Foursquare Foundation Grant On-line Application

url: http://www.foursquaredev.net

Foursquare

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • Server Purchase/Setup/Configuration
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • Custom PHP Form, Admin, and Scoring Admin
  • Multi-Language Form (Localization)

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, PHP, HTML_QuickForm, jQuery”, Smarty”

front end:

The client wanted a user interface that was easy to use and light weight since the users were mostly from foreign countries where internet connections were often hours away. I used minimal images, CSS, and javascript to ensure the application process (30 pages of text, radio button, and select fields, and long essays) would go as smoothly and quickly as possible why still providing feedback to the user if they missed a field or provided inappropriate data. The admin also had to be easy to use, as the Foursquare staff needed to easily access the data after the applications were submitted or if the submitter had any questions.

back end:

This form needed to be presented in English and Spanish so all text (labels, error messages, confirmation email, etc) was stored in both languages and then presented appropriately with custom logic. We used HTML_QuickForm and Smarty to build the form quickly and effectively and then used jQuery to handle custom validation rules given to us by the Foundation.

lessons learned/random thoughts:

This was by far the longest and most complex form I have ever worked on or seen. Adding in multiple languages this form was also very time consuming but a great experience. A special thanks to our talented developers on helping make this a success.

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.