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:
We worked with the client to understand the design needs, created a design, then turned that into a WordPress theme (XHTML, CSS, JS, PHP).
back end:
There are a number of custom admin panels, custom fields, custom shortcodes, etc to make this as easy to use as possible. All of the sidebar elements pull in content dynamically, and there is a lot of really cool functionality built into the UI as well as the backend to make this extremely easy to manage.
lessons learned/random thoughts:
There are some really great jQuery pieces that can be seen as the site develops in the next month or so after launch (early 2010)
SDAC Inc. provided:
- XHTML/CSS programming
- WordPress theme creation
- Custom PHP programming
- Custom jQuery programming
technologies used:
XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP, jQuery
front end:
The client provided the PSD mockups for the site and I provided them with a finished CSS/XHTML/PHP WordPress theme.
back end:
There is a lot going on in the site and I had to make it as easy as possible to control the content for the client as possible. I use Jappler Menus with the WordPress function to create the dynamic menus, jQuery Cycle with a custom admin panel for the home page slide show, jQuery UI Accordion for the accordion on the home page along with custom editable pages in WordPress to manage the content, and more. Basically – everything you see is easily editable by someone that does not know any HTML, PHP, or CSS.
lessons learned/random thoughts:
I love working with jQuery. It is easy to use, manipulate, and works great for adding some slick functionality.
SDAC Inc. provided:
- XHTML/CSS programming
- WordPress theme creation
- Custom PHP programming
technologies used:
XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP
front end:
The client worked with a designer to create the mockups as well as the XHTML, CSS, and Javascript for the views and I put everything together to create a WordPress theme.
back end:
The goal with this site like most every site I work on was to keep it as simple as possible for the client to manage content. There is a lot of template logic that pulls in custom post fields, custom admin panel fields, and other such techniques so they can easily and dynamically have all their content flow into the layout without touching any of the template files.
lessons learned/random thoughts:
Overall – it was great to use a number of custom interfaces to capture information used throughout the site.
SDAC Inc. provided:
- XHTML/CSS programming
- WordPress theme creation
- Custom PHP programming
technologies used:
XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP
front end:
The client gave came to me with a PDF of the design and I turned that into a WordPress them. The client wanted to make sure the blog part of the site fit in with the other site without the visitors knowing there was a difference. This meant using some non-traditional web fonts so I used TTF Titles (WordPress plugin) that allowed me to turn certain text into images on the fly so that it would look like it was using a custom font.
back end:
This site contained some of my standard customizations: featured admin panel and my custom thumbnails/ custom fields plugins.
lessons learned/random thoughts:
It is always fun for me to see the clients see how WordPress can be seamlessly be integrated into existing sites.
SDAC Inc. provided:
- jQuery programming
- XHTML/CSS programming
- WordPress theme creation
- Custom PHP programming
technologies used:
XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP
front end:
The client gave came to me with a PSD of the design and I turned the PSD into a WordPress theme using jQuery cycle on the home page to cycle through featured posts. The client also had very specific font needs and so I used TTF Titles (WordPress plugin) that allowed me to turn certain text into images on the fly so that it would look like it was using a custom font.
back end:
This site contained some of my standard customizations: jQuery cycle, featured admin panel, and my custom thumbnails/ custom fields plugins. This was a very straightforward site which did not need a lot of customization on the backend – so the beauty in this site is the simplicity of it.
lessons learned/random thoughts:
This artists does great work and I look forward to seeing more of it on his web site.
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.
SDAC Inc. provided:
- XHTML/CSS programming
- WordPress CMS/theme modifcation
- Custom PHP programming
technologies used:
XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP
front end:
The client had the layout, design, and 99% of the theme completed when I was contacted. All the code was provided and examples of the outputted code where hardcoded in place – I just needed to make the functions and make everything display properly. I worked on very specific UI elements (the WordPress comments, the Archive page functionality, the Links page functionality and the monthly calendar functionality, as well as modifying a few existing plugins).
back end:
I ended up creating several custom functions for each piece listed above and then making it as easy as possible for the client to further customize the appearance if needed.
lessons learned/random thoughts:
I had not worked with a theme that used tables for layout in years (perhaps ever) – so it was a blast from the past while working with the code. To me – tables are actually harder to work with for display than CSS so I had to pull out some tricks I had not used for years.
SDAC Inc. provided:
- XHTML/CSS programming
- WordPress CMS/theme modifcation
- Custom PHP programming
- Custom AJAX functionality
technologies used:
XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP, jQuery
front end:
The client provided mockups (Photoshop PSD files) and I turned those into the WordPress theme you see. The home page uses jQuery Cycle to cycle randomly through images associated with client pages which are chosen (special field) so the client can easily add/remove images that show up on the home page.
back end:
There were a number of custom elements to this site. The most visible is the jQuery cycles that are on the homepage. I used jQuery Cycle plugin along with some custom WordPress loops to dynamically generate the images you see on the home page. I also did some custom plugin programming for this client so they could easily select what posts would appear in the loop for the home page, what image(s) would be used, etc. I also set it up so that if the client had more than one photo – the images would be cycled just like the home page – only on the single client page.
lessons learned/random thoughts:
I have used jQuery Cycle quite a bit now and it was fun to use it with this project so that I learned even more about it.
SDAC Inc. provided:
- XHTML/CSS programming
- WordPress theme customization
technologies used:
XHTML, CSS, WordPress , PHP, CSS
front end:
The client came to me after purchasing a news theme (Remix) and wanted some customizations (colors, layout) and added logic.
back end:
I added in a lot of custom logic to dynamically control the header image which changes on per category, and also custom logic to the sidebar so the client can easily add related links and have them show up dynamically per category. I added some custom plugins to take care of these issues as well as the images on the homepage. All the customizations make it easier for the client to control the output of content while using WordPress’s admin.
lessons learned/random thoughts:
It is wonderful to be able to travel as much as this client did – I look forward to seeing their upcoming trips documented!
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