Wordpress Web Design

Client projects and tech blog posts about Wordpress

Tract Association of FriendsThe Tract Association is venerable Quaker publisher dating back to the early part of the Nineteenth Century. They had a website but wanted a new one built with a content management system that would allow for easier editing. The new site is built in WordPress. Befitting the organization's ethos, the site is relatively plain but there's a lot going on underneath the surface.

Many people use the site to print out copies of the tracts. There's a special print stylesheet--created by the template designer and customized by me--that means print-outs of these pages will be very clean and uncluttered, perfect for personal photocopying. Many of the tracts are also available as PDFs through Scribd and there's a interface in the WordPress dashboard to allow embedding of these in the sidebar.

Categories: Client Sites , Faith-Based , WordPress | Edit
Discover Thyself featuring the Discern-o-Matic QuizDiscover Thyself is a "discernment" site for Quaker teens. Sponsored by Earlham College, it features resources, videos and the all-new "Discer-o-Matic Quiz."

The design is all original. We went through six rounds of the concept design mockups made up on Adobe Fireworks. Because the site is built on WordPress used as a CMS, Earlham College staff was able to add and arrange content even before the design coding began. The site uses the excellent Thematic theme, a blank template that allows for quite sophisticated designs using Action Hooks and complete CSS markup.

The most exciting element of the site is the "Discern-o-Matic" quiz, which takes users through a series of questions. At the end the questions are reorganized and presented to the user to help them understand what it is they want to do. The quiz is powered using the open-source LimeSurvey. Results are outputted via a custom PHP script that polls the LimeSurvey database and outputs in a nicely-worded and formatted WordPress results page. The templates for Lime Survey were altered to mimick the look of the rest of the site; the average user won't notice the pass-off from WordPress to Lime Survey and back to WordPress.

In hopes the quiz might go viral, individual results are saved on a unique URL. Users are invited to share their results page via Facebook.

Visit Site: http://www.discoverthyself.org
Categories: Client Sites , Educational , Facebook , Faith-Based , LimeSurvey , Nonprofit , WordPress
Tags: Wordpress Limesurvey "Earlham College" Discernment Quaker School "High School" Quiz Viral Facebook | Edit
Catherine Lockwood, MFTCatherine Lockwood is a therapist in the Los Angeles area who had built a site in the since-discontinued Google Page Creator service. It had a nice design but she could never get her domain pointing to it and she was frustrated that Google had closed the service. She wrote me saying "I would like to have a website address that WORKS. I have never been able to give anyone my address because apparently the address is not connected to my website. So instead I have to tell people to google me!"

We rebuilt Catherine's site using the ever-trusty WordPress. The colors and content were brought over into a fairly standard design. And now Catherine can print CatherineLockwoodMFT.com on her business cards!
Categories: Client Sites , Small Business , WordPress
Tags: Therapist, Wordpress | Edit
DiMeo Blueberry FarmsThe DiMeo family owns and operates several of the largest blueberry farms in the world, right here in the "blueberry capital of the world": Hammonton, New Jersey. They have an existing website that is hand-edited. We created a second site using WordPress. On launch it has much of the same content as the other site, but arranged into posts and categorized and tagged for search engine visibility. It also highlights the DiMeo Blueberry Farms' Facebook, Twitter and Youtube outlets. I'll be interested to see how it gets picked up by search engines and how visitors start to use it


See also:
DiMeo Blueberry Farms on Merchant Circle, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.
Categories: Client Sites , Local , Small Business , WordPress
Tags: Blog, Hammonton, New Jersey, South Jersey, Wordpress | Edit

Bradley Winkler LLC Home RemodelingIn early December 2009, I got a call from a prospective client who wanted me to build a website for her husband's home improvement business. The catch? She wanted it to be a surprise Christmas present! She started collecting pictures from his clients and I went to work with a simple but expandable WordPress site. Reports are that Brad was thrilled!

See it live: http://www.bradleywinkler.com/

Categories: Client Sites , Small Business , WordPress
Tags: Carpentry, Home Improvement, South Jersey, Wordpress | Edit
Martin Profile Picture Many Friends will know me from my active involvement in the Quaker world. I've been dubbed the "Quaker Blogfather" for my Quaker Ranter (site) blog and my work in pulling together QuakerQuaker (site), an online magazine and blogging community with over five hundred members and 10,000 visitors a month. I am also a frequent Quaker workshop leader and published writer.

I started building websites in 1995 with an award-winning Nonviolence.org hub site and was a social media pioneer when I redesigned its homepage to a blog format three years later. Before going independent as MartinKelley.com in 2006, I served on the staff of Friends General Conference (site) for eight years, where I worked in the FGC Quaker bookstore and built the Quakerfinder, FGC Gathering and youth ministry sites. I also worked for Friends Journal (site) for two years, putting select articles from their Quaker magazine online every month. Since then I've been privileged to work with Quaker organizations such as Friends World Committee for Consultation (site), Friends Council on Education (site) and Haverford Friends Meeting (site). I've done some exciting media work with the Philadelphia Penn Charter School (site) and built personal sites for well known Friends. I bring our testimony of integrity to every business transaction and when I address topics such as search engine optimization or pricing philosophy, I try to do so from a Friends perspective.

Web Design Specialties:


Categories: quaker | Edit
Collected from LinkedIn:

"The list allowed me to click only three attributes, but for Martin I wanted to check them all. He is a wonderful, personable, creative person who also happens to be unflappable. I highly recommend his for web design." March 30, 2010

Tom Ferrick, Journalist/Publisher, Phlmetropolis.com
Hired Martin as a Graphic/Web Designer in 2009
Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, Good Value.


"Martin has provided -- and continues to provide excellent service and consultation as a Web site developer. For my site on New York-based architecture and history, Mindfulwalker.com, I asked for some complex developments of and changes to a WordPress theme and the site installation. I received the service that I needed and more, and I'm very happy with the site today. Martin brings a variety of assets to his role: He is extremely knowledgeable and capable in programming and Web tools. He's also a good communicator, is very value-conscious about the service he delivers for the cost, and is understanding of client needs. Beyond this, Martin helped with some excellent tutorials as I took over the site. I plan to hire Martin again as I look forward to enhancements and additional developments for my site and business. Martin is excellent at what he does!" May 10, 2009

Susan DeMark, Journalist, Mindfulwalker.com
Hired Martin as a Graphic/Web Designer in 2007
Top qualities: Great Results, Good Value, High Integrity



"Martin provided great value in designing a website for my law practice. He was accessible and facilitated the process, despite our geographical distance, through email and telephone consultations. He was flexible in working with me to achieve what I was looking for within my budget." May 1, 2009

John Kindley, Lawyer.
Hired Martin as a Graphic/Web Designer in 2008
Top qualities: Personable, Good Value, High Integrity



"Martin is not only highly competent as a Web site developer, he's also one of the most honest and trustworthy people I've ever hired. I highly recommend Martin." April 30, 2009

James Maguire, Author, MaguireOnline.com
Hired Martin as a Graphic/Web Designer in 2006, and hired Martin more than once.
Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert



"Martin has worked for our school to integrate Web 2.0 technologies into our communication materials. Martin is highly-personable and his is an expert in current technological approaches. This is a hard match to find in consultants." April 30, 2009

Michael Moulton, Technology Director, William Penn Charter School.
Hired Martin as a IT Consultant in 2007, and hired Martin more than once.
Top qualities: Personable, Expert, High Integrity.



"Martin has an outstanding grasp of everything there is to know about the internet. He is our "go-to" guy whenever we encounter something new and different, especially involving Web 2.0 and Search Engine optimization. He is also an experienced and skilled designer and has excellent PHP/CSS/HTML programming knowledge. Martin is a pleasure to work with in every respect!" May 1, 2009

Barbara Raphael, Founder/Owner, Raphael Webscapes, LLC.
Worked directly with Martin at Raphael Webscapes.
Categories: references
Tags: Architecture, Budget, Communication, Consultations, Go-To Guy, Graphic, Haddonfield, History, Honest, It Consultant, Journalist, Law Practice, Lawyer, Linkedin, New York City, Raphael Webscapes, School, Search Engine Optimization, Technology Directory, Trustworthy, Web 2.0, Web Designer, Website, Wordpress | Edit
Strategy for GrowthGinny Christensen is the force behind Strategy for Growth, LLC, a Wyncote, PA consulting firm that provides strategic planning, board development, executive coaching, and leadership team development for independent schools and nonprofits. The site is fairly simple. It's built in WordPress and has rudimentary e-commerce with a Paypal option for purchasing books.

Visit: StrategyForGrowth.com
Categories: Client Sites , Educational , Nonprofit , Small Business , WordPress
Tags: Board Development, Cheltenham Township, Consultant, Ec-Commerce, Education, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Strategic Planning, Wordpress, Wyncote | Edit

John Kindley is a lawyer in a solo practice in South Bend, Indiana. He came to me wanting a web design make-over for his self-designed WordPress site, along with some SEO advice and help with a form. John's a bit of a tinkerer so he's already moved on to a new design!

Visit: Kindley Law in South Bend Indiana

Client Testimonial:

"Martin provided great value in designing a website for my law practice. He was accessible and facilitated the process, despite our geographical distance, through email and telephone consultations. He was flexible in working with me to achieve what I was looking for within my budget." May 1, 2009

John Kindley, Lawyer.
Hired Martin as a Graphic/Web Designer in 2008
Top qualities: Personable, Good Value, High Integrity
Categories: Small Business , WordPress
Tags: Law, Lawyer, Small Business, Solo, Wordpress | Edit
Mindful WalkerNew York City Journalist Susan DeMark looks for the stories behind the architecture, buildings, history, and nature of NYC and beyond. She and a graphic designer put together the look of the site and I performed the CSS magic to translate their vision into a WordPress blog.

Visit: Mindful Walker

Categories: Client Sites , Custom Design , Journalists & Artists , WordPress
Tags: Architecture, Css, Graphic Design, Journalism, Journalist, New York, Wordpress | Edit

Search

As Seen In

EBook

Shortcut cover
Web 2.0 Mash-Ups & Niche Aggregators (O'Reilly Media, 2008, $9.95): Order here.

Social Networks

Other Sites

Archives