months after the delivery of the final website. DRI will procure those services after that period. The website provider may also apply to the call for maintenance and support beyond the three months, 

Requirements 

– Website design and development based on an existing Figma design

• Build the website compatible with any browser and with an SSL certificate. The website should integrate Elementor. The provider must recommend the best software for minimising security risks and keep the software updated for the duration of the contract.
• The website's backend should include features for creating, publishing, and editing country offices, projects, and various types of content such as publications, news items, and events. 
• The Country Office sites (please refer to the additional documentation for more information on this) should operate independently, with the same dedicated back-office space and with country-specific roles, ensuring that each country's operations remain autonomous while still being part of the broader website framework.
• Ensure optimal compatibility across various web browsers, including the latest versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Microsoft Edge for an enhanced user experience.
• Present content in a cohesive, visually engaging and user-friendly interface, employing templates for consistent branding and visual design based on the provided mock-up design. 
• Be flexible, agile and adaptive enough to carry through a product lifecycle of 7-10 years.
• Be accessible to search engine spiders and be created with good on-page SEO 
  • More specifically, it should have Technical and semantic optimisation, including the implementation of META tags, optimising URLs, ALT attributes, content, and internal linking.
• Changes and correction loops have to be accommodated as the website concept, design and development evolve. 
• Responsive web design that makes pages render well on a variety of devices (mobile, tablets,...)
• The website must integrate well with our social media networks (X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)
• A fast and reliable built-in text search function for the entire website capable of delivering relevant results based on keywords 

– Hosting and security

A scalable hosting solution capable of handling up to 5,000 visitors a day.

– Maintenance and support

• After delivering the website, the company will provide maintenance and support for up to three months while DRI procures these services (the provider may apply for this too).  

Qualifications of the bidder 

Submission of the adequate quotation following the instructions outlined below   

• Demonstrate a solid understanding of user-centred design principles and experience creating web designs incorporating user testing.  
• Demonstrate excellent visual design skills and be up to date with trends in visual communication, especially web design standards, user interface patterns and data visualisation  
• Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of responsive web design for delivering content to mobile devices, for example, flexible grids, flexible images / media.
• Demonstrate the ability to integrate accessibility throughout the design.  Demonstrate proficiency in coding and with web user interface design (UI) 
• Have recent experience with successfully performing similar services, preferably with international and governmental organisations 
• Key personnel with at least three-year experience in website design and development and certification in information technology, computer science, design or related field. 
• Be company or a consultant duly established either in Germany, the EU or any other region as long as it is established under the laws of the country of its incorporation and able to provide support during Central European Time (CET) 
• Guarantee availability of service and contact during CET business hours 
• Fluency in English (written and oral)