25-2205 Website Redesign and CMS Consolidation

Background
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, referred to as the 'University' or 'Notre Dame,' is seeking proposals from qualified digital agencies for a comprehensive website redesign and CMS consolidation initiative for the Mendoza College of Business. This project aims to enhance user experience, support enrollment goals, elevate faculty research, and strengthen brand storytelling capabilities. The successful bidder will partner with Mendoza to transform their digital ecosystem into a modern, accessible, and unified web platform built on headless CMS architecture.

Work Details
The project includes:
- A full redesign of the main Mendoza College of Business website (mendoza.nd.edu)
- Evaluation and potential redesign of all sub-sites and program landing pages
- Migration from multiple CMS platforms into a unified CMS (headless architecture preferred)
- Implementation of best practices for SEO, accessibility, performance, and user experience
- Development of a flexible, component-based design system that supports brand storytelling.

The selected partner must demonstrate expertise in higher education and creating integrated user experiences that drive measurable results. Specific objectives include modernizing the overall website to deliver an intuitive user experience compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA standards; supporting enrollment goals by optimizing prospective student journeys; elevating faculty research through dedicated hubs; enhancing storytelling and branding; improving SEO and discoverability; and unifying CMS infrastructure by consolidating existing platforms into a single system.

Period of Performance
The contract term shall commence on the Effective Date (TBD) and will end 60 calendar days post-site launch and deployment, with an anticipated project launch before June 2026.

Place of Performance
The place of performance is identified as the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

Bidder Requirements
Bidders must demonstrate expertise in higher education and headless CMS architecture. They should provide solutions that include intuitive content management interfaces accessible to non-technical editors while offering advanced capabilities for technical teams. Compliance with FERPA regulations and data privacy best practices is required. Bidders should also integrate robust SEO management tools.