Five months after deciding the City of Asbury Park website needed an upgrade, city officials are accepting offers for the redesign of cityofasburypark.com.
The Asbury Park City Council began discussions in July to seek requests for proposals [RFPs] to the previous website, which many residents had then complained was outdated and not user-friendly.
Weeks after council members sought a revamp to the site, it was surreptitiously taken over by Turkish hackers twice over the summer, once in August and once in September. A splash page with important city information was constructed shortly after the initial hack and replaced hours after the second hack. The splash page has been in operation since that time.
The council unanimously voted to go out to bid on a website in early October.
The RFP was today uploaded to the city’s website. It outlines what the city seeks to accomplish in the redesign, which includes enhancement to the overall online presence and expansion of the information provided on the site along with software solutions needed to provide a fully operational site.
Awards will be based on the proposal that proves to be “the most advantageous to the [c]ity” based upon several considerations, including the cost effectiveness, quality of services and vendor’s experience, according to the public notice seeking proposals.
Councilwoman Amy Quinn was the driving force behind the effort to revamp the site.
“I am really glad to see the website redesign moving forward,” Quinn told the Sun. “I’m hopeful things will move faster from this point on.”
Just under $34,000 of the city’s Urban Enterprise Zone funds will be used to pay for the project.
Click here to access a copy of the RFP. Proposals are due to the city managers office by noon on Jan. 22.
[Correction: A previous version of this article erroneously stated the council voted unanimously to seek proposals for a new website in July. While the council entered into a discussion to seek proposals in July, a resolution to formally seek proposals was unanimously voted on in October. This version has been updated to reflect that change.]
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