GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

Completed tenders shall be returned in a sealed envelope to arrive no later than 12.00 pm on the return tender date. If an email address has been provided the completed tender can be sent as a MS Word document attachment.

Late applications will not be accepted.

Tenderers should read this document carefully and respond using the alphanumeric order provided, i.e., please indicate the corresponding section/paragraph/number to which your answer relates.

Ferns Development Association is developing a website that will have a tourism and community focus and will highlight the heritage features and community activities and events. The website should promote Ferns as a tourism destination while also being a community reference for activities and events happening in the local and surrounding area.

The association’s current focus is on the tourism sector and improving the village’s infrastructure and development.

The Association is run by a committee of 14 community representatives elected at the AGM. The committee meets on a monthly basis.  Ferns Development Association is a representative organisation of Ferns community lobbying for appropriate infrastructure and negotiating with Govt bodies and other agencies to further the interests of the community. Currently we are lobbying for extended opening hours for the Castle Visitors Centre and developing Heritage Walks. We have also submitted to the local area plan which has now been completed. We hold public meetings to inform and gauge public opinion on topical issues like a bypass of Ferns and level of crime.

Recent achievements – successful in lobbying for the resurfacing of upper main street and redevelopment of the lower main street. Also the establishment of a roundabout which has facilitated improved traffic flow. Lobbying for improved Garda presence. Updating heritage flier.

Sub Committees:

Ferns Tidy Towns

Community Alert (Neighbourhood Watch)

Christmas Lights

The aims and objectives of the website are:

-      promote Ferns as a tourism destination

-      create awareness of its heritage features

-      act as an events and activities guide for the community

-      promote interaction with past and current residents using Facebook and YouTube

There are distinct markets:

Tourism: European, UK (close to Rosslare) and US. Certain attractions will appeal to different markets so the website should be visible globally.

Community:  Current and past residents.

Commercial: Support commercial activity in the area

We will provide all content but would like a cost included to get the home page professionally copywritten. We will require assistance from the website development company to ensure the copy is both user-friendly and optimised for search engines.

We will also require the website to be optimised so it gets a Page 1 ranking in Google for our chosen search terms. As part of this we will require the web development company to

-      research the most relevant key phrases for each page

-      ensure that each page headings are tagged H1 – H6 as required and optimised to include key phrases

-      optimise copy

-      individual meta data written for each page

-      and advice on how to maintain and improve on ranking in the future

Navigation structure:

We would anticipate the following pages are needed starting out but would like to be able to add top level and deeper/sub pages as needed in the future. The navigation will be confirmed on commission of the project.

-      Home

-      About Us

-      Ferns Community – this will contain updates on activities and campaigns

-      Ferns Events – this page will contain lists of events, possibly Google calendar integration.

-      Ferns Heritage – there are 12 heritage attractions so we may need to have sub pages, 1 for each attraction.

-      Ferns Tidy Towns

-      Local Commercial Directory

-      Nearby Attractions

-      Accommodation

-      Photos

-      Media – videos and podcasts/mp3

-      Location

-      Contact Us

In the footer we require a privacy policy and sitemap.

We will require access to an online CMS that allow us to do the following:

-      Edit all page copy and images

-      Add, hide and delete pages as needed

-      Add/edit Meta title, keywords and description on all pages. Meta data is to be individual on all pages.

-      Add online enquiry forms

-      Add photo galleries either using the CMS or feeding from FlickR

-      Add videos – Videos will be taken from YouTube Channel

-      Create links to internal and external sites and email addresses

-      Add/delete MP3 files

-      Add/delete Google maps

-      Add/delete advertising as required

The website will be a very interactive website and we will require the following:

-      online enquiry forms that allow people to enquire about local events, updates on campaigns etc . The minimum amount of fields required is Name, Phone, Email and Comments/Enquiry.  The Name, Phone and Email fields should be mandatory and the form should also have a captcha so we do not get spammed.

-      Video streaming – our videos will be uploaded into a YouTube channel before being embedded onto the website

-      Easily add new adverts to a features area on each page. The adverts may change on each page so the CMS needs to allow for that. An example of a website selling adverts is www.clonakilty.ie . They do not however have different ads on each page which is a requirement for us. We may also require a banner ad at the top of the website.

-      We will be using Facebook to promote interaction; we will require the most up-to-date wall posts to be streamed on the website.

-      Keyword search will be required so people can easily search the website

-      Google analytics installed

-      Integrate Google calendar which will list events etc

The website will require a newsletter signup. Please include costs for the set up of a newsletter template and any ongoing costs to send monthly newsletters.

We will need a full CMS but please include a cost for monthly updates.

Please include a timeline for the full development of the website and any additional work required.

Please include costs for the maintenance, training and support for the website. Please specify if this is a once off or annual charge.

All content, graphics and images are the copyright of Ferns Development Association and if stock photos are used we will require a copy of the licensing agreement.

We will require website hosting; we will need to know the location of the server and annual costs for the hosting. Will the CMS need patch/software updates? If so who will be responsible and are there are costs incurred.

Domain:

We are hoping to obtain ferns.ie – please include costs for a .com and a .ie domain. The administration contact on the domain should be the secretary of the Association.

http://www.ballyhourabears.com/ – we like this as it is very interactive, the only thing that we do not like is that the home page does not have much content apart from the interactive elements and the core website content on http://www.ballyhourabears.com/page/walking-festival-2010 could be missed.

http://www.clonakilty.ie/ – like the header photo as it give a great first impression. The twitter and Facebook logos are very clear. Like the overall feel that the site gives.

http://www.kinsale.ie/- do not like this site, it is quite dead and does not promote interaction and does not give the right impression of the area.  They would benefit from some large landscape images, the images they have are quite small.