Macleans Web Site (WordPress VIP CMS)

url:http://www.macleans.ca/

Macleans

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • WordPress CMS/theme
  • Custom PHP programming
  • Custom AJAX functionality

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, WordPress.com VIP Hosting , PHP, jQuery

front end:

I was given an existing theme to modify and build upon for this site. We used the Macleans colors, logos, and other custom features such as a slideshow, carousel, and other user interface addtions.

back end:

I implemented Jappler Menus (my personal creation) for their navigation, used AJAX and a custom WordPress query to build the featured stories slideshow, more AJAX for the carousel in the middle of the page, and a number of other custom WordPress functions/plugins to make this site as dynamic and simple to maintain and grow.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

This site was a lot of fun to build.

Tamra Davis Cooking Show (WordPress CMS)

url: http://www.tamradaviscookingshow.com/

Tamra Davis Cooking Show

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • Custom web design
  • WordPress theme customization
  • Custom WordPress plugins

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress , PHP

front end:

The client approached me wanting a very simple interface that would allow people to focus on her content. She wanted something that would be dynamic and easy to maintain so all content areas of the site are editable by using the WordPress admin.

back end:

The client also wanted an easy way to combine different posts to create a “master” post (the show) so her viewers could see a lot of content without taking up a lot of room on the page. Because of this – I used AJAX to show/hide content with an accordion in the “shows” section. I then created a custom plugin to tie in multiple posts in the “show” section.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

The shows and recipes are great and I look forward to the cookbook!

Shipwire WordPress CMS/Theme

url: http://www.shipwire.com

Shipwire

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • WordPress theme
  • WordPress CMS configuration
  • Custom WordPress Plugins
  • Custom PHP programming
  • Ajax programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP, Ajax

front end:

I was given mockups to use as a reference as well as nearly completed CSS/XHTML from another designer and from that, I created the WordPress theme.

back end:

This site is built partially with custom code and partially with WordPress. I was responsible for the WordPress part of the site. I also programmed the AJAX accordion seen on some of the pages as well as the news ticker on the home page. This site relies heavily on categories and on category logic and really pushed WordPress to a new level for customizations. I did my best to make as of the content editable by the WordPress Admin as well so sidebar widgets, category descriptions, blogroll, and etc were all utilized throughout the site.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

At first I was not sure if this was a good fit for WordPress, but I am glad they stuck with it – it turned out great! (The WordPress pages have a /c/ in the URL in case you were wondering.)