Sandbox Development and Consulting Inc. » Web Design

WalkIberia (WordPress CMS/bbPress)

jzelazny — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:20:00 +0000

url: http://walkiberia.com/

SDAC Inc. provided:

Custom Web Design
Custom Graphic Design
XHTML/CSS programming
WordPress theme creation
Custom PHP programming
Custom jQuery programming
Custom bbPress Theme

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, bbPress, PHP, jQuery

front end:

The client wanted something with a lot of different content areas on all views. This site has a lot of moving parts: slideshows, carousels, tabs, custom views for home, category views, bbPress theme, etc.

back end:

For ease of use, the forum and site login is single sign-on. There are a few custom admin panels for ad management as well as to specify what goes into the featured slideshows. There are also a number of custom functions that make all the moving parts dynamic so the client can easily feature, change, move around the content in all views.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

After this site was completed – I duplicated it to another domain (Portuguese): http://passear.com which was the first time I used the Portuguese build of WordPress. WordPress is still easy to use – even it not in your native language!

Falcon Discovery

jzelazny — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:04:08 +0000

url: http://falcon-discovery.com/

SDAC Inc. provided:

Custom Web Design
Custom Graphic Design
XHTML/CSS programming
WordPress theme creation
Custom PHP programming
Custom jQuery programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP, jQuery

front end:

The client wanted something minimal, and clean to present all their content. They wanted a number of javascript functionality: drop down menus, slideshows, accordions, etc. I used jQuery to handle all the tasks.

back end:

There are a number of custom admin panels as well as custom templates in place for this site in order for everything on the site to be editable and dynamic. There are custom admin panels for the slideshow, sidebar, and home page content and then custom page templates which dynamically create the accordion pages wherever you see them. The client does not need to put in any special code or divs.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

Having content and then designing for that content makes more sense than designing something with content that does not exist. I am now a firm believer that content comes first.

ManKind Studios (WordPress CMS)

jzelazny — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:52:54 +0000

url: http://mankindstudio.com/

SDAC Inc. provided:

Custom Web Design
Custom Graphic Design
XHTML/CSS programming
WordPress theme creation
Custom PHP programming
Custom jQuery programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP, jQuery

front end:

The client wanted something very simple and clean which allowed them to easily add new content both in a slideshow on the home page and throughout the other pages as well. The client also wanted a custom logo – which we provided.

back end:

There is a custom admin panel to control the home page slideshow as well as the home page audio file. Other than that – this was a very simple site. They wanted to easily include Topspin widgets on their sites we I made sure they could use WordPress widgets in order to easily place everything with a simple drag and drop.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

I wish I lived closer to these guys. I would love to spend a day with all that equipment!

Pypeline (WordPress CMS & bbPress Forum)

jzelazny — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:00:08 +0000

url: http://www.guidewiregroup.com/

SDAC Inc. provided:

XHTML/CSS programming
WordPress theme creation
bbPress theme creation
Custom PHP programming
Custom jQuery programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, bbPress, PHP, jQuery

front end:

The client wanted an easy to manage site with a forum – completely designed from the ground up. We provided them with a completely custom design for an integrated WordPress/bbPress site.

back end:

The main goal with this site was to make a single sign-on web site for the client and their users. We tied in bbPress, added some jQuery functionality (scroller, etc) – and used everything we could to make sure it was easily managed.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

I love working with bbPress and WordPress together and enjoy the simplicity of this site.

Triple Pundit (WordPress CMS)

jzelazny — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:00:33 +0000

url: http://www.triplepundit.com/

SDAC Inc. provided:

Custom Design
XHTML/CSS programming
WordPress theme creation
Custom PHP programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP

front end:

The client came to me with a number of ideas about the layout/design, and their existing logo and I then put together what you see. They wanted something clean, minimal, and something with a lot of white space.

back end:

This site contained some of my standard customizations: featured admin panel and my custom thumbnails/ custom fields plugins as well as a few custom widgets, custom functions to handle the ad placements, and some other bits of content.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

I actually enjoy the content of this site and look forward to reading more of what they have to say in the future.

Marry Bop Dump (Custom Framework/Application)

jzelazny — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:10:26 +0000

url: http://www.marrybopdump.com

SDAC Inc. provided:

XHTML/CSS programming
Custom AJAX functionality
PHP programming
Custom PHP framework

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, jQuery

front end:

Since this was a startup web site started by me and another colleague – I had complete control over everything with this project. I started by creating the logo and header and then the rest of the site design fell into place. For the front end – I wanted something bold, bright, and stylish. I needed something that had definite ad spots, a focus on the main rating system, and something that would be quick and easy for anyone to enjoy.

back end:

I used a custom PHP framework which allowed us to have a templating system, clean URLs, the ability to easily store and retrieve data without the hassle of managing hundreds of columns, as well as a lot of jQuery functionality to reduce page refreshes and to increase functionality. Our focus was on simplicity and reusability. There are four main components of this project: user management, photo upload/display, rating, and administration. Each component is completely customizable and uses jQuery whenever possible to make the user experience as easy and straightforward as possible.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

Having to build something like this from scratch – logo, layout, CSS/HTML, PHP/MySQL functionality was both fun and exciting and I look forward to adding more functionality to this site in the near future. Stay tuned!

Innovate!Europe Registration Form and XML/Javascript Widget

jzelazny — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:28:42 +0000

url:http://www.innovate-events.com

SDAC Inc. provided:

XHTML/CSS programming
Custom PHP programming
Custom XML programming
Custom Javasctipt programming
Quickbase database

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, XML, Javascript, Quickbase

front end:

The client needed a clean looking registration form along with a custom widget which would then display a “feed” of the applicant’s uploaded logos linked to the company web sites that could easily be dropped into any web site by adding a single line of javascript.

back end:

The form data needed to be validated and then stored in a Quickbase database. From there, I then created a custom XML report which I then parsed certain fields to then populate a custom drop in javascript widget. The widget then displayed a list of the ten most recent applicants’ logos linked to the company web sites.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

This was a great project. I learned quite a bit about parsing XML and Quickbase.

Robin’s Miniature Furniture Web Site (WordPress CMS)

jzelazny — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:40:18 +0000

url:http://www.robinsminifurniture.com/

SDAC Inc. provided:

XHTML/CSS programming
Custom web design
Custom WordPress functionality
Custom AJAX functionality

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, WordPress, jQuery

front end:

The client wanted a custom design to show off the work she creates by hand. The design uses colors that do not take away from the items the client is presenting on her web site. The layout of the site is based on an upcoming theme I plan to release.

back end:

The client wanted to be able to change and manipulate just about everything on the site without having to change anything in the templates. I added some custom admin interfaces to control the different content areas, used WordPress functions to produce the menus, sidebar, and everything on the home page is dynamic. In order to “feature” he best items, I created a slideshow using jQuery and a custom WordPress query that shows five of her featured items. I also made it very easy to use thumbnails for each post so they would show up on the home page without any extra work.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

This project really made me think about making custom themes easily editable by someone just using the admin. Stay tuned for a release of something similar in the future.

Shopplr (WordPress Theme)

jzelazny — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:42:27 +0000

url:http://www.shopplr.com/

SDAC Inc. provided:

XHTML/CSS programming
Custom web design
Custom logo design

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, WordPress

front end:

The client wanted a design similar to her other site Mapplr. After receiving a color palette and custom icons – I put together a logo, and site design that had a similar feel to Mapplr while still having it’s own look and feel.

back end:

There is not anything too fancy with this site on the backend. I added a few custom functions – but nothing major.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

This was a pretty straightforward project but I built on the existing codebase of the sister site – Mapplr.com. Sometimes it ends up being quicker and easier starting from scratch.

PressItForMe (Logo, Web Design/Layout)

jzelazny — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:16:38 +0000

url:http://www.pressitfor.me/

SDAC Inc. provided:

XHTML/CSS programming
Custom logo design
Custom web design

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, Pligg

front end:

The client wanted a custom logo, custom button (for Digg like service), and web design. I worked with the client to choose the palette and then created the logo around the button that would be used on the site and new WordPress plugin. I created the basic layout (header, footer, navigation, basic content area, AJAX comments/related links, who voted area) and the client then created a Pligg theme from it.

back end:

I did not do any work on the backend for this site – but I did have to make sure that the button HTML and CSS worked with the Pligg voting system.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

This was my first experience with Pligg and I always enjoy learning something new.