Website Development
Meals 4 Mums. I built the menu for this site using pure, valid CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). By not using javascript, I made sure to include the @10% of internet users who have disabled javascript in their web browsers.
Style Newsletter. The CMS (Content Management System) for Style allows the owner to create, view, test email, and finally publish the newsletter to subscribers. When each newsletter is published, it is also added to an archive.
The administration pages also allow the owner to keep track of subscribers.
Hula Girl Designs. For this site, I designed an AJAX picture gallery for the site's two pages of pictures.
Cape Roger Curtis. cosmicidea.com contacted me and asked if I knew anything about WordPress customization. I didn't, but I was asked to create a WordPress theme identical to the then-existing caperogercurtis.org website.
Bowen Homes. This is a full CMS (content management system) composed of two parts:
The first section allows the owner to modify the text and images on each page of the website. I used the php GD image library to allow her to simply upload any image file (.jpg, .png, or .gif) of any size. The CMS then resizes the images and places them in the appropriate folders. The text content is stored in a mysql database.
The second section allows the owner to control the content of the properties on her site. Using these admin pages, she can create/edit/delete properties, attach pictures to them, & designate them as sold or available.
On the listings pages, I used CSS to make a small map of Bowen Island pop up when the viewer hovers over the picture of a property. The map pinpoints where on the island the property is situated. The listings are also stored in mysql tables.
Susan Rungta. I designed the navigation based on specifications from the site's designer, www.cosmicidea.com. It uses a couple CSS tricks for some page animation when the mouse is hovered over a link.
I also used php to load/not load the images on the bottom of the page.
Spectrum Digital Imaging. Besides being XHTML/CSS compliant and employing php on the website pages, Spectrum Digital also has an osCommerce online store modified to mirror the look of the website. This was a custom modification. No templates were involved. osCommerce is an open source, php-based online catalog and shopping cart system. I installed the Moneris Solutions e-Select Plus credit card processing module as well, so the online store provides real-time, online credit card purchasing.
Lawnjockey Landscape Services. This was a fairly simple site to build. The gallery relies on php and a postgreSQL database, and many parts of the site were built with php to allow for ease of editing (the Duffer's Cup pages, for example).
Curly Standard Place. Curly Standard place is a fairly large CMS. Its administration is in two parts:
The first section allows the owner to create the site's title, tagline, headline, and contact email; to change the size, colour, and font family for the entire site's text, and to change the page background colour or image.
The second section of the administration pages allows the creation, modification, and removal of web pages, adding, changing, and removing content from each page; to modify the floating links on the left-hand side (including changing the link order); and to upload pictures to the site for use on the pages.
Savvy Insider. The Savvy Insider is actually a very complex website. The administration is a CMS (Content Management System) that allows the owner to upload & edit articles, and then put them in a cue where they are mailed out to subscribers on the correct date. When the daily email is sent out, the website is automatically updated to the new content, and the old article is placed in the archives, where it is accessible from the website's archive search page.
The CMS also allows the owner to upload pictures in almost any format (.png, .jpg, .gif), where they are dynamically resized, placed in the appropriate folder, and linked to the correct article.
This site maintains a subscriber list, which requires subscribers to sign up and then confirm their subscription by clicking a link in their confirmation email. Subscribers can choose to receive their daily emails in HTML or text formats, and are able to edit their account information at any time -- including changing between text and HTML, and putting their subscription on hold temporarily.
Shineguard Industries Inc. Shineguard Industries includes a javascript slideshow on the main page, which cycles through examples of the company's work. The gallery page employs CSS to make larger images appear when the viewer hovers over a thumbnail. The advantage to a CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) option over javascript is that while users may turn javascript off in their browsers (for several reasons, one being system security), CSS is available on almost every browser on the interent.
Call It Puppy Love. This site was quite involved to develop: there is a database to hold records of each litter, with individual information for each puppy. This content management system allows the site's owner to upload images (which are dynamically resized and placed in the appropriate folders), and to attach these images to specific areas of the site.
The Gallery page employs AJAX and php to dynamically build thumbnails from uploaded pictures, and then display them when the user clicks on the smaller images.
There are many forms and contracts in this site, including options for visitors to reserve and pay deposits on puppies through PayPal. The results of each form are emailed to the owners so they can contact their potential customers.
