Wild Cache Theme

url: http://wildcache.com

WildCache

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • Custom Web Design
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • WordPress theme

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP

front end:

I was given the name of the software and free reign to come up with whatever I could. I decided to go with a leopard skin header and then base the rest of the colors off of the header image. The developer I made this for wanted something simple and easy to work with that went with.

back end:

The theme is very simple yet is based on one of my standard themes (which uses a lot of sandbox theme functionality). There are several functions that make this site easy to maintain (sidebar widget, dynamically generated navigation/menu bar, etc).

lessons learned/random thoughts:

This was a fun and quick project and I look forward to seeing what others think about WildCache. This is my second time working on a WordPress VIP project – and I really enjoy working with the Automattic staff.

Weblog Tools Collection Graphic & Web Design

url: http://weblogtoolscollection.com/

Weblog Tools Collection

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • Original web design
  • Original graphic design
  • XHTML/CSS programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress

user interface:

Sidebar: I was asked to re-do the sidebar so that it would flow better with the rest of the site. They liked the sidebars used on this web site so I went with a simple, rounded corner solution that incorporated their logo for increased site branding. Advertisement: The site owner wanted something that they could use for an “Advertise Here” banner. I decided to use the site colors along with the site logo to produce something that was branded while still having a minimal look.

lessons learned:

When working with clients that need graphic design, it is best to give multiple options for the client to pick from. Developers and designers may like something a certain way, but the client will not necessarily have the same opinions, so multiple options help all involved.

random thoughts:

This web site is a great resource – be sure and check it out.

WordPress Jobs WordPress Theme/Logo

url: http://jobs.wordpress.net

WordPress Jobs

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • Original web design
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • WordPress theme
  • Logo design

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP

user interface:

I wanted to create something that was professional, simple, and easy to use. I went with a “french blue” that complimented the “RSS orange” since I knew this site would use RSS heavily. I am very happy with this design because of ease of use and it is very readable.

lessons learned:

Subtle background patterns can really dress up a design.

random thoughts:

It is never bad to create the theme and logo for the very site people are going to post jobs for work my company does.

Evan WordPress CMS/Theme

url: http://evan.jappler.com/

Evan

SDAC Inc provided:

  • Original web design
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • CMS (WordPress) configuration
  • Custom WordPress theme
  • Third Party Plugin integration
  • Web Hosting

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP,

user interface:

The audience for this web site was for family and friends of baby Evan. The UI had to be simple and easy to use.

lessons learned:

Providing a web site like this to friends and family members is a great way of keeping everyone in touch with what is going on when someone you care about has a baby or any life event. Being able to share photos, videos, and news to grandparents and great grandparents made this a great project to work on. Knowing that the family and friends looked at the web site, subscribed to the blog, and could comment on anything made for a really neat concept to many who are not familiar with blogs and online communities.

random thoughts:

Within minutes of showing one of the content owners the WordPress interface used to edit and create posts and pages, she had posts posted and had no problem understanding how to add new content. WordPress is great!

The Illinois School Psychologists Association XOOPS CMS

url: http://www.ilispa.org

ISPA

SDAC Inc provided:

  • Web/Graphic Design
  • User Experience/Information Architect Consultation
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • CMS (XOOPS) configuration
  • XOOPS/SMARTY theme
  • Custom PHP programming
  • PayFlow Link Integration (e-commerce)

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, XOOPS, SMARTY, PhotoShop Elements

user interface:

This web site is for the Illinois School Psychologists Association (ISPA). I wanted to create a feature rich web site that was easy to navigate, and most importantly easy to maintain. This site uses SMARTY templates so I was able to edit a small number of templates that are used with all new pages – allowing ISPA to focus on content and note layout and design.

lessons learned:

This web site has 1,000 paid members so I used aMember Pro and Verisign PayFlow Link to power the user management system. I learned that a CMS is as great as the third party plugins and development environment is.

random thoughts:

Although it is nice to have a customer that has reoccurring support needs (file upload, change text, etc), I decided it was time to roll out a product that would give the power of content change to the users. For this web site, I trained the Executive Director on how to create, edit, delete online content, as well as how to create simple forms and reports using XOOPS.

SDAC Inc. XOOPS CMS

url: http://www.sandboxdev.com

SDAC

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • Web/Graphic Design
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • CMS (XOOPS) configuration
  • XOOPS/SMARTY theme
  • Custom PHP programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, XOOPS, SMARTY, PhotoShop Elements

user interface:

This web site was for my consulting company. I wanted to create a web site that was easy to navigate, and professional looking. This site uses SMARTY templates so I was able to edit a small number of templates that are used with all new pages – allowing me to have consistency throughout the entire web site.

lessons learned:

More and more clients wanted greater control over their content, so I wanted to learn a new Content Management System. This web site was my first attempt to roll out a CMS (content management system) using (XOOPS). A good lesson for CMS developers (which I learned), even though there is a lot of built in functionality with CMSes, it still takes several hours/weeks to customize the framework.

random thoughts:

CMSes like XOOPS can sometimes be overkill for small companies like mine. I ended up moving everything to WordPress (see SDAC 2006) after I learned XOOPS and implemented another XOOPS web site.

Michael and Jen’s Wedding Web Site

url: http://www.michaelandjen2005.com

Wedding

SDAC Inc provided:

  • Web/Graphic Design
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • Open Source software integration
  • Custom PHP programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, gimp.app, MySQL

user interface:

This web site was created for two individuals that wanted to help their out of town guests and friend make the most of their time in Chicago. When Michael and Jen asked me to create a web site for them, I asked them the one question I feel is very important when designing user interfaces: "name a few web sites you really like." To my surprise and delight, they listed jappler.com, my personal web site. They were looking for a low cost solution, and by using jappler.com as a template, I was able to provide them with a solution they liked. They liked top navigation tabs and thought it was easy to navigate.

lessons learned:

What I learned with this project is that even though I consider myself good with design, other people have other opinions. In this case, I did not agree completely with the colors and the font, but I also realized that this was not my web site. As long as they are happy, and I feel like I have made a point to give them several options to choose from, the web site is a success. I also began to see the benefits of having a good, tested template.

random thoughts:

Best wishes Michael and Jen!

Jennifer Zelazny’s (SDAC Lead Developer) Personal Web Site

url: http://www.jappler.com

jappler

SDAC Inc provided:

  • Web/Graphic Design
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • CMS (WordPress) configuration
  • Custom WordPress theme
  • Third Party Plugin integration
  • Custom PHP programming

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, WordPress as a CMS, gimp.app, MySQL

user interface:

What you see here is about the 6th design I produced in a matter of six months. I spend many hours looking at some of the best designed web sites on the web and taking note of each part I liked and did not like. Since blogging has become so popular, web sites have starting mimicking the general blog layout. Experienced (my target audience) web surfers’ eyes are trained to look for navigation at the top of the page, the body of the page takes up the majority of the page, while I have section specific links on the right hand side. I moved to a two column layout so the pages were a little less busy and so you could focus more on the content.

lessons learned:

Even though I really like working with greys, I love working with blues and greys. The blue color of the design really warmed up the site as opposed to just working with greys. I also learned the value of using content management systems: templates, user privileges, cool plugins, etc. I chose to use my own hacked together version of WordPress, because I am very familiar with WordPress and I wanted a lot of customizations, and WordPress was very flexible.

random thoughts:

This version of Jappler.com is really cool. Every page, stylesheet, etc can be edited in any browser. I am finally free of a text editor and a ftp client. I can edit my site from home, from my phone, from the Apple store using a demo model mac, or even a PC at my friends’ house.

Ms. Muller’s Science Web Site

url: http://homepage.mac.com/amymuller

Amy

SDAC Inc provided:

  • Web/Graphic Design
  • HTML/CSS programming

technologies used:

HTML, Adobe GoLive, gimp.app

user interface:

This web site was created for a teacher who is very devoted to utilize technology in her classroom. She wanted a web site for her students and their parents to go to in order to keep up with what was going on in the classroom. The layout is very basic in order for her students and parents to be able to find the necessary information (on-line quizzes, tests, grades, class pictures etc). Ms. Muller wanted top navigation with section specific information (quick links) on the left hand side on the "chalkboard". As for colors, Ms. Muller chose a green background because she thought it represented a very science-like color, and it would appeal to her students.

lessons learned:

For someone that wants an easy to update web site, a content management system or something like WordPress can be a great solution. Creating a custom static web site is great for some people, but giving people the power to easily update web sites with any web browser, anywhere is ideal and something I am currently researching.

random thoughts:

Mac.com is a great solution for people who want simple solutions, but for Ms. Muller’s next web site design, I am going to use WordPress, a non-mac.com web host.

Tamarisk Impacts

url: http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/staff/dtalley/tamarisk/

Tamarisk

SDAC Inc provided:

  • Web/Graphic Design
  • HTML/CSS programming

technologies used:

HTML, Adobe GoLive, gimp.app

user interface:

This web site was created for a researcher who, because of a grant, was trying to bring attention to his research. Dr. Talley (who’s resume I also designed) wanted to use earth tone colors and have multiple pictures available on the web site from his research. I provided Dr. Talley with a basic template for the site that was well documented so he, someone who was not very familiar with web development, could add, modify, and delete content with a little HTML experience. Once again, I chose to put the navigation at the top of the page for easy access.

lessons learned:

This project was very simple and fun to work on, but what I think Dr. Talley really needed was a content management system. This was the first project I worked on where I wished I had more time to donate to build him and his team of researchers a content management system he could have quickly and easily used to update web pages from any browser on any computer. (Dr. Talley is most often found in the field with his iBook and not in front of his desk.)

random thoughts:

I hope, in the next few years to start working on more educational based web sites, as I like to know I am able to help people learn in some way or another.