IFworld Returns a Heavy Response

When the city of Fayetteville asked 13 technology firms to type up a bid proposal to overhaul the city’s Web site, eight of the national and local companies responded. IFworld Inc. of Fayetteville returned a 200-page answer.

For $99,000, IFworld offered to create a snazzy, extremely maintenance-friendly Web site. The proposal is considered as the front-runner for the council’s anticipated March 5 decision. IFworld’s bid was about half of the highest prices named, and the lowest bid more than halved IFworld’s figure, said IFworld Sales Manager Shara Fisher.

The site will be self-sufficient, Fisher said, and administrators won’t have to know computer code to maintain the site. That’s key because Fayetteville’s hiring freeze won’t allow for a Web master.

Many governmental sites don’t spend the money to polish their information-heavy sites, but IFworld President Jeremy Webb said, “[www.accessfayetteville.org] will be one of the most advanced city sites I’ve ever seen.”