The content management system will provide the Client with the ability to display the same content different ways (e.g. as a “Pod” or sidebar link, as a “Teaser” with a read more link, in brief format in a grid, in email blasts, on social media sites, and other formats deemed appropriate to enhance the site’s design.)
Any post can also also be “posted” (or tagged) to appear in multiple places on the site without actually duplicating the content, allowing outdated information to be corrected only once without the need to change each instance of the outdated information on the site. This also helps the client to avoid search engine’s “duplicate content” penalty, potentially increasing search engine ranking.
As an example, the following displays could be created automatically when the user creates a “publication” post called “Mental Health Law”:
Full display
Teaser display
Pod display
Brief / grid display
Display when “bundled and blasted” via e-mail (simple mode)
Display when shared on social media (e.g. on Facebook)
The content management system will provide the Client with
the ability to create posts and pages that can be organized by
category or tag. (Referred to as “navigation term” and
technically referred to as taxonomy-based infrastructure.)
Posts tagged to a navigation term can be listed on the site
chronologically, or ordered manually using a “reorder” function.
They can be listed in summary, with a read more link, or in full,
expanded form.
The content management system will provide the Client with
the ability to create different kinds of posts and designate
certain fields to be used on that type of post. Examples of post
types include: press releases, announcements, documents, blog
posts, upcoming event information. Examples of fields include,
but are not limited to: file attachments, slideshow images, event
date(s), expiration date, subtitle, related content, author
profile.
The content management system will provide the Client with
the ability to rename, re-order, link, and assign a hierarchy to
the navigation terms in an intuitive drag-and-drop format. This
functionality allows the client to build a traditional site map
within the content management system and organize information
within the website in a way that is easy to revise throughout the
process.
The content management system will automatically synchronize
the navigation terms with the site’s primary and secondary
navigation menus. This allows the site administrator to quickly
make significant changes to the site’s structure without
destabilizing the design or functionality.
The content management system will provide the Client with
the ability to create unpublished or access-controlled navigation
terms. This will allow the Client to draft entire landing pages
of the site and test before taking the section live. It also
provides the Client with the ability to create dedicated areas of
the site that are only available to certain types of users. (e.g.
the [audience] portal.)
Developer will create a mobile-friendly theme for both the
website and e-mail blasts by using conditional comments and a
dedicated mobile cascading stylesheet (CSS). The website theme
will feature a simplified navigation and a condensed template for
channels.
The content management system will automatically reformat
website content to display correctly on the mobile device.
The end-user will have the ability to disable the mobile
theme and use the standard theme.
The end-user will be encouraged to add the site to their home
screen, which will create an app-like experience for the user and
will add an icon to their home screen. (iPhone only)
Developer will design one or more production-quality digital
mockups of the Client’s new site based on the preferences
identified in Phase I. Mockups provide a simulation of a finished
home page and/or primary landing page early in the development
process.
Developer will utilize the Client’s current branding, color
scheme, and logo to design the new website.
Developer will revise and integrate the design into the
content management system in an iterative fashion based on client
feedback.
Developer will construct the site’s theme using strict XHTML
and cascading style sheets (CSS) to ensure compliance with web
accessibility standards and consistent display on current and
future browsers. Older browsers will be accommodated as much as
possible, however, Client understands that not all older browsers
will display pages exactly the same way as modern browsers.
Developer will make reasonable attempts to accommodate older
browsers, ensuring that all content is readable on older
non-standards-compliant browsers. In rare and special cases,
Client may wish to have their website designed specifically for
an older browser. These requests can be accommodated, however,
Client understands that designing a website to display for an
older non-standard browser may lead to inconsistencies when
displayed in future browsers, and the inability to take advantage
of newer functionality.
Developer will design navigation bars to be text-based so
both primary and secondary links can be changed through the
content management system. (Text-based links are also very search
engine friendly.)
The URLs for the content management system navigation terms
and “pages” are created automatically when creating content, and
are search-engine friendly.
The content management system will provide the Client with
the ability to make URL aliases so pages can be assigned short,
natural links that are easy to share and remember. (e.g.
http://[domain]/contact)
The content management system will provide the Client with
the ability to build forms, surveys, and questionnaires that can
be filled out by site visitors, similar to Survey Monkey™. Client
will be able to view, analyze and download these results as an
Excel Spreadsheet.
The content management system will allow the Client to append
form fields to any post on the website, turning any content into
a webform.
The content management system will allow the Client to
protect forms from spam submissions using CAPTCHA technology.
This requires users to type a code into a confirmation box to
prove they are human, making it difficult for spam-bots to fill
out the form.
The content management system will allow the Client to build
micro-forms that can be placed in sidebars or practically
anywhere on one or more pages. The micro-forms use AJAX
technology (they submit smoothly and do not require the page to
be refreshed) allowing them to display a confirmation message
immediately.
The content management system allows contact forms to be
created that can send email messages to members of the Client’s
staff without exposing email addresses, if desired. In addition,
any email addresses that are included on the website are
protected from spambots (email harvesting).
The content management system will provide logged in users
with the ability to comment on content, post topics for
discussion / commenting, and share content via various social
media platforms. This can be allowed/disallowed by the Client as
needed on a per-page or per-post basis.
The content management system will provide logged in users
with the ability to submit various posts for consideration at the
discretion of the site administrator. (e.g. events, news
releases, announcements, committee documents.) Any submitted
content could be approved by the site administrator, although
certain users could be authorized to post without the need for
approval.
The content management system will provide any user with the
ability to share public content on the user’s Facebook, MySpace,
Twitter, Digg or other social network platform.
The content management system will provide the site
administrator with the ability to quickly cross-post important
content (such as upcoming events or press releases) onto the
Client’s Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Blogger, Tumblr, or other
supported social publishing system without having to re-type or
format the content. Cross-posted content will point back to the
website for additional information, when appropriate.
The content management system will provide the site
administrator with the ability to easily embed video into the
site from various platforms, including blip.tv, Vimeo and
YouTube. The content management system will automatically
generate thumbnails (with the ability to customize) and will
render the video in a way that complies with web standards and
also works with mobile devices that do not support Adobe Flash,
such as the iPad and iPhone.
The content management system will provide designated user
roles (e.g. members) the ability to claim, maintain, and edit a
member profile, allowing real-time updating of member content.
This includes e-mail address, phone number, mailing address,
biography, parent organization, and picture.
Developer will fully empower the Client to migrate their
current content to the new website through training sessions,
constant support, extensive documentation, and advanced content
migration and automation tools such as server-to-server file and
image transfer.
Developer recommends that the bulk of the content migration
will be executed by the Client, between Phase 2 and Phase 4,
providing training and an opportunity for applied learning of the
characteristics, features and benefits of the content management
system.
The Developer encourages the practice of migrating content
first, then editing and revising the content second. This is
recommended for three reasons: (1) the migration goes much
faster, (2) the task can be more easily delegated to those who
wish to learn how to use the website, and (3) the content
management system stores all the revisions made to the content,
so each change is documented for future reference. This gives the
Client a historical look at all content moved to the new site.
The Developer is willing to migrate all content from the
Client’s current site to the new site. However, because the
Developer’s goal is 100% empowerment of the Client to manage all
its website content going forward, including text, images,
attachments, multimedia, links, navigation, site users and user
roles, the Developer strongly recommends and encourages the
Client to migrate their content.
Developer will provide a content management system that will
allow authorized users to create and edit pages on the Client’s
website directly though their web browser, with no special
software required.
Developer will provide a web-based editor that will allow
Client staff and authorized users to edit content for the
Client’s website in a collaborative environment, including the
ability to upload, import, create and manipulate text, images,
tables and other HTML elements.
The content management system will provide for the ability to
create various types of content on the site, customizable to meet
the Client’s needs.
The content management system will include a “paste from
Word” feature that will support copying-and-pasting from
Microsoft Word documents into the Client’s website pages, while
stripping any problematic code.
The content management system will include a
revision-tracking system that will display a list of all changes
made to a particular page or post, with the capacity for Site
Administrators to revert to a previous version of the page or
approve a revision suggested by others.
The content management system will include an access control
system for designating private content such as board minutes or
member news. Access to any content can be limited to a certain
group of users on a page-by-page basis, or by navigation term
(section of the site).
Developer will provide printed certification from the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and contentquality.com demonstrating
that the Client’s website complies with section 508 of the
Federal Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. §794d) and the W3C’s Web
Access Initiative to protect the Client from liability arising
from having an inaccessible website.
Developer will also provide content management system
plug-ins (e.g. the markdown filter module) to ensure Client-added
content adheres to these standards.
To ensure that the website is compatible with future browsers
and devices, the website will be developed using the XHTML Strict
format, and will use a WC3 approved document type definition.
Developer will provide online documentation describing the
operation of the content management system for each feature of
the Client website. The documentation is dynamic and changes
automatically as new types of content become available and new
features are added, and will automatically customize itself to
the role of the user viewing it.
Developer will make both a print-friendly and HTML version of
the help system available.
Developer will provide Client staff training on the website
content management system, including but not limited to: how to
add a page; how to edit a page; how to edit the site map and add
or edit navigation terms; how to add, edit or delete ”users” and
assign various “permissions” (levels of ability to add, edit, or
manage content); how to post files and attachments; how to add
pictures and/or video, and how to reset user passwords.
