Case Studies:
dspokalumni.org
The Delta Sigma Pi alumni chapters in Oklahoma share a website. As webmaster, I
initiated two redesigns.
The first aimed to update a very old, outdated site that contained only a few
links, member names and emails, and meeting minutes. The new site reflected the
split of the one chapter into two, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. It also added a
calendar and split the information into simpler menus, along with some simple
graphics. This iteration of the site suffered from a stiff design. The calendar
was static HTML, allowing content to become stale, and navigation between the
two chapters was difficult.
As my experience grew, I decided to use the site to test and improve my CSS
skills. Taking guide from the talent on csszengarden.com, the second redesign
was a style sheet up approach. The basic shell of the site was drawn up using
Photoshop, then the style sheet was developed to match.
Membership and calendar events became database driven, with an admin section
that allowed officers to log in and add/edit the calendar. Member emails were
also removed from the site to help reduce potential spam. Email can still be
sent from the site using the unique identifying code that ties back to each
member.
The site also employs session state and cookies to make navigation between the
two chapters a snap. The first time someone visits, they are prompted to select
the chapter they wish to view. They have the option of setting a cookie so they
do not have to do this step every time. While browsing the site, there is a
“switch” link that switches the chapter in their session, showing the data for
the other chapter.
The final piece was a guestbook. The previous guestbook had begun to receive
spam. A new book was adapted from the code available from my web host.
mymaria.net
Maria is an author that needed a home in cyberspace to supply a comprehensive
list of books and publication credits. The site was developed from the colors
in her business card.
briana's
obsessions
Briana was preparing to receive her architecture degree and needed a place to
provide her resume and portfolio to companies she came in contact with.
Printing an architecture portfolio is expensive and the site allowed many
companies to view it without extreme cost.
alansbrain.com
This site is currently on version 3. The first version began in college when I
first learned HTML. All the images were borrowed for educational purposes and
the site was extremely simple.
As my available tools improved and my knowledge grew, I created the second
version. The top banner was made in Photoshop and cut into pieces in
ImageReady. The pictures page had rollover buttons that took a picture and
overlaid the title when the visitor moused over it.
As with the Deltasig site, the third version was aimed at removing tables and
incorporating DIV tags controlled by CSS. This marks the first full production
of a .Net site. Datagrids are heavily employed to pull MSSQL data on to the
screen.
wedding
website
I developed a wedding website for my wife and I. Anyone could view our blog and
some pictures. There was a registration page that allowed people to create IDs
and log in to see exclusive content. This .asp site used session variables to
display certain content boxes and allow access to certain pages.
Exclusive content ranged from hotel blocks and registries, to all the event
pictures after the wedding.
This site was my first focused CSS experience.
RSVP
I felt our wedding was at a crossroads between traditional and modern. To allow
our technologically savvy friends to RSVP quickly, we put a unique code on each
invitation. They could visit our wedding site and click the RSVP link. This
popped open a small window that ran through this .NET application. The admin
section allowed me to view the list of invitees and see how far along responses
were.
This marked the first development in .NET that wasn't related to my day job.
OU Deltasig
website
Early on in my development knowledge, I served as the web chair for my business
fraternity. With some layout help, I developed a functional and useful site. I
worked to keep an updated calendar, added member profiles, event photos, an
online resume book, and provided meeting minutes quickly and orderly. Much of
the coding behind the site is still being used in the latest iteration of the
site.