Lakehead University is seeking a qualified vendor to provide comprehensive website redevelopment and migration services utilizing WordPress and/or Drupal CMS platforms. This project includes a strategic redesign and redevelopment of the University’s main institutional website, which currently operates on a Drupal 7 multi-site architecture, supporting numerous departmental and faculty subsites. The site is hosted in an on-premises, virtualized environment managed by the university’s Technology Services Centre and is built on Apache, CentOS Linux, and MariaDB with Git-based source code management across multiple development environments.

The selected vendor will collaborate closely with the university’s Communications, Marketing, and Web Development teams to ensure the new digital experience reflects the refreshed brand strategy, institutional value proposition, and supports recruitment and engagement goals. Core responsibilities include conducting a thorough evaluation of CMS platforms (including options such as Drupal 11 and WordPress VIP), configuration and development of the selected CMS in alignment with approved designs and accessibility standards, and establishing a robust long-term governance framework.

Additional requirements involve integrating advanced analytics (e.g., Google Analytics 4), search, and authentication systems such as SSO, while designing the infrastructure to support enhanced search and emerging AI-driven engagement tools. The vendor will also be responsible for optimizing the website’s speed, search engine visibility, and accessibility compliance prior to launch.