Templates, Programs, Web Apps & Extensions

Website Templates & Refactoring

Custom web template

High performance custom website template built from scratch. Heavy duty and designed to adapt to all design / functionality requests.

• My template can handle large sites easily.
• PHP Object Oriented, using classes and functions to generate header / footer & page layouts.
• Scalable: Add-in, reference or program more functionality.
• Conditional references: Only reference the scripts needed for that particular page. As a comparison, WordPress adds all scripts to all pages. So the framework loads everything for each page. My template produces page ID's, which are then used as assignables for scripts needed specifically for that page. The site uses a router to perform this task.
• Well performing SEO. 1st page results likely (there has to be an SEO plan of course)
• Mobile ready: Grid/Flex based structure using percentages rather than static sizes. This will scale up and down depending on browser or device size.

Extending OpenCart

OpenCart is an Open Source application that offers two models. It can be downloaded and installed on your server, or it can be set up as an online store. The downloaded version is a complete, free application and can be modified to fit your needs. In other words, you own 100% of it without having to pay a subscription. It runs on a Twig Templating Platform (Symfony Applications). Out of the box it is mainly a shop. But it can be converted into a full website as needed.

Below is a list of modifications I've performed on the OpenCart eCommerce platform.

• Out of the box, OpenCart is primarly eCommerce. The main menu supports only products and categories. Dynamic modification of the site is possble by changing the way the menu works, adding functionality for information pages as well as the shop. This is further extended by creating a switch in the Admin that allows you to dynamically add or remove menu items to the main menu.
• Events: Created an extension that allows products assigned to a specific category to be displayed on an Events page (and removed from the main shop). This is not an Event Calendar, but a grid of events with a reworked display based upon the Products Template.
• Custom forms: OpenCart starts off with just a Contact Form. Using the core functionality of this form, any number of new, more complex forms can be built as needed.
• Extending Product Options: Created JavaScript functions to generate both Product and Option classes. Then used those classes to create Conditional Options.
• 2-part Slideshow: Used the default slideshow. Duplicated the functionality and reworked the formatting so it displays a 2-frame slideshow, each with different timings.
• Custom File Uploader: (See Web Apps)
• Export to Sage: (See Web Apps)

Extending Shopify

Shopify is a eCommerce Solution where anyone can quickly build an online store. Whether you're selling just a few products or thousands. It requires a theme to be installed, but all themes are based upon the Liquid Templating Framework. About 80% of the theme/template code is available through the editor. Also, applications can be built within Shopify by creating the necessary files (templates, sections, snippets, etc...) and referencing them inside the pages.

Some of the more comprehensive modifications are as follows.

• Custom stylesheets to override default design
• Custom JavaScript files for independent functionality
• Snippets to initialize and activate downloaded programs (in other words, extending the functionality without needing to actually buy extensions).
• Multi-use Carousel. In other words, creating an Amazon like layout with each product collection displayed through a Carousel. By default, Shopify only allows single use.
• Re-organization of product layout.
• Custom, more comprehensive forms. (Like OpenCart, these are based upon the Contact Form functionality)

Extending Wordpress

WordPress by far is the most popular website framework. Originally created for blogging, it has been expanded ad-infinitum to easily create full websites. With hundreds of thousands of themes, extensions & plugins, any person that can get around an Admin (light technical knowledge) can build a full site.

WordPress is another framework that can either be downloaded (open source), or created online through wordpress.com. If you download it and use it on your own host, it is completely open-source and you can modify as needed.

For WordPress, I've created custom plugins, my own Web App called Microsites, custom post types, dynamic widgets, and extended the functionality in numerous other ways.

• Any type of template modification. WordPress templates have some limitations, but most of them can be completely redesigned. This is the main reason why I steer away from premium templates and use free ones. It depends on the customers requests, but I'll typically use free ones with heavy customer modification requests.
• Custom plugins: Great for creating additional functionality, like custom post content & widgets.
• Microsite: My custom extension that allows mini-websites to be created in the main website. These Microsites are created as a custom post, with unique headers, footers & menus. They can be included in a website, or act like their own site if a DNS redirect is used on the host. You can create pages or disable them. Active pages are added to the menu. You can create custom headers / footers and so on. These use WordPress for the core functionality, but header / footer / page design is all custom created.
• Of course we can make use of the many useful free plugins or any type of functionality you can dream of. Depending on the developer, some of these can be programmatically extended as well.

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Web Applications

Overview

Web Apps designed to play various roles for online functionality.

• Input / user interactive based apps
• Data collection
• File manipulation - upload, store, access, delete
• Formatted data exports (like CSV's), to be imported into other systems
• Apps for Artists & Writers - Blogs, Video & Gallery Platforms, Journals, Scrapbooks, etc...
• Standalone or platform integrated Applications

Customer Input Applications

Collect information from customers with simple or extensive forms/formsets. Input applications can be used for contact forms, quote forms, multi-page data collection, customer reviews, guestbooks and so on. Info can be emailed or stored in a database.

Features

• Collect user info in database and retrieve at any time.
• Fields can be conditional, relying on the information from other fields.
• If a formset, it can be a multi-page application. Submit Pg.1 and go to Pg. 2, etc...
• Any data validation as needed.

User Registration

Give users a convenient Registration/Login System. Collect their contact information if they want to stay informed via newsletters or flyers. User information can be stored & retrieved via database.

Features

• Collect user info in database
• Custom session times (amount of time user stays logged in).
• Log in / out, which can be displayed as forms, widgets, slide-outs and more.
• Custom IP, Session and page visitation tracking if desired

Media Center

Standalone Media Center that can be integrated into any website. It can have it's own space, or each region of the Media Center can be placed in different areas of your site.

Features

• Media Center regions consist of a Blog, Scrapbook, Gallery and Video Gallery.
• Each region has it's own Admin Panel. Admin panels are accessible from a parent location.
• The Blog and Scrapbook has an image library, with special features like: Featured Image, Assign image to multiple Blogs/Scrapbooks, no-delete for an image that is being used, copy/paste pre-formatted links on the article page, etc...
• Category organization for all regions (Videos are called "Collections"). Assign 1 or more categories to each as needed.
• Grid display (paginated) of home region or category pages.
• Attractive Gallery displays using JQuery library.
• Attractive Video displays with Small, Theatre, and Full Page controls.
• Play videos from the parent page. This will slide down a video which defaults to theatre mode. Individual video pages can also be opened.
• All media can be shared to Social Media, as it uses Open Graph. This is typically for Facebook but it widely recognized. (Sorry guys, I don't support Twitter. You might be able to share it there but I can't tell you if it would work or not).

File Uploader

This was a request from a client. She wanted customers to be able to upload high-resolution files for her company that prints things like flyers, brochures, etc... with customer business information. This uploader also needed to be able to collect contact details. It was created as a standalone app, then integrated into OpenCart.

Features

• Single entry location for contact info and files.
• Uploader is performed through AJAX with "in-process" and "finished" messaging.
• Error checking for empty fields, proper email formatting, file properties.
• 2-part process, entering customer info into database, emailing Customer & Admin, then uploading te files.
• Admin Panel where admin can view/download the files or delete the customer. Files are also deleted from server to prevent storage bloat.

Cross-Platform Dataset Export/Import

A Web App integrated into OpenCart, this app exports customer sales data into a CSV by date-range, which is formatted for direct import into Sage.

Features

• Filter export data to "today (one click)" or "date-range".
• Table Select: Select a table which defines a particular format. Any number of data tables can be created.
• Format CSV (comma separated values) for the desired platorm it needs to be imported into.
• Preview of filtered results before export.
• (OpenCart) Constrained to Admin only. The public cannot access it.

Online Contract/Agreement Builder (in development)

Build your customers Contracts/Agreements right from your business website. Use a default set of terms. Save and edit them in different stages. Produce & Send finalized contracts right to your customers via a paperless process.

Features

• Contracts consist of 3 parts. Contact information, Terms, Signature part.
• Prepare any number of contracts in different stages.
• Stages are:
  • Default: Create the terms only. (other parts are hidden)
  • Draft: Add cursory (or full) contact information. Enough to identify the client.
  • Finalized: A ready-to-send contract. This can be saved, or saved and sent immediately.
  • Complete: A finished contract, already signed by both parties. (cannot be edited)
  • Archived: This moves completed contracts to a storage location. (cannot be edited)
• Once a finalized contract is sent, customer will be provided a unique link via email where they will sign the contract. (Signatures will be required, and status will be changed to complete once the signature is submitted)
• Finalized & Complete contracts can be rendered to a PDF (for printing or local storage).
• Various other features included, like cloning a completed or archived contract so the set of terms can be re-used.
• Full Administrative panel for all operations. View by status or single contract, edit or delete or clean up.
• Intuitive & easy to use. Only the operations for the status you're working on will be available.
• Since it is a custom application, additional features could be added by request.

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API Integrations

Most websites start out as information. Just local content that you yourself put on to the site. As your business, interests and needs grow you may want your customers to have a better online experience. Integrating your site with remote applications and services can do just that.

An API is not required for a simple information site. But if you sell products or services online, you will need a way for your customers to pay for them. This is what they are for. API's act like little cross-domain portals allowing a function to call for, send and receive information. Payment processors use them. Shipping processors and calculators use them. Posting to Social Media from your blog uses them. Google Maps, Reviews, Analytics, etc... use them. The more interaction your site has, the more they'll want to explore it. Activity and interest defines how your site will rank in search results, so connecting your site to the world means the world will know that its there.