Verno System came to us needing their branding, business cards and website. We had 30 days to achieve all three. With such a short deadline we knew it was important to get the branding completed as quickly as possible. Within two weeks we were able to finalize the branding, general business card layout and website design. After that point it was a race to convert the mock ups to a functional website that the company could maintain themselves.

They wanted a website that could gain search engine ranking, be updated on a regular basis and grow with their company. To solve this problem we selected our favorite CMS… WordPress. We were able to launch their website within the 30 day deadline as well as train staff on how to use the CMS. Since the launch of the website the Verno Systems has managed the website themselves.

After the launch of the WordPress website, they requested that we set up a wiki for the company to use. We worked with one of their representatives to set up a wiki that enabled them to securely collaborate and build knowledge bases.

Ferguson Merchandising approached us to improve their website for the Redmond Ben Franklin store. The had a static website with a couple hundred html pages. The website had been built over a long period of time. The code was very disorganized and no standardized structure between pages existed.

The first phase of the project was spent correcting the problems with the current website. Instead of trying to fix page by page of sloppy code we recoded a couple templates to cover the various page layouts. We then converted content from the old website to the new templates. In less than three week we were able to convert over 250 html pages, correct the functional, display errors and eliminating W3C validation errors.

The second phase of the project was to design a custom content management system (CMS) that enabled the company to take advantage of the web to drive customers to the store and generate sales. By analyzing their business we established that classes drive sales as well as projects. To achieve this goal we built a class calendar and registration system. We also included a projects section allowing people to browse projects by category and then print/download a PDF supplies list to be brought into the store. When a visitor views an individual project or class the site displaying three related projects and classes. By cross selling related projects and classes we anticipated increasing the number of classes and items purchased per visit. We also provided social bookmarking & networking buttons for visitors to submit projects to high traffic sites.

One of the unique features of the website is the XML template based page system. The company wanted the ability to create pages, insert different layouts without having to do any coding. We created a system that enables us to create simple xml files and upload them to a folder, adding new template options. This makes it quick, easy and cost effective to add new layouts. The layout templates include the ability to insert images, links and use a WYSIWIG. By providing this functionality it eliminated the need to hire website designers to modify or add new pages to company website.

Northwoods Property Management approached us to solve a problem with their website. They had a static html site with over 120 different properties. With little to no budget for web development they needed an option that allowed them to manage property bookings, allow customers to book a property, manage customer information and track the phase of the sale.

One of the big restrictions was that they needed to integrate this functionality on their existing static html website. To solve this problem we built a back end that enabled them to manage their properties but also generated code that could be placed on corresponding property pages. This enabled them to add a property, take 2 lines of code that were auto-generated and place it on the corresponding html page for the property. This provided them with a quick and inexpensive solution to solve the property management problems they were experiencing with their web presence.

With very little money invested they had a system that allowed visitors to view availability of various properties, place a request to book a property. It also enabled office personal to manage properties, take phone orders and track the process of sales activity.

Tian had an older website that was not very visually appealing.The design was not optimized and a number of display problems existed  in various browsers. To enable her or an assistant to easily manage the website we set her up with a WordPress website. One of the goals was to make it easier to add new content and improve her search engine ranking. After setting up the WordPress website we loaded a few search engine optimization plugins to help improve her ranking.

We built two custom WordPress Plugins for her website. The first offers a scrolling image gallery to display her published books. When a user places their mouse over an image a box appears displaying more information. The images and descriptions displayed are controlled via a simple back end interface. This eliminates the hassle of updating and adding new information. The second WordPress Plugin rotates a single blog post from any number of selected categories. The Plugin selects the post in chronological order. When the Plugin reaches the most recent blog post it then changes the time stamp on the oldest post in the category to the current day. This enables the Plugin to continually cycle through content. In this case it displays over a years worth of daily affirmations.

Allen contacted us wanting a better looking website that provided an easy to use interface. To accommodate his needs we built a WordPress website with a custom WordPress theme. This enables him to easily update content. He can designate the category controlling what section of the website his new blog posts are displayed. By setting up specific sections for categories such as Events he is able to show his most recent events without having to know how to do any coding.

Villareal a marketing company in Southern California wanted to build an online journal for professionals. After the initial discussion with the company we helped outline a website that would allow them to regularly publish a professional journal for drug and alcohol counselors, conduct mass emails, provide automated CE testing as well as collect a subscription membership fee.

To achieve these results we started with WordPress. We then integrated WordPress with PHPlist and AMEMBER. This provided the mass email and membership capabilities needed. Our team set out building a number of custom WordPress plugins for the website. This included an event calendar, job board, and professionals directory.

After completing these custom WordPress plugins we built the automated CE testing and certificate plugin. This allowed the Villareal team to choose an article, create a test with multiple choices or yes/no answers. When a user takes the test the plugin automatically calculates if they passed. If the user did not pass they have the option to retake the test or reread the article. When a test is passed the plugin automatically generates a signed PDF certificate populated with the users corresponding information. To comply with accreditation agency documentation requirements each users information and test results are stored. These can be easily exported via .CSV to provide the adequate documentation needed.

After over a year of operation the website is growing quickly with a number of members, an active community and a great resource of information for drug and alcohol counselors.

At the height of the identity theft scare Epoch Design released the MailBoss. From watching their promotional video of a truck driving over the MailBoss you can’t come to any conclusion than it is a tank of a locking mailbox. The Redmond based company wanted to launch a website in unison with the Golden Hammer award they were receiving for their design.

One of the big complaints about the Epoch Design website was its lack of social media marketing tools. We explored the idea of using WordPress website and WP-E-Commerce. Due to the really negative feedback in the Wordpress community about the design and support of WP-E-Commerce we decided against that route. Instead we built a WordPress and ZenCart hybrid. All the pages on the site except for the checkout and payment process are handled by the WordPress website. This provides a search engine ranking benefit for promoting their products and press releases. When a visitors buys an item it takes them to the ZenCart site with a seamlessly integrated theme.

We also built a custom WordPress Plugin that allow for geo-locating stores based on zip codes. Store owners could login to the WordPress website, update store information, directions and even place a logo.

Since the launch of the site the MailBoss staff have been blogging up a storm. They have been extremely successful in using the powerful blogging platform WordPress to promote and drive e commerce website sales.

Epoch Design offers a variety of home furnishing products. They have a great selection of bunk beds, futons and other home furniture. They are serious animal lovers and even have a line of dog beds. The Redmond based company also operates The Futon Factory in Bellevue and Seattle. When we started work on their website they had a very basic informational site without any real e-commerce website.

Due to their requirement of having a website that is easy to maintain, allows for 100’s of products, complex shipping and discount rules we chose ZenCart. If you haven’t used ZenCart it is worth a look. It has a bit of a learning curve and is a little clunky but offers a great e-commerce solution that is affordable and highly customizable with a variety of free third party modules.

Epoch Design wanted a design that reflected their green principles. A picture of a couple birch trees was chosen… giving the site a unique look.

DL Scott offers a variety of mental health services specializing in Hypnotherapy and NLP. He made the transition from Project NEON a few months ago. Having started his private practice he wanted to generate leads from his web presence.

The first step we took was to convert his existing site to a WordPress website. We then set up a number of search engine optimization plugins, conducted keyword research and spent a little time optimizing pages. Lucky for us… DL is a great writer. After a little coaching he was cranking out great keyword rich content.

Within two months of online marketing services we were able to get him multiple first page listing in Google, Yahoo and Bing for hypnotherapy and smoking cessation terms. By focusing on specialty specific + location specific search phrases we were able to decrease the number of sites DL had to compete against. This also provides a higher conversion rate than non-geographic/service specific search phrases.

When we started working with George he was using a site builder offered by a small hosting company. Talk about a coding nightmare. This site builders produced the most jarbled… non-compliant code I have ever seen.

The first thing we did was take the look of the site and convert it into a WordPress theme. We set up a WordPress website and ran through the normal search engine optimization activities (Heading Tags, Sitemap, Robot.txt, Custom Meta Information, Keyword Rich URLS). We also built a custom WordPress Widget that allows for specifying a YouTube video on each page.

If you look at the search engine results they are pretty good for 10 blog posts and no additional search engine optimization or marketing.

If you search “alcohol treatment Bellevue” or “alcohol assessment Bellevue” in Google, Yahoo or Bing, George is one of the first results.