Project Objectives:

Web Site Design
The new ReptileWrangler.net web site design must to be very creative and should be designed with a “tropical” and “safari” look and feel. iaDesign will design the new ReptileWrangler.net web site to be a search engine powerhouse. It will also be designed using the latest W3C design standards for search engine compatibility.

Blog Installation and Customization
iaDesign will install and customize the Word Press blogging system. After installation, the new blogging system will be integrated into the main navigation and customized to match the new Reptile Wrangler web site. We will also train the client on the usage of Word Press.

Email Marketing System
iaDesign will also design an email marketing system for ReptileWrangler.net. Using this system, the client will have the ability to send out blast emails to anyone who has booked a show using their online booking system. Additionally, the client will have the ability to add email addresses into the system manually.  Also and to be in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, which was passed by Congress in 2003 - Each email sent by this new email marketing system will have an “OPT OUT” link at the bottom of the email. By clicking this link the recipients email address will automatically be removed from the marketing email database.

Project Results:

iaDesign is proud to announce that our project objectives were exceeded. The Reptile Wrangler and iaDesign are extremely happy with the creative design and development.

During the design conception phase of The Reptile Wrangler Web Site, iaDesign was faced with quite a challenge. This web site design was to be unlike any design we had ever created. We needed to create a design that is professional and fun.

The Online Show Scheduling System was also an absolute success. The Online Show Scheduling System allows a web site visitor to schedule The Reptile Wrangler for a Birthday Party Show, an In-School Field Trip Show, a College Campus Show, or a Corporate Show. The Online Show Scheduling System automatically calculates the Show price, based on which animals and/or show times are selected.

We also developed a web-based Email Marketing System for The Reptile Wrangler. This system allows The Reptile Wranlger to send marketing emails to all of his current and past customers. Additionally, customers can opt-out of the marketing emails.

iaDesign was selected to develop ROL Transport’s Online Freight Rating system, because of our previous experience in online freight shipping web site development.

The ROL Transport system is a web-based application that allows a web site visitor to get instant quotes, in real time, from each of the ROL Transport Inc Freight Carriers. The ROL Transport system is very unique because it is a self-contained system that requires no additional software to run. This system can easily be moved to any server, with very minor modifications.

All freight quotes are gathered using one of two methods:

1) Using the Freight Company’s API (Application Programming Interface)

2) By “Screen Scraping” or “Crawling” the Freight Company’s web site.

The following is a Line Item Overview of the ROL Transport feature set:

• MySQL Database Schema and Associated Queries
• Instant Online Freight Quotes
• Member Registration
• Member Login
• Member View & Edit Account
• Member Address Book Functionality (search and display)
• Member Product Book Functionality (search and display)
• Shipment History
• Generate Required Receipts (bill of lading, order receipt)
• Generate Unique Quote ID #

Back-end Administration:

ROL Transport Inc also needed the ability to administer certain aspects of their instant freight quote system.
Therefore, iaDesign developed a browser-based, back-end administration
control panel. Below is an overview of the administration functionality.

• Order Lookup: Look up orders by BOL #, Customer Name or Date Range
• Quote Lookup: Look up quotes by Quote #, Customer Name or Date Range
• User Administration: The ability to Edit, Delete, Activate and Deactivate Member users.

The ability to edit the following values in the ROL database:

• Markup percentage per user (optional)
• Global markup percentage

Company Overview:

HADCO has been in business for over 50 years. HADCO has grown from a home appliance service company to a full-service distributorship supplying over 400 dealers in 14 states with specialty appliances that set the standard for performance, quality and beauty.

Problems:

• The Internet is a very dynamic place and with a national advertising campaign running it became increasingly more important for HADCO to offer fresh, updated and accurate content to its web site visitors.
• With a large list of Dealers and Authorized Installers, it was important that HADCO have the ability to easily maintain its Dealer Locator and Authorized installers database for accuracy.
• HADCO offers Consumer Demonstrations, Care & Use Classes, Home Shows and other Special Events to the public. It was becoming difficult to relay event times and dates.

Solutions:

• IADesign, LLC implemented a very creative web site design and developed a custom, database driven Content Management System that gives HADCO the ability to manage the What’s New, Calendar of Events, Dealer Locator and Authorized Installer sections of their web site, with the click of a mouse.

Georgia Top Model is an Atlanta Georgia based modeling competition, that is held yearly and is completely Internet-based. This project is listed in the Web Design category because its is very creative… I might be as bold to say that the Georgia Top Model web site is beautiful. The design concept was simple: Be Elegant, Be Refined and Be Professional.

The Georgia Top Model web site design project became more of a corporate branding project. IADesign also designed Georgia Top Model’s logo, business cards, magazine ad and advertising poster. This is a great example of the diversity in talents of the IADesign staff, as well as our flexibility.

In the clients own words (as listed on Kudzu.com):

” This company is very professional. All the staff members are helpful and informative.“

Company Overview:

Douglas County Bank has served the West Atlanta and Douglas County communities since the mid-1970s, emphasizing impeccable customer service and up-to-date banking services. It started in Douglas County with local ties, and vows to keep those ties. It’s Douglas County’s only locally owned bank.

Problems:

• The original Douglas County web site was not intuitive or user-friendly, and was not tightly integrated with their online banking system.
• We live in a fast-paced and competitive world. Modern day web site content must be as dynamic as the world we live in. That being the case, Douglas County Bank required a robust and easy-to-use content management system.

Solutions:

• IADesign, LLC developed a very creative and easy-to-use web site design for Douglas County Bank. Additionally, IADesign implemented and trained the Douglas County Bank staff on an advanced, multi-user content management system.

However, some smaller, less diverse web companies are probably either heavily creative or heavily technical. This poses many problems, because if your project is database driven and will generally require some back-end programming, the web designer will most likely sub contract the programming portion to a third party. This will ultimately result in communication problems as the designer will try to communicate the clients requirements, and the programmer will never speak to the client. Also, if the designer is outsourcing your project to India, Russia or even China, you can certainly expect communication problems. As if that’s not enough… you can also expect a sizable cost difference. Both the sub contract programmer and the designer are going to want to charge high fees. On the other hand, if the web designer you hire is more of a developer than a designer, then your web site’s design will probably be sub par at best. Most programmers are not very good designers.

So how do you know if you need a designer or a programmer? First a plug for my company: Save yourself a lot of problems and give us a call. As I stated before, IADesign can handle the creative and the technical aspects of your project in-house. We will also consult with you and let you know what the technical requirements are and what the development challenges will be (if any). We’re a bunch of really creative nerds!

Alright, enough with the shameless plug and back to the question. The bottom line is if your web project requires a database, is e-commerce, or is going to receive and process user input, you need a programmer or true web developer. But, if your web site is more of a brochure style site, then a web designer is your best bet. Also, when you are interviewing web companies for your project, be sure to inquire of your new web site’s compliance. It is very important that your website meet W3C Markup Validation standards, and that your website is designed for optimal search engine indexing. As they say: “Content is king”.

The key to hiring a company to build your web project is to know your requirements, and to relay those requirements (creative and technical) to the potential web company. Armed with this information, most companies will quickly know if they are capable of meeting your design and/or development needs.

I hope this helps. Have a good one!

Web Developer:
“A Web developer can also be a Web designer, but a Web developer typically has more database, CGI, and engineering experience. He or she develops the interface between the front and back end of a website.”

You may ask the question “Why would you need to develop a custom blog application when so many are freely available?” Good question! OnBlass.com required more functionality than is available in any free, open-source blog software. For example: When you register for an OnBlass.com account (which is required before you can post comments), your Zip Code and State are cross referenced to ensure that you are providing accurate information. Additionally, OnBlass.com maintains a database of company names to cross reference in complaint postings. The goal here is to log all complaints to a specific company, and to eliminate as many duplicate entries as possible. There are also many proprietary data integrity features that insure the OnBlass.com website operates efficiently, effectively and legitimately.

In the clients own words (as listed on Kudzu.com):

“Dear Phillip, I want to personally thank you for all the effort you put into our new Web Site, OnBlass.com. Your commitment of seeing this project through for us is very well appreciated. We hope that you are available for us as the foundation of Global Technology Solutions grows and gains success. Again, thank you for the hard work and effort.”

Joseph Menefee
President, CEO, Global Technology Solutions, Inc.

Company Overview:

Promotional Partners is a full service advertising design and marketing company located in Atlanta, Georgia. Promotional Partners is dedicated to providing their clients with the highest quality creative solutions. They understand that their expertise is an investment for their clients. Their understanding of the products, markets and objectives allows them to achieve the most effective results for all of them. �

Problems:

• With a high volume of projects, it was becoming increasingly cumbersome to manage the projects effectively and economically using their previous paper-based system.
• Tracking billable time while working on projects and project changes was becoming increasingly difficult.
• Communication between the Sales, Art and Customer Service Departments was fragmented and inefficient.

Solutions:

• IADesign, LLC developed a database-driven, web-based Project Management System that allows project progress tracking, a message board type project notes section to manage project changes/activity and a billable time logging system to accurately calculate project cost based on the time spent on changes as well as the overall projects activity. Customer proofs and the Project Quote can also be uploaded into the Project Management System to further streamline the development process.

Jim Brams
KEF Media

Vicki Lynn
Lyght Enterprises