WordPress Developer – Islamabad.ai AI Academy, CRM & Certificate Workflow

Custom post types and structured fields, not individually built course pages. Islamabad.ai is a Pakistan-based AI training, research and institutional partnerships organisation. We are looking for a WordPress developer to build a professional, responsive and maintainable website based on the attached “Islamabad.ai Final WordPress Website Developer Specification v2.1”. The full specification is the source of truth for this project. Applicants must read the complete document before submitting a proposal. The total developer budget is fixed at $1,800 USD. The successful developer must use an efficient, lightweight and plugin-based WordPress implementation. Proposals must clearly explain what will be delivered within this budget and identify any exclusions before the contract begins. This is not a basic theme-installation project. The website requires structured content, reusable templates, course registration, payment handling, CRM records, automated emails, certificates and public verification. MAIN WEBSITE AREAS The website will be Academy-first, with the following major areas: 1. Home and AI Academy 2. Upcoming courses and reusable course-detail pages 3. Executive programmes 4. Corporate training 5. CPD and certificates 6. Academy faculty 7. Free learning resources 8. AI Think Tank 9. Policy briefs and reports 10. Research themes 11. Fellows and Advisory Board 12. Roundtables and collaboration 13. Projects and Partnerships 14. AI Readiness Audit 15. Responsible AI Governance 16. AI Capacity-Building 17. Partners 18. People 19. Events and Media 20. About and Founder/Core Team 21. Contact and routed enquiry forms 22. Privacy, Terms, Refund, Cookies and Disclaimer pages 23. Certificate verification page WORDPRESS ARCHITECTURE The website must use a maintainable and exportable WordPress structure. Expected approach: - Latest stable WordPress - Lightweight theme such as Kadence, GeneratePress or Astra with a child theme - ACF Pro or an approved equivalent for structured fields - Custom Post Types for Courses, Cohorts, Instructors, Reports, Policy Briefs, Research Themes, Fellows, Team, Projects, Partners, Events and Certificates - Reusable templates instead of individually built course or publication pages - Fluent Forms and FluentCRM, or an equivalent integrated forms and CRM system - External SMTP/API email configuration - Cloudflare, caching, image optimisation and security controls - Automated backups and a documented restoration process - Rank Math, Yoast or an equivalent SEO system WooCommerce must not be installed by default. It may only be used if a selected payment gateway genuinely requires it and the reason is explained in the proposal. This is not an LMS project. Do not propose LearnDash, Tutor LMS, LifterLMS or similar systems. COURSE REGISTRATION AND AUTOMATION The website should support a registration-to-certificate workflow without learner accounts. Required functionality includes: 1. Course and cohort registration forms 2. Course and cohort information automatically linked to the registration 3. Central storage of learner and registration records 4. Unique registration or payment reference 5. Manual payment options such as bank transfer, Raast, JazzCash and Easypaisa 6. Hosted card payment integration where gateway onboarding allows 7. Payment status workflow from Pending to Paid 8. Payment confirmation emails 9. Course joining details and Zoom information 10. Optional reminders before course sessions 11. Registration search, filtering, import and export 12. Attendance and completion tracking 13. Branded PDF certificate generation 14. Unique certificate ID 15. QR code or direct verification URL 16. Public certificate verification without exposing private learner information If any payment gateway or certificate feature cannot be fully implemented within the $1,800 budget, the proposal must state the limitation clearly. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS The design should be modern, credible and suitable for an AI training institute and policy organisation. Preferred design direction: 1. Academy-first homepage 2. Professional navy, white and restrained teal/cyan-green colour palette 3. Clear typography and strong spacing 4. Course cards showing dates, duration, format, instructor, fee, status and registration button 5. Responsive desktop and mobile layouts 6. Real photographs where supplied Avoid: - Purple-blue gradients - Neon effects and particle backgrounds - Robots, glowing brains and generic AI stock imagery - Excessive animation, sliders and carousels - Decorative dashboard layouts - Unauthorised university, employer or government logos TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS The developer must provide: - Separate staging website before production launch - GoDaddy hosting suitability check - Responsive testing at 360px, 390px, 768px, 1024px and 1440px - No horizontal scrolling or broken mobile controls - Accessible forms, labels, focus states and navigation - Basic WCAG 2.1 AA-oriented implementation - Image optimisation and performance improvements - SSL and HTTPS configuration - Cloudflare configuration - Security and spam protection - Daily or automated off-site backups - SEO metadata, sitemap and basic schema - Google Analytics 4 or an approved alternative - Production launch and post-launch checks HANDOVER REQUIREMENTS The successful developer must provide: - Staging and production access information - Child-theme/source files - Exported ACF field groups where applicable - Plugin and theme inventory - Licence and renewal information - Admin guide for updating courses, people, research and certificates - Operations guide for registrations, payments, emails and certificates - Backup and restore instructions - At least one staff training session - Transfer of all relevant credentials and configuration details - Thirty-day defect warranty for accepted features FIXED-PRICE MILESTONES 15% — Hosting audit, staging and architecture: $270 20% — Homepage design and responsive design system: $360 25% — Pages, templates and structured content: $450 25% — Forms, CRM, payments, automation and certificates: $450 15% — Testing, launch, documentation and handover: $270 Total fixed price: $1,800 USD No full payment will be released upfront. CLIENT-SUPPLIED MATERIALS The client will provide: - Course and cohort details - Instructor and team information - Policy briefs and reports - Approved logo files and photographs - Legal policy text - Banking and payment information - Gateway onboarding details - Email/DNS access - Zoom links - Verified statistics and partner information Logo creation, legal drafting, professional copywriting, photography and third-party service charges are outside the developer’s fixed fee. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Please begin your proposal with: “ACADEMY-FIRST” Then provide: 1. Two or three relevant WordPress portfolio links 2. One comparable project using Custom Post Types and ACF or structured fields 3. Your recommended theme and technical stack 4. How you will implement reusable templates 5. How you will handle Fluent Forms, FluentCRM and SMTP/API email 6. How manual payments will move from Pending to Paid 7. How certificates will be generated and publicly verified 8. How the website will remain portable for possible future rebranding 9. What you can complete within the $1,800 budget 10. Any exclusions or assumptions 11. Your proposed timeline and availability 12. Confirmation that you accept milestone-based payment 13. Confirmation that you will not install an LMS or WooCommerce without written approval "Generic proposals and proposals that do not clearly address the fixed $1,800 scope may be rejected."