Site Launch: Pulse Home Technology

This week marked the launch of another site built by Lift Development.  Pulse Home Technology, a cutting-edge company that focuses on sales and installation of home-related automation and entertainment systems, enlisted my help in creating their web presence.  We are both very pleased with the final product.

Pulse's site was built using a custom Lift Development design implemented for the WordPress blogging platform.  WordPress has some really cool features that make it not only good for blogs, but also as a full-featured content management system (CMS).  I've done several of these setups now and people seem to enjoy WP's admin panel for managing their site.

Pulse owner Scott Robberstad had this to say about the experience of working with Lift Development:

"Lift Development will take your ideas of what you envision in a website and make it reality. Dave did a spot on job in speaking to my customers through my website. Not only did Dave incorporate what I envisioned but when I was stuck, I was able to bounce ideas off of him to figure out what would work and what wouldn't. I highly recommend Lift Development to any business looking to stand out from the whirlpool of mediocre websites out there today."

Let me say that working with Scott was a fantastic experience.  He is one of the absolute nicest guys I know (and he's smart too!), so if you are looking for a professional home technology expert, Scott is your guy.  He has also informed me that he can usually beat the prices of "big box" stores on home electronics, so give him a call if you're looking at buying a plasma TV or high-end stereo. 

Site Launch: Clear Sky Portrait

I just finished a fun website for my favorite photographer of all time.  Well, yes, I really do mean that because the photographer is in fact my wife, Sarah.  I should probably keep my personal affairs off of my company website, but I really do like the site that we collaborated together to build.  I think it's a very nice addition to the Lift Development portfolio.

The site itself was built on top of the WordPress platform.  I've built a few sites in that manner now and the functionality that is available continues to grow on me each time.  And the bump that is gained in search engine response through the WordPress setup is worth it in itself.  We also used some flash for the home page and portfolio gallery.

The address is http://www.clearskyportrait.com/

Case Study: GraceNet, Inc

I really enjoy working with clients who think outside the box; clients who keep me on my toes.  Martha Grace Reese at GraceNet is one of those clients. 

An in-demand author and speaker, Reese works with the leadership of various churches and is in the midst of an enormous research project called the Unbinding the Gospel Project.  She keeps me busy with various design and programming updates to her site on a regular basis. 



When I say that she thinks outside the box, I mean it.  She is constantly bringing me new ideas for functionality on her site, which has become a major piece of the research project.  By using the web to collect data, communicate with the people involved, and provide easy access to common documents, Reese is able to free up time to focus on the data itself and spend less time worrying about common tasks.  Here's a quote from her about this:

"...we are about to shift into another phase of research where we'll use the site to collect and process immense amounts of data and stories for a new national, four-year study of two thousand churches. Dave's technical expertise is going to save me innumerable headaches and two years of salary for a data collector and coder."

The core of the project is a team of coaches that are each assigned a group of pastors.  Both the coaches and pastors constantly use the website for things like automated questions & responses, scheduling, and group correspondence.  Reese herself is able to use the site for keeping detailed notes, notifying pastors and coaches, viewing reports, and more. 



Here are a few highlights of the Unbinding the Gospel web application:

• Detailed signup for pastors that captures information about congregation, pastor history, etc:

• Coaches and Administrators can manage an AJAX-enabled calendar for each specific group:

• Coaches can send questions to all group members, and the recipients click a link that brings them directly to the response page:

• Coaches can record notes after group phone calls that are then available for review by Administrator:

• The Administrator can send out a mass, branded email based on custom criteria such as specific groups, pastors, coaches, coordinators, sessions, and more:

• The email itself:
  
  

• After data is collected, Reese is able to view and export responses in an organized fashion:
  
  

We continue to add and refine functionality on the Unbinding the Gospel application.  In the end there will be a complex system of tagging chunks of data for easy access and classification. 

The Unbinding the Gospel Project is succeeding in part by taking manual processes and automating them using the web.  I believe this is a perfect example of what Lift Development does best: Advancement through web-related technology.

Site Launch: Bridgit Hinkle Photography

Bridgit Hinkle is an extremely talented photographer of families, couples, kids, babies, etc. I recently developed a site for her that showcases her photography. The site itself utilizes some really useful flash technology that allows her to swap out the pictures displayed in the various galleries using her Flickr account.

Take a look at the site.