New website design specification

Website Refresh Specification for Thanet Festival Choir (TFC)

 

1. Project Overview

This project aims to refresh the existing website of TFC (www.thanetfestivalchoir.org.uk) to update its design, user experience, functionality, and performance. The refreshed website should better align with our current goals, which are to recruit more new members, promote our concerts and performances as effectively as possible and increase ticket sales, and represent the work of TFC effectively to stakeholders as a ‘shop window’. It should also provide an enhanced user experience, and present a modern, visually appealing design that is easy to navigate and responsive across devices.

2. What is TFC?

We are a mixed choral group (male and female voices) of around 70 amateur singers. Based in the Isle of Thanet, East Kent, we regularly perform concerts to bring our music to the wider community. Although we do perform the occasional lighter concert, our main focus is traditional Choral Music. Our membership is drawn from a wide range of musical abilities. Some of us have many years’ experience of singing in choirs, whereas others are relatively new to the joys and challenges of choral singing. We are an adult choir, but we welcome young people over the age of 16 provided that they are accompanied at rehearsals by a parent/guardian or other appropriate adult.

3. Project Objectives

  • Modernise the design: update the website’s design to look more contemporary, professional, and aligned with TFC’s other communications and publicity.
  • Improve user experience: enhance the navigation, information architecture, and overall usability, building on existing strengths of the site. Ensure there are easy ways to contact TFC.
  • Device responsiveness: ensure the website functions seamlessly across all screen sizes (desktop, tablet, mobile).
  • Search engine optimization (SEO): implement basic on-page SEO best practices to improve visibility in search engines.
  • Content management: ensure we have simple content updates and management for non-technical users. Make sure there is a way to publish news items and announcements quickly and easily. Provide administrator rights for selected TFC committee members.
  • Compliance: ensure the website is accessible (WCAG 2.1 compliance) and privacy compliant (eg GDPR or equivalent in current legislation) for a website aimed at UK audiences.

4. Target Audience

  • Primary audiences: potential new members looking to find out about what choir membership involves and how to get further information; and audiences looking for Information about concerts, performances and ticket sales.
  • Secondary audiences: Stakeholders, including current and potential funders, partners, other choirs and arts organisations who may want to work with us.
  • Additionally, we want to create a members’ area with resources for choir members – initially rehearsal aids and materials currently housed on OneDrive, but potentially including chat/messaging. We want this to ‘future proof’ the site to meet needs in the foreseeable future.

5. Current Website Evaluation

We have undertaken an initial exercise, working with a group of TFC members, to identify strengths and weaknesses in the current website.

Our vision:

  • To tell people what the choir is doing, and make it easy for them to find out about and support us, essentially: Come and SING with us – Come and HEAR us – Come and SUPPORT us

Our prioritised requirements are :

  • Needs to promote upcoming performance(s) from the homepage as a priority, with an easy route to buying tickets
  • Secondly, to encourage people to join and show them what that looks and sounds like
  • A members’ area to be created, initially for rehearsal aids/info but expandable to include other information and functions as required
  • Link to Facebook, YouTube (and other appropriate platforms) to facilitate publishing pics, videos and sound recordings as required.

6. Design & User Interface (UI)

  • Visual Style: the revised site should align closely with wider TFC communications and publicity. This includes the guide to producing posters and tickets (included).
  • Wireframes: develop basic wireframes for key pages (Home, About Us, Products/Services, Blog/News, Contact).
  • User flows: create intuitive user flows to help users find information quickly and easily.
  • Imagery: we want to reflect TFC better in the renewed website using images of the choir at rehearsal and in performance. Graphics should reflect current typography and logos already in use by TFC.
  • Calls to action: clear and concise calls throughout the site for conversions (eg contact, sales, memberships).

7. Functional Requirements

  • Content management system (CMS): review existing CMS and either retain or recommend a more appropriate alternative. Needs to be simple, user-friendly, with easy-to-use admin interface for non-technical users to manage content.
  • Responsive design: must adapt to appropriate device screen sizes.
  • SEO optimisation: implement basic SEO features like meta titles/descriptions, header tags, alt text for images, and clean URL structure.
  • Forms: as appropriate to the requirements elsewhere, that integrate with email or CRM systems.
  • Social media integration: the facility to display social media links and optionally feed – but not to be enabled immediately.
  • Search Functionality: include a search bar to enable users to quickly find content.
  • Accessibility: ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards, including colour contrast, text size adjustment, and keyboard navigation.

8. Content Strategy

  • Content audit: review and update existing content, removing outdated or redundant information.
  • New content: to be discussed with Project Lead (see below). Suggest new content arising from analysis, and also provided or suggested by Project Lead on behalf of TFC committee.
  • Blog/news section: a section for “news from” with ability to archive articles.
  • Case studies: a section for uploading or linking to: rehearsal and performance recordings (video/audio) including a recommendation of the best way to present these; short articles or testimonials by TFC members and partners; current and historic programmes and publicity (as PDF or best format) to showcase the range and variety of work covered. We know that the use of recordings (audio and video) has significant issues around rights, and would welcome advice on how best to achieve our aims where this is concerned.
  • CTAs: prominently display CTAs throughout the site, including on the homepage and landing pages.

9. Technical Requirements

  • Platform/hosting: specify the hosting environment (shared, VPS, cloud, etc.), domain registrar, and SSL certificate for security.
  • Web analytics: integrate Google Analytics or other tracking tools to monitor site performance and user behavior.
  • Security: implement basic security measures, including SSL, regular backups, and protection from hacking attempts.
  • Page load speed: optimise images, minify code, and implement caching to ensure fast load times.
  • Backup/recovery: ensure automated backups of the site content and database are regularly created.
  • User acceptance testing (UAT) : undertake UAT with TFC project lead and volunteer committee members to ensure site is usable by admins and user friendly for audiences.

10. Timeline – to be agreed with appointed designer

11. Stakeholders & Team

  • Project lead and main point of contact: Mike Clarke on behalf of TFC committee
  • Development Lead: Malcolm Davies
  • Chair of TFC: Hazel Halse

A reference group has been assembled and subject to availability can help with user testing and feedback.

12. Post-Launch

  • Training: provide training for the internal team on managing content and using the CMS.
  • Monitoring: monitor site performance for 60 days post-launch and address any bugs or issues.
  • Ongoing maintenance: agree plan with development lead for regular updates, security patches, and content updates.

13. Success Metrics

  • Increased traffic: measurable increase in website visits over the year following launch.
  • Improved user engagement: higher engagement metrics (lower bounce rates, longer time on site, more pages visited).
  • Conversion rates: increased ticket sales, contact sign ups and new members attributable to the site.
  • SEO ranking: improved search engine rankings for targeted keywords.

 14 Conclusion & how to apply

We want this to be an iterative and learning process for TFC and the designer and would encourage contact at all stages via the Project Lead for input, suggestions and feedback.

In  response to this specification, please supply:

  • Details of your background including relevant experience
  • A brief description of how you would approach the project including methodology and how you plan to interact with us
  • Your fee for the project (including VAT if applicable and estimated expenses if required)
  • Confirmation of relevant professional indemnity/liability insurance (we may require proof before proceding)
  • Contact details for two referees who have worked with you recently (we will not approach them without your prior permission).

The closing date for submissions is Friday 27th June. Please send your submission as an email attachment (PDF or Word preferred) to mikeclarke830@gmail.com marking the subject TFC Website Proposal. Any enquiries about this project can be sent to the same email address under the same subject heading.

Downloadable version of specification here: TFC website renew reqs FINAL-MikeDesktop (1)rev

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