The most significant step I took in web design, until 2020, was incorporating the Bootstrap framework, and customizing it to best meet my clients' needs. This is a great option for providing "mobile first" sites that look pixel perfect on every screen.
Most of my clients have started their online presence with little to no website experience. I've provided them with support by:
Other clients had non-responsive, well estabslished sites that I updated and maintained. I treat my clients as I want to be treated. My goal is to give the best website and maintenance possible. I'm happy to provide total care for my clients.
Owner Barbara Pendergrass found me through a mutual acquaintance. She's had a website for more than 20 years and a couple years ago she needed a new webmaster. I took over the website that was created using thousands of tables for layout.
She's a wonderful client so I offered to make her site responsive and and a little more organized. We kept her original design elements and I updated the code, making the design responsive via Bootstrap. Click on the image to open a new tab in your browser and check out Rafina Chihuahuas.
Discovery, wireframes and mock-ups were concluded within one month. We used Glenn's established branding. While Glenn was building his business with home shows and advertising through TV and radio, I acquired the URL, went through discovery, wireframes and mockups, built the site, did testing and hosted Window Shopping within 3 months from our first meeting.
I also established a presence for Window Shopping on Facebook and Google Business. Google Business has been very beneficial in developing newclient leads. I've also spent a great deal of time in Google web developer tools and search console. This project was the first one that required me to do extensive SEO.
My client's success is my success and I enjoyed working with Glenn every step along the way. In early 2020 when I relocated to Colorado he choose to go with another developer, in the Evansville area, who has maintained much of my initial styles. Using the link in the logo you can see the site as it was in 2020.
It was a significant coincidence when I joined Evansville Obedience Club in 2002, and later that year I created my first website, to promote my dogs. I took over the club's site in 2010 when the site was rather small and was not responsive. The color palate is based on the official club colors. Aside from the club's logo, I've created most of the graphics. I updated the site to Boostrap 3 in 2018, This large site required frequent updates for class schedules, trials, and other events and information.
As of November 2019, while most of the online site is still mostly my design the current webmaster has made some changes. The above link is to a previous version when I was still maintaining the site. Several photos are missing and the Awards page is not functioning at this time.
Like many a web designer I began my career by creating my own website. In 2002, I needed to find homes for my puppies. For many, breeding is not a money making venture, it is a passion. So hiring someone to create a website wasn't financially feasible.
A friend helped me obtain my URL and hosting. I bought a Microsoft application, "Front Page", and borrowed an instruction manual from the library. Within a week or so I had the pages completed. Even 14 years later I remember how frustrating it was to get the site loaded to the server. But the satisfaction that came with successfully getting the site online was tremendous. It was a true "rush".
But soon I became frustrated by the limitations of Front Page and decided to learn how to code. Solving puzzles has always been rewarding for me. When I could create a web page from scratch by writing HTML in Notepad, I knew I wanted a career in web design. I had found a type of work that was creative and more fun for me than my chosen profession, optometry.
A good friend of mine is the President of this organization. When I went to their website in 2017 I saw the same website they had back in the 1980s. I volunteered to replace it with a new one. I created the updated version of their logo. Paying homage to history is important so we've kept some of the previous elements and we maintain extensive online libraries and collections. Over the past 2 years the site has been generating revenue through online sales of items such as shirts and flags.