RFP – Website Design & Development Services

Dayton: Made for More

1. Introduction

The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce EPI Foundation (EPI), on behalf of the regional brand Dayton: Made for More, is soliciting proposals from qualified website design and development firms to build a modern, high?performance website comparable in quality and functionality to Experience Tulsa. The new site will serve as the flagship digital experience for talent attraction, business recruitment, and regional storytelling across the 14?county Dayton Region.

The website must incorporate dynamic features including an events calendar, a market comparison tool, and integration with a simple CRM, while reflecting the Dayton: Made for More brand identity and meeting high standards for accessibility, performance, and scalability.

2. Administrative Information

RFP Release Date: March 16, 2026
Vendor Q&A Deadline: March 30, 2026
Proposal Submission Deadline: April 13, 2026
Contact Name: Amy Houghtling
Organization: Dayton: Made for More
Official Organization Name: Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce EPI Foundation
Contact Email: daytonexperience@dacc.org
Contact Phone Number: 937-226-8243

Brand guidelines will be provided to the selected vendor.

3. Project Overview

The Dayton: Made for More website will:

Showcase the region’s lifestyle, workforce, business climate, and opportunities
Provide a compelling, mobile?first user experience
Support scalable content management for approximately 40 pages
Integrate an events calendar, market comparison tool, and CRM?connected lead forms
Reflect the Dayton: Made for More brand identity
Meet modern standards for SEO, accessibility, and performance

The target launch date for the completed website is September 30, 2026.

4. Scope of Work

4.1 Discovery & Strategy

Stakeholder interviews or workshops
Review of brand guidelines, content, and assets
User persona development
Sitemap and information architecture
Technical recommendations for CMS, hosting, integrations, and security

4.2 UX & Visual Design

Wireframes for all major templates
High?fidelity designs aligned with brand guidelines
Responsive design across devices
Component?based design system for scalability

4.3 Website Development

The site will include approximately 40 pages across lifestyle, workforce, business, county profiles, and regional storytelling.

Required Features

Events Calendar

Add, edit, categorize events
Filter by category, date, location, audience
Month and list views
Optional integration with external feeds

Market Comparison Tool

Compare Dayton to other metros
Data categories may include cost of living, housing, commute times, job market indicators, education, and workforce metrics
Admin?editable data (manual or API)
Visualizations (charts, graphs, icons)

Simple CRM Integration

Lead capture forms for talent, business, media, and general inquiries
Automated routing
Integration with a lightweight CRM (vendor recommendation)
GDPR/CCPA?compliant data handling

Technical Requirements

CMS: WordPress or vendor recommendation
Hosting: Vendor?hosted
ADA/WCAG 2.1 AA compliance
SEO?optimized structure, metadata, and schema
Fast load times and Core Web Vitals compliance
Secure hosting with SSL
Vendor?hosted environment must include automated monthly full?site backups, including database and file system.
Backups must be stored securely and retained for a minimum of 90 days.
Vendor must provide a documented process for restoring the site from backup in the event of data loss, corruption, or security breach.
Vendor must monitor hosting environment for uptime, security vulnerabilities, and performance issues.
Analytics setup (GA4; heatmapping optional)

5. Content

Client will provide all final content
Vendor will migrate or assist with migration of content
Vendor may recommend formatting or SEO improvements

6. Deliverables

Discovery findings and technical recommendations
Sitemap (Client will assist) and IA
Wireframes and full visual design system
Fully developed website with all required features
CMS training for staff
Documentation for maintenance and updates
Vendor will provide monthly full?site backups as part of ongoing maintenance.
Vendor will maintain backup logs and make them available upon request.
Vendor will support restoration from backup as needed.

7. Recommended Page Template List

Vendors should plan to design and develop the following templates:

Core Templates

Homepage
Standard Content Page
Landing Page (Live, Work, Learn, Explore)

Regional & County Templates

County Profile Template
Regional Overview Template

Industry & Business Templates

Industry Overview
Industry Detail

Interactive Tool Templates

Market Comparison Tool
Events Calendar (Month + List Views)
Event Detail

Directory & Resource Templates

Resource Library
Resource Detail
News / Updates Listing
News Article

Engagement & Conversion Templates

Contact / Lead Form
General Inquiry

Utility Templates

Search Results
404 / Error
Privacy Policy / Terms

8. Project Timeline

Phase	Estimated Duration	Target Dates
RFP Release	—	March 16, 2026
Vendor Q&A Period	2 weeks	March 16–30, 2026
Proposal Submission Deadline	—	April 13, 2026
Vendor Interviews	1 week	April 20–24, 2026
Selection & Contracting	1 week	Late April 2026
Discovery	3–4 weeks	May–June 2026
Design	4–6 weeks	June–July 2026
Development	8–12 weeks	July–September 2026
Content Migration	2–4 weeks	Overlapping late development
QA, Testing, Accessibility Review	2–3 weeks	Early–Mid September 2026
Launch	—	September 30, 2026