CALL FOR PROPOSALS 

PROJECT NAME:   IranWire Website Development (implementation management, UI/UX design, front and back-end development)

CONTACT:          RFP@journalismforchange.org

PROJECT SUMMARY: IranWire (iranwire.com/fa, iranwire.com/en, and iranwirearabic.com) is looking to commission a new website that is dynamic, versatile and interactive; attractive and easy to use for our audiences; offers user friendly functionality for our editorial team who produce, edit, and post content daily; and works well in environments where denial of service, hacking, filtering based on content or name is to be expected. 

We are seeking proposals that offer either a complete solution to the website development or proposals to implement specific aspects of the project (project management, UI/UX, front and back-end development). You will have had a track record in delivering dynamic, versatile and interactive media websites with a strong preference for experience in developing sites for Middle Eastern audiences (using right to left script).

IranWire (iranwire.com/fa, iranwirearabic.com, iranwire.com/en) is a leading news platform focusing on Iran and is a joint project of Journalism for Change and Off-Centre Productions. It has become a pre-eminent source of information about Iran as the country goes through one of the most challenging periods in its history. IranWire publishes news and features on key issues affecting Iran, civil society, human rights and politics, as well as articles focusing on countries and subject matters of interest to Iranian audiences. Content is currently published in Persian, English and Arabic, and the site also has Azeri, Turkish and Kurdish sections with more limited content, with plans to start publishing in a number of other languages.

Our audience has grown substantially since our launch in 2014, the volume and variety of our news content has increased significantly, and the environment in Iran necessitates a variety of means of accessing our site. Our largest audience is on social media platforms but our website remains the primary source and repository of our news and information programming.

Project Objectives:

  • Modern, stable, and accessible website that increases audience and improves user experience

  • Improved functionality, security and ease of publishing 

Target audience: Iranian citizens and a global audience of those with interest in Iran, the Middle East and world politics.

Timeline: Website public launch expected by May 2021

 Current website content

  • IranWire.com/fa: average monthly users 200k; cca 40k pages

  • IranWire.com/en: average monthly users 70k; cca 10k pages

  • IranWireArabic.com: average monthly users 35k; cca 8k pages

  • Ostanwire.com

Our current host is AWS and we use an outsourced firm for server and site maintenance.

REQUIREMENTS

Faster loading speeds and dynamic site 

  • Shared photo and multimedia storage for all admin publishing on different subsections of the site (i.e. Persian, English, Arabic etc.) 

  • Dynamic site to show contents to each user based on their connection / bandwidth

  • Auto refresh and more frequent caching of the website 

  • Completely scaled to user’s screen size

SEO 

  • Best SEO practices embedded, bearing in mind IranWire’s context (censorship and social media promotions) to improve ‘findability’ and searchability of the website

  • Google Analytics enabled for each page (traffic and events)

  • Searches within the website improved in both results and how they’re displayed (chronological, most recent and relevant first, include title and date of publication)

  • Allow content tagging

  • Copyright and website certificate to the bottom of the homepage

 Interactive website

  • Automatic related articles (with hyperlinked title and date) added around main story

  • More text tools including tables to the website 

  • Improved embedding features for social media posts and interactive content (i.e. maps, infographics, charts, polls, etc.) 

  • Ability to use video, photo, graphics in story (either one or multiple different items)

  • Ability to create and/or embed third party static and active maps and other animated graphics (with a backend database), without strong limits on where in page

  • Ability to embed different types of content/links, etc. in different spots of template.

  • Allow for live embed of social media feeds

  • Splash pages/pop ups (such as a survey or vote or request for donations for example) within the site itself or within specific stories.

  • Improved template size for photos and their location in the body of text (if possible, a more flexible template) + Pop-up function for cartoons and anything else that may need it 

  • Ability to upload videos to the website if needed  

  • Pull-quote boxes with key quotes from stories to break up text.

  • Photos as slideshows on the homepage 

 Improved administrative control 

  • Superuser to have authority to change and edit categories and subcategories (i.e. the menu)

  • Allow new pages by non-technical site managers

  • Allow ease of posting content by non-technical editors/site managers, to include ease of tagging, placement, prioritization, time and date to roll-off a primary position on site

  • “Preview” function in the backend for articles to be checked before publication 

  • Control over the order of articles and slideshow photos in the backend (drag & drop function) 

  • Downloadable .csv table content reports (like https://iranwire.com/fa/api/v1/report/) to cover each language edition and include correct URLs for articles.

  • Shared general template/backend across different languages

  • English, Persian and Arabic should ‘talk to each other’

Retain the audience and reduce the bounce rate 

  • Remove timestamps from the homepage 

  • Add more promotional banners on the top ribbon (same static panel with multiple items) 

  • Easy social media sharing of stories/site within stories, within sections, site overall. 

  • Creating a new storyline structure for news stories (e.g., coronavirus, economy, etc.) 

  • Allow for top advertising banner (may remain hidden initially) 

  • Add “editor’s pick” to the homepage

  • Add ability to place contact us or question button in stories, sections, site

Other

  • Bring Ostanwire’s database to the main website (ostanwire.com)

  • Author profiles on the website (with both English and Persian descriptions side by side) 

  • GDPR compliant - General Data Protection Regulation compliance is essential. A clear flow of user data, where it sits and how it’s managed in compliance with OCP policies and GDPR rules

  • Accessibility standards must be met: https://www.w3.org/WAI/

  • No comments to stories required but allow for some form of moderated discussion (discussion board, perhaps like Reddit or https://tribe.so/embed-forum-on-website) that can be activated.

  • Ability to integrate MailChimp or other CRM into site

  • Migrate data from existing website to new website

Representative IranWire social media channels:

Required response: The RFP is open to companies and individuals who may bid on the entire project or one of three aspects - project management (manage UI/UK and front and back-end development), UI/UX, and front- and back-end development. Your proposal will be reviewed based on experience, qualifications, and value. We may enter into negotiations with one or more respondents. Proposals must be submitted by November 7, 2020 (extended deadline) to: RFP@journalismforchange.org. With your proposal please include, as appropriate to your bid (entire project or part of project):

  • Detailed narrative with:

    • timelines for stages of development and method of client involvement and approvals

    • proposed technical approach (platform, languages, plug-ins, etc.) and justification for that approach

  • Detailed costing

  • Statement of qualifications to include examples of your previous work and qualifications and experience of your team in web development, including SEO, UX, security, and accessibility as appropriate for your proposal

  • Discussion of post-launch support

  • Key personnel and indications of source of other personnel (employee, contractor)

  • Three references from previous clients on similar projects

Any questions regarding the brief can be directed to RFP@journalismforchange.org. We will not accept direct phone calls. All questions and answers of substance will be shared with all applicants but we will discuss the RFP with interested bidders who may seek additional information.