We've added a new page layout to www.fcmhi.com that integrates well into the rest of the site. This is a good example of a site evolving over time to meet the needs of the business: we're refining the look of the site and continuously optimizing for search engines. The goal is to be on the first page of Google results for Hawaii Wedding Videography: the site has so far steadily climbed from the seventh page to the third page.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Website Design - First Class Media Wedding Videography
We've added a new page layout to www.fcmhi.com that integrates well into the rest of the site. This is a good example of a site evolving over time to meet the needs of the business: we're refining the look of the site and continuously optimizing for search engines. The goal is to be on the first page of Google results for Hawaii Wedding Videography: the site has so far steadily climbed from the seventh page to the third page.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Website Design - Underwater Goddess
Sarah Kerwood-Joseph creates beautiful multimedia mermaid art. Her most recent works are on display at Epitome in Maui (Haleakala Times article link). We set up a Firstgiving Widget for people to make donations to her charity of choice and a Flickr Gallery so she can easily upload new photos to her gallery (along with photography services to capture how beautiful these mermaids are). www.underwatergoddess.com
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Website Design - Q-Card Tips
Q-Card Tips was originally a site that was built entirely on a shopping cart platform. We took the basic concept and created an informational site with an integrated Paypal shopping cart. At the present time, there is only one item (The Original Q-Card Tips) featured on the site, but plans are in the works to develop more Q-Cards. This site will easily allow for future expansion and updates.
How to Make Changes to Your Website (for Go Daddy Hosting Clients)
A lot of my clients use Go Daddy for their website hosting. Since Go Daddy has a notoriously befuddling website (but in all fairness, they have excellent customer service!) I've outlined instructions on how to make changes to your website. You don't have to know any html code to make simple text or image changes: the content editor is more like a Word document.
1. Log in to your Go Daddy hosting account
2. In the horizontal menu bar, choose HOSTING >> MY HOSTING ACCOUNT
3. Click on MANAGE ACCOUNT
4. Click on the YOUR FILES box (top left corner)
5. A page will open with a list of all your hosted files. Some of these files are your actual web pages (contact.html, faq.html, etc). Helpful hint: your home page is called index.html. Another helpful hint: don't mess around with any of the other mysterious files!!!
6. Click the checkbox next to the page you wish to edit. Choose EDIT from the top menu bar. (You can only edit one page at a time)
7. A page will open that contains your editable webpage. To add a photo, go to edit page and click on the little icon of a green tree. It will ask you for the location of the file you wish to upload, and you will have some control over the alignment. To edit text, simply place your cursor and start typing.
8. The image of a disk on the very left side of the menu bar is your SAVE button: when you have made your changes, hit the disk icon and your changes will be instantly saved to your site. If you want to close the page and edit another page, click on the X on the right top corner.
Note: For more advanced users, it is safer to ftp the files to a local hard drive, make edits, save and upload the new versions. This way, information can never get inadvertently lost. Using the method outlined above, changes are being made to the 'live' files and once the save button is hit, the old file is overwritten.
1. Log in to your Go Daddy hosting account
2. In the horizontal menu bar, choose HOSTING >> MY HOSTING ACCOUNT
3. Click on MANAGE ACCOUNT
4. Click on the YOUR FILES box (top left corner)
5. A page will open with a list of all your hosted files. Some of these files are your actual web pages (contact.html, faq.html, etc). Helpful hint: your home page is called index.html. Another helpful hint: don't mess around with any of the other mysterious files!!!
6. Click the checkbox next to the page you wish to edit. Choose EDIT from the top menu bar. (You can only edit one page at a time)
7. A page will open that contains your editable webpage. To add a photo, go to edit page and click on the little icon of a green tree. It will ask you for the location of the file you wish to upload, and you will have some control over the alignment. To edit text, simply place your cursor and start typing.
8. The image of a disk on the very left side of the menu bar is your SAVE button: when you have made your changes, hit the disk icon and your changes will be instantly saved to your site. If you want to close the page and edit another page, click on the X on the right top corner.
Note: For more advanced users, it is safer to ftp the files to a local hard drive, make edits, save and upload the new versions. This way, information can never get inadvertently lost. Using the method outlined above, changes are being made to the 'live' files and once the save button is hit, the old file is overwritten.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Clients ask: "How do I update my own website?"
One of the most common requests from new clients is that they would like to be able to easily make changes to their website.
As with anything in this big world, there are a million solutions in different shapes and sizes. In this article, I'd like to showcase a few different options that I offer my clients, and I will also explain in lay terms how Content Management Systems work.
Content Management Systems
The website is designed and created using software. When the website is ready to go 'live', a hosting package is purchased from a company that rents out 'web space'. A hosting account is created.
The new website is uploaded to the hosting account.
Simple, right?
Let's move on to the Content Management System, or CMS. This is an application that allows people to edit content, such as text or photos, on their website without having to know HTML code. The layout and design of the page remains intact. Large-scale CMS solutions also manage data collected through the website, such as registrations, email distribution lists, and calendars.
EXAMPLE #1: Cushy CMS
Cushy CMS is a great low-cost option for clients who want an extremely simple and familiar interface for updating their website. Basically, I design the website and delegate which areas will be accessible by the client. The client logs in, and accesses a page like the one above. It is one-touch publishing (the big green button at the bottom). You can safely and instantly upload new photos, add new links, style your text, add bulleted lists, etc.
EXAMPLE #2: Hosting Company File Manager
While the above example is a lot less attractive-looking than the first example, it's one of the things that often comes with your hosting plan (depending on the company). You can make changes to your text without having to worry about the HTML code. This is a great option for the client who is slightly more tech-savvy than the first example (you have to press 5 buttons to get to this page rather than 2). Notice the familiar looking text styling bar at the top. It's easy to publish the updates.
EXAMPLE #3: Adobe Contribute
A third option is a software program called Contribute (Single Commercial License $149.00). It allows anyone to update an existing website without learning HTML (just like the first two examples). It can be linked directly to Firefox or Internet Explorer, and allows publishing from Word and Excel. It can handle Flash and .pdfs. This is a great option for established businesses who want a professional and flexible solution to content management, with controlled access to multiple users. Their website advertises "No formal training required". I've used Contribute and it is indeed robust. Setup is easy: the software is installed and a wizard takes you through the simple setup process. The additional plus is that a user can generate new pages using the templates from the existing pages.
As with anything in this big world, there are a million solutions in different shapes and sizes. In this article, I'd like to showcase a few different options that I offer my clients, and I will also explain in lay terms how Content Management Systems work.
Content Management Systems
The website is designed and created using software. When the website is ready to go 'live', a hosting package is purchased from a company that rents out 'web space'. A hosting account is created.
The new website is uploaded to the hosting account.
Simple, right?
Let's move on to the Content Management System, or CMS. This is an application that allows people to edit content, such as text or photos, on their website without having to know HTML code. The layout and design of the page remains intact. Large-scale CMS solutions also manage data collected through the website, such as registrations, email distribution lists, and calendars.
EXAMPLE #1: Cushy CMS
Cushy CMS is a great low-cost option for clients who want an extremely simple and familiar interface for updating their website. Basically, I design the website and delegate which areas will be accessible by the client. The client logs in, and accesses a page like the one above. It is one-touch publishing (the big green button at the bottom). You can safely and instantly upload new photos, add new links, style your text, add bulleted lists, etc.EXAMPLE #2: Hosting Company File Manager
While the above example is a lot less attractive-looking than the first example, it's one of the things that often comes with your hosting plan (depending on the company). You can make changes to your text without having to worry about the HTML code. This is a great option for the client who is slightly more tech-savvy than the first example (you have to press 5 buttons to get to this page rather than 2). Notice the familiar looking text styling bar at the top. It's easy to publish the updates.EXAMPLE #3: Adobe Contribute
A third option is a software program called Contribute (Single Commercial License $149.00). It allows anyone to update an existing website without learning HTML (just like the first two examples). It can be linked directly to Firefox or Internet Explorer, and allows publishing from Word and Excel. It can handle Flash and .pdfs. This is a great option for established businesses who want a professional and flexible solution to content management, with controlled access to multiple users. Their website advertises "No formal training required". I've used Contribute and it is indeed robust. Setup is easy: the software is installed and a wizard takes you through the simple setup process. The additional plus is that a user can generate new pages using the templates from the existing pages.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Forum - Kapuaokalani.com
This week we put together an online community for Kapuaokalani: Academy of Hawaiian Soulistic Healing. The forum is a great addition to the Kapuaokalani website because it allows all of the Lomilomi practitioners and students of Hawaiian culture to meet, network and share ideas. Kumu Karen wanted a place for everyone to communicate easily with each other, and I wanted it to be as user-friendly as possible. It is completely integrated within the website as an 'online community'.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Website Design - Sea of Green
Sea of Green, LLC is a commercial landscape management company that has been doing business in Hawai'i for 30 years. The finished site features a Flash slideshow on the homepage, a contact form, live links to professional affiliations, and a downloadable, fillable .pdf for prospective employees.
A javascript photo gallery was also implemented into the site to showcase their work.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Flyer Design - Hawaii Kai Chamber of Commerce
A flyer for the Hawaii Kai Chamber of Commerce for their September 12 networking event.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Website Design - Hawaii Leadership Academy
Winners' Camp has been utilizing an award-winning site that was launched approximately 10 years ago, and through the years bits and pieces have been added on by a myriad of employees and volunteers. The site ended up being congested with internal links, and pages had a 'tacked on' look without consistency in style. That being said, the community loves and respects Winners' Camp, and the desire was to create a site that remained consistent to the image. An additional challenge was the current transitional name change from Winners' Camp to Hawaii Leadership Academy.The new site was specifically designed to appeal to teenagers as well as parents. Features include audio, an animated sidebar, updated photos, and an intuitive navigation system. Google Maps is integrated, as well as a Paypal Donation page.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Flyer Design - Beautiful Son Foundation & TAKA
An event flyer for the lecture "House Calls: Bringing Biomedical Therapies Home", presented by Beautiful Son Foundation and the Hawaii chapter of Talk About Curing Austism (TAKA).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
