The Ashleigh Iserman Boating Safety Foundation was established to honor the life and memory of Ashleigh Iserman. The goal of the foundation is to help promote boating safety education in order to keep our families safe on Michigan’s waterways.

It was a pleasure to be chosen to develop this website. As usual, I used WordPress as the content management system. The client was happy with the finished product and so was I!

I am excited to announce the roll out of a new website for a candidate for the state senate in Michigan.

Kim Russell has recently announced her candidacy for the Michigan State Senate as a Republican from the 12th District. Her website represents the vibrancy and passion that she will bring to the race and I was pleased to be selected to develop her campaign website.

As usual, I developed this website using WordPress as the back end content management system. I am very pleased with the design of the website and wish Kim the best in her election efforts.

Late last week I was contacted by a client who needed some help with a WordPress blog that he had installed and customized. He was on a tight time schedule and wanted his new website completed as quickly as possible. To complicate matters just a bit, the client was on a business trip that took him from his home in Quebec to Los Angeles for the week. The client wanted his new Corrugated-Pipe website to be up and running within the week.

In order to complete this project within both the time frame and budget I had to fall back on some previous WordPress themes I had been working on in my spare time. One of those themes was to the liking of the client and we agreed to utilize that theme, with modifications, to complete this project.

During the next seven days the client and I worked exclusively via email with the client doing almost all of the project review using his Blackberry. I am very proud to say that the project was completed on time and to the full satisfaction of the client. In fact, I completed the website installation, plugin installation and conent insertion while the client was enroute from Los Angeles to his home in Quebec. When he arrived home he found his new website up and running and looking good. He’s happy, and so am I.

Project Complete: In late July of this year I was contacted by St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church and asked to submit a proposal for a website redesign and development. The church was not happy with their outdated site, which needed a new look. Nor were they happy with the content management system that drove the site. It was cumbersome to work with and as a result the site was rarely updated.

As is often the case, I utilized the WordPress content management system to control the backend of the new site. WordPress afforded me the flexibility of developing a hundred page website, with multiple users and contributors, and all within both the time frame and the budget of the client. The new site is clean, good looking and easy for the staff at St. Anastasia to use. That was the goal, and I am happy to report the goal was met. And of course, the XHTML is coded to the Strict standard and validates according to the standards of W3C. As you might guess, the CSS is also valid level 2.1.

Working with this client was really a dream come true. My primary contact at St. Anastasia took her responsibilities regarding this project just as seriously as I took mine. Together, we worked hard to deliver a finished product that everyone is proud of. And to be honest, we did it in a time frame that is rarely ever met for sites that are one-tenth the size and complexity of this project. If only all my clients were this easy to work with!

Thanks to everyone at St. Anastasia for working together to get the new site up and running!

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Project Complete: Back in early June I was contacted by the physician owner of Access HealthCare. Dr. David M. Smith was interested in a redesign of his current website, which had become out dated over the years and was in need of an overhaul.

After my initial conversations with Dr. Smith it was apparent to me that I could redesign his site using, you guessed it, WordPress as the backend content management system.

Dr. Smith was one of the most responsive clients I have ever worked with. He worked quickly to express his needs, authorize design layouts and provide me with content and photographs for the new site.

I really like the new website for Access HealthCare. It looks sharp, professional and should be easy for the office staff to update. It also includes a blog feature so that Dr. Smith and his staff can keep patients updated on news, medical information and other important information.

Thanks for being a great client Dr. Smith. I hope you enjoy your new website as much as I enjoyed developing it!

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Project In Progress:
I am really pleased with how this project is progressing. This is my second attempt at designing a website for Delta Trim, and I think the project is turning out much nicer the second time around.

Enough said for now. More to come when the project is complete.

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Project Complete: I am a member of a community organization known as Rochester Area Youth Assistance (RAYA).

RAYA is a non-profit organization of volunteers, working in conjunction with a professional full-time counselor, whose goal is to strengthen youth and families. Through RAYA’s efforts we expect to see a reduction in the the incidents of delinquency, abuse and neglect through volunteer involvement.

At a board meeting last week, the RAYA leadership expressed the desire to have a website developed and said that they had been in contact with a web designer who works with non-profit organizations such as RAYA. I asked if this designer was willing to develop the site for free, and needless to say the answer was that they were not.

Being between projects, I set to work on creating a website for the group. I am very pleased with the outcome. The site is clean, uncluttered and professional looking. Although the images provided were not of the best quality, I am happy with the final product.

As usual, this site is constructed to to the Strict standard and uses valid XHTML code. I have used one little tweak in the CSS code to make Safari behave correctly:

/*
Safari only hack

http://dustinbrewer.com/css-hackgetting-safari-to-behave/

*/
@media screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio:0){
#menu ul li a {padding-top:20px;}
#menu ul li.current_page_item a {padding-top:24px;}
#menu ul li a:hover, #menu ul li a:active, #menu ul li a:focus {
	margin-top:7px;
	padding: 14px 12px 7px 12px;
}
}

But other than that, the CSS is standard compliant as well. The site is also Section 508 compliant.

Once again, I have built this site using WordPress as the backend content management system. This will afford the site adminstrator the ability to make reasonable content changes to the site as well as to write news articles and to provide other updated information.

I wish RAYA good luck with their new website!

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Project Complete: My most recent project went live on February 1, 2009. Sunrise Side Snapshots is a website that showcases the photographic artwork of nature photgrapher Denise M. Willis. Denise is located on the “sunrise side” area of Michigan and specializes in landscape and nature photography of that area.

This project, like most of my recent work, was completed using WordPress as the backend content management system. I designed a custom WordPress theme for this project, and both the client and I are very pleased with the results.

This project is a basic eCommerce site that uses a terrific WordPress plugin called eShop. This plugin was written and distributed by Rich Pedley. I customized this plugin just a bit, but without the help of Rich I would not have been able to do so. He answered each of my emails in very prompt fashion and was willing to assist me with each twist and turn I encountered.

As usual, the project is standards compliant – valid to the Strict level for XHTML. I do use a bit of non-compliant CSS code for the javascript image rotation on the Home page, but it’s something I can live with!

Denise was great to work with and I wish her well with her new website and with her photography business! She does beautiful work and I am certain that her photographs will be very popular!

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Project Complete: My most recent project went live yesterday. Lakeside Plumbing, Inc. is a Chicago area plumbing business that has been serving the north shore and northwest Chicago suburbs for decades. They decided that they wanted to establish a presence on the web. Lakeside Plumbing contacted Aardvark Web Works, a very highly regarded web services company located in suburban Chicago.

As part of the team of web developers who work with Aardvark, I was asked to work on the Lakeside Plumbing project. Working closely with both Aardvark Web Works and the owner of Lakeside Plumbing, I was able to craft a new website for their business that I am quite proud of.

Once again, I have utilized the WordPress platform as the backend of this site. Making some custom tweaks in WordPress allowed me to offer the client the ability to update their own website. Their two most critical needs were to post Employment Opportunities as well as to offer various Special Coupons that website visitor scan use for plumbing services. WordPress proved to be a good fit for this application.

As delivered, the site is built to adhere to the following standards:

• XHTML Strict
• Valid CSS
• Section 508 compliant

I am proud of the new Lakeside Plumbing website. Aardvark Web Works is pleased with my work, and most importatnly the client is happy with their new website!

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Project Complete: Generally speaking, I use WordPress as the backend for most of the websites I have developed in the past year. Even if the client has no use for a traditional bog, I have found that using WordPress is convenient for me as it allows me to access and update client websites from any computer with internet access.

From time to time, however, I actually use WordPress to design a blog for a client. Such is the case with my most recent project for Potato Patch Recipes. The client was quite specific about the design of the Blog. It’s always nice to work with a client who knows what they want. This project went smoothly and was completed quickly as a result.

As with all my sites, the original theme is standards compliant, using XHTML in the Strict mode. The cascading style sheets – CSS – is valid as well.

All in all, a very enjoyable project to work on. I am pleased with the results, but most importantly so is the client!

Project Complete: As one of the premier cardiology specialist practices in the Detroit metropolitan area, Academic Cardiology Associates wanted a new website that portrayed their practice in a clean and professional manner.

I worked closely with the practice administrator and enjoyed working on this project. The client was prompt with content, understood what they wanted from their website and provided quick feedback during the design phase of the project. It was a pleasure to work with them and I am pleased with the final product.

This website, as with many that I design, employs the WordPress content management system as the backend. Although there is no blog feature associated with this site, utilizing WordPress allows me to better control, edit and modify the site from anywhere I happen to be when changes or updating are required. This feature is convenient for me and better serves the client, as I am able to institute changes almost immediately in most cases, as I do not have to rely on an FTP client or third party software to make the changes.

The Academic Cardiology website was fun to design, a pleasure to build and efficiently completed due to a great working relationship with the client. Thanks again for choosing me to design your new website!

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Project Complete: It’s football season, and in the area of the country that I live in there are many folks who cheer for the University of Michigan Wolverines. But U of M football is not the only thing in Michigan that is maize and blue.

I have just completed a new website for Amazing Blue Taxi, LLC. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Amazing Blue Taxi provides premier transportation services to Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan, Detroit Metropolitan Airport and all of southeastern Michigan.

Do you need a short hop taxi ride in Ann Arbor? Do you need transportation to the airport? Do you need a ride for a night out with the girls, or a bachelor party? Amazing Blue Taxi can handle all those needs and more.

I am quite proud of this project and had a great time working on it. The owner of Amazing Blue Taxi was a great client, knew exactly what he wanted from a website, and provided content quickly and efficiently so that the project could be completed in a timely fashion. Thanks again, Rick, for choosing 1955 Design for your website needs.

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Project Complete: I have just completed a new website for Matthew C. Shepard, PLC. Mr. Shepard is an attorney located in Keego Harbor, MI.

In addition to a standard website, Mr. Shepard wanted the ability to write articles and news items for both his clients and website visitors.

WordPress as a CMS

With that in mind, I designed the site using WordPress as the CMS for this project. With only a modest amount of training, Mr. Shepard will be able to update his “Law Blog” on a regular basis. Not only will this be informative for his readers, but the blog articles will also make his website much more attractive to search engine indexing. Afterall, both Google and Yahoo love fresh content on websites and are likely to increase the page rankings for websites that regularly add new content.
Custom Blog Theme

This website was completed by customizing a blog theme that I have used for previous clients. By reusing an existing theme, and simply modifying the graphics and applying a few other tweaks, I was able to provide Mr. Shepard with a very cost effective solution for his webiste needs. I think the site portrays Mr. Shepard’s law firm as both serious and professional, and that’s just what he was looking for. I am happy with the site, but most importantly, so is the client!

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Project Complete: Working with a familiar WordPress theme, I have just completed a new blog for Southern Injustice.

This website will chronicle the upcoming appellate trial of death row inmate Richard Lambrix, who has been incarcerated and on death row in a Florida prison for the past twenty four years.

Richard and his supporters intend to use this blog to document the evidence in his case and to attempt to demonstrate that he has been wrongly convicted of capital murder.

As delivered, this theme is valid CSS and valid XHTML to the strict standard. The site is search engine friendly and uses WordPress as the content management system.

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Project Complete: I just completed another WordPress blog theme for eBay power seller Texas Tracy.

In addition to selling a large volume of items on eBay, Texas Tracy wants to write about her experience and to teach others how to be successfull selling on eBay. She has a wealth of knowledge about online auctions, and if her first post is an indication she is going to have a very popular blog one day. Online auctions are very popular, and I expect her site to generate significant interest once it gets off the ground.

Good luck with your new venture Tracy!

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Project Complete: I was approached by a past client who had a friend that needed a custom blog theme developed. The friend is currently incarcerated in the Florida federal prison system and wishes to write about the criminal justice / prison system and his role in it, including one set of circumstances that took him to the United States Supreme Court.

I was able to use the basic framework of a blog developed for another client and customize it for use on the new Hubris Corpus website. The client wanted a theme that was rather ominous in appearance due to the serious nature of the anticipated content of this blog. As a result, I broke away from my normal approach and developed a theme that was light colored text on a dark background, which is not normally my preference. However, the associated graphics work nicely with the dark colors and I am very pleased with the final product. So is the client, which is all that really matters.

It may be obvious from the subtitle of this post, but just as a reminder let me state that this project was completed using the WordPress content management system, which I have written about before, as the backend.

As delivered to the client, the code written for this project meets the following standards:

• Valid XHTML (Strict)
• Valid CSS
• Section 508 Compliant
• W3C WCAG - AAA Compliance

I enjoyed working on ths project. The client, who I had previously designed a blog theme for, was very easy to work with. In fact, she tells me that she has another project in the works and to expect a call from her early this year.

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Project Complete: I just completed a website for Nancy Redd. For those of you who do not know her, Nancy is a former Miss America contestant as well as a $250,000.00 winner on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

If those two attributes were not enough, Nancy is also a Harvard University graduate who has recently written a book titled Body Drama that is available available at Amazon.com. She’s is also a very attractive young woman!

With all that being said, I am very happy to be working on her website project. Nancy had a new website developed with a very sharp and flashy design. However, the functionality of the site left something to be desired. Nancy was most interested in having a WordPress blog attached to her existing site. My original contract called for the completion of thsi blog, but after becoming involved in the blog development Nancy asked me to move the whole site over to a full WordPress controlled content management system.

Working with the existing graphics, I am working quickly to get Nancy’s new site up and running within the week. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that I can meet that deadline.

This is a very lively project and Nancy has been great to work with. She is readily available to answer questions and to provide content and direction, something which is lacking in some clients. Because of some deadlines, both self-imposed and client-imposed, this project was completed in less than two weeks from start to finish. There were a few tweaks an changes that had to be made once the site went live, but for the most part things went smoothly!

Thanks for the great project Nancy!

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Project Complete: This project involved customizing a blog theme for The Dividend Guy Blog. Using an existing three column theme, I was able to customize the look, feel and functionality of this financial advice website.

Although it is a standard, three column layout, this site is search engine friendly and Google Adsense ready. This WordPress theme is widget ready, allowing the site administrator to modify most of the sidebar content from directly within the WordPress administration dashboard.

As of the time of this post, the site administrator was still testing the theme and learning about widget implementation. As a result, the site may not be live, but you can take a look at a screen shot image of the new layout.

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Complete: Rochester, MI city council candidate Jeff Matis asked me to complete a new website for his political campaign.

Once again, WordPress was used as the backend for the site. Using WordPress allows the site Admin to add, edit and delete all of the page content. In fact, he opted to used WordPress as a simple CMS and to not even use the blog feature of the software.

The site is quite simple in design, but projects a clean and professional appearance, which is what the client wanted. As usual, the site is written as valid XHTML strict, valid CSS and Section 508 compliant as well. Please stop over and take a look at www.JeffMatis.com.

Thanks for the project, Jeff. I hope your campaign is successful!

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Completed: I have just completed a very straightforward and clean blog theme for Blogging Away Debt.

This is the second blog project I have donefor a blog chronicles the daily steps taken by someone who has become overburdened with consumer debt. Many visitors to sites such as this are looking for ways to do a debt consolidation or to otherwise manage their excessive debt.

The theme is a very straightforward and clean three column design without a lot of fluff. The client wanted the theme to look professional, but did not wish the theme to take away from the site content. She wanted the content of the site to stand out. Don’t let the simple appearance of this site fool you, however. It contains some great search engine optimization features, is valiid CSS and XHTML to the strict standard. It’s also Section 508 compliant and meets all automatic checkpoints of Priority 3 accessibility as determined by www.WebXact.com. It’s also widget ready and designed to accept some standard Adsense advertisement blocks.

This is a WordPress driven site and the theme is exactly what the client wanted based on her original outline and drawings. Tricia loves her new site and so do I.