Redevelopment of Manchester Central website

Manchester Central, the city's international convention centre and leading events venue, is looking to redevelop the www.manchestercentral.co.uk website. The successful bidder will need to have experience in developing websites with user centred design and experience of building ecommerce and booking systems within websites. The commencement of the contract is expected to begin in February 2021 with the website ready to go live by 30th April 2021.

Manchester Central commissioned an in-depth study reviewing the current website and its key user groups, to gain a detailed understanding of audience requirements. It is expected that the successful web developer will fully interpret these recommendations and work with the MC digital strategy group to ensure that they inform and steer the redevelopment . (An NDA will need to be signed and returned before the full study will be shared.) Requirements; Flexibility - the website will need to be agile in order to adapt to the evolving requirements of the business. The content management system should also allow Manchester Central administrators to make changes to content, layout and website functions in-house wherever possible.

The website will need to integrate with event technology platform Ungerboeck, Matterport 3D virtual tours and be able to connect with other application APIs

The current website uses Drupal, however Manchester Central is open to using another platform if it is more suited to the requirements. Expression of interest must be made by 15:00 Wednesday 9th December 2020 via Procontract.

Additional information: In 2019, Manchester Central embarked on a journey to develop a digital strategy, with the aim of expanding its business through the creation or adoption of new, innovative solutions, systems and processes.In broad terms, traditional event venue customers can be defined as: • Event organisers who plan and host events at the venue - from small to large events (B2B) • Exhibitors exhibiting at events held at the venue (B2B) • Visitors attending events at the venue (B2C) As part of the digital strategy development in 2019, Manchester Central commissioned an in-depth study reviewing the current website and its key user groups, to gain a detailed understanding of audience requirements: • Following the redevelopment, a hosting and support services package will be required • The redeveloped website is expected to be live by April 30th 2021 Eligibility Criteria • Experience in developing websites with user centered design • Experience of building ecommerce and booking systems within websites Next Steps • If you would like to receive the tender please express your interest by Wednesday 9th December 15.00 through the ProContract website • Once you have expressed your interest you will be able to view the research findings by completing a non-disclosure agreement. This will be sent out upon request. • Tender briefs will be issued to interested parties on Thursday 10th December.