HandBrewed builds, designs, and maintains websites. We specialize in the development of custom web applications, online content management systems, and standards based design implementation. more >>
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Overview
HandBrewed redeveloped and redesigned one of the top book selling sites on the web. We were responsible for migrating existing data to a new platform while retaining and improving search engine rankings. We handled the integration of numerous API's and data feeds allowing us to build innovative new tools for comparing, purchasing, and selling books online. The separation of content and presentation allowed for multiple redesigns without prohibitive development costs.
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Information Architecture
After reviewing the site, HandBrewed determined that the structure of the existing database was inadequate to accomoate future growth. With a more modular, flexible and secure site in mind, we recommended that the entire site be migrated from ASP/MMSQL to PHP/MySQL. From there, we would be able to consolidate information into a completely new database schema, significantly reducing the overall size while dramatically increasing access speed.
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Data Migration
With security, speed, flexibility, growth and the client's long term goals in mind, we were able to migrate the CampusBooks website from an outdated Microsoft ASP technology to L.A.M.P (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) technology without ever taking the site off line. Attention to the existing pages, their page rank, and our knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO) enabled CampusBooks.com to significantly improve in search engine rankings after the site was migrated.
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Search Engine Optimization
HandBrewed was able to dramatically change the search engine rankings for CampusBooks.com. It went from the second page on Google to the number one spot for the key phrase "college textbooks", and remains there today. We made a positive impact on almost every other key phrase we tested, all in less than 2 months. The site now benefits from an average of 50,000 unique users per day, and exceeds 1.5 million hits per day at peak seasons.
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E-Commerce
HandBrewed developed CampusBooks as a fully functioning eCommerce site allowing users to buy and sell books online using PayPal, credit card or eCheck.Advanced shopping cart features allowed for comparison shopping and checkout via multiple affiliate links as well as the campusbooks marketplace. Intuitive selling tools allowed a user to manage the process of selling multiple books through the campusbooks marketplace.
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Comparison Shopping
We completely re-developed the comparison shopping engine. In doing so, we incorporated API, datafeed and screen scrape administration allowing site administrators to check statistics, errors, and switch affiliates on and off at any time. Improvements were made to the comparison shopping engine's speed, efficiency, flexibility, error reporting and affiliate administration. Advanced comparison algorithms analyze multiple books from multiple affiliates and offer a variety of cost saving solutions.
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Design
Full CSS layouts and valid HTML in compliance with the latest web standards improved accessibility and natural search/SEO throughout the site. An intuitive user interface was designed to provide quick access to content in the least amount of clicks, and to give clarity to the complexity of comparison shopping, and the checkout process. The separation of content and presentation allowed for multiple redesigns without prohibitive development costs.
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Maintenance
HandBrewed maintained CampusBooks.com for a period of approximately 3 years. During that time the site underwent many significant changes including 2 re-designs, updating and adding affiliates, advanced bookbag/shoppingcart upgrades, Flash tutorials, adding DHTML and AJAX to certain pages and functionality, and moving the site to a new hosting facility to name a few.
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Overview
HandBrewed designed and built a cutting edge eCommerce site allowing "Green" businesses to register and sell their eco-friendly products online. We built a complete Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) to help businesses track sales and interact with users via the site. LivingEcho.com also needed to handle the functionality and management of articles, videos, user ratings and comments, affiliate APIs and feeds, shipping and more.
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Interface Design
With the Living ECHO website, HandBrewed was able to help design an intuitive interface for anyone interested in an eco-friendly lifestyle. Businesses registered on LivingECHO.com can upload products, track orders and sales, administer shipping options, post videos and write articles in a way that is easy to understand. Front end design includes category listings, featured products, featured businesses, product listings, featured videos and articles and more in an easy to use format.
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Customer Relationship Management
HandBrewed developed a system that allowed users to rate and comment on products and businesses, as well as buy products from them. Registered sellers are able to view, manage and track orders, upload multiple products, view sales statistics and manage much, if not all of their online businesses activity using the site.
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Website Administration
Almost every aspect of LivingECHO.com can be managed via the site's Content Management System (CMS). HandBrewed designed and developed a sophisticated user permissions system that allowed for virtually any number of privilages, privilage hierarchy and user roles. Administrators with the appropriate permissions are able to temporarily become any user on the system, manage featured products, articles, companies, videos and much more..
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Web Services
LivingECHO.com needed to leverage the functionality and capabilities of various web services APIs to help with video hosting, shipping management and affiliate product info. Some of the APIs HandBrewed utilized on the Living ECHO site include YouTube, UPS, USPS, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Payment Gateway APIs. These APIs help with video hosting, real time lookup of shipping costs, eCommerce making Amazon's organic grocery products available for purchase on Living ECHO.
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Overview
HandBrewed was asked to design and build a multi-faceted "City Search" web application for Play Society, Inc. from a small non functional "Proof of Concept" Flash animation provided by them. PlaySociety.com needed to be a completley functional eCommerce site with recurring billing, accounts, products, events and gallery management, ratings, reviews and SMS capabilities among other things.
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Discovery
HandBrewed researched potential competitors, regional search providers and search techniques as well as specifications and APIs for searching regions and locales and made recommendations with regard to the social networking aspect of PlaySociety.com. HandBrewed also made recommendations on, and later develop the libraries for handling animation and AJAX interactions on the site.
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Functional Requirements
We authored an exhaustive Functional Requirements Document (FRD). The final version of the Functional Requirements included a complete functional description and wireframe of every page that needed to be developed along with notes and outstanding any questions. The FRD also included platform and design recommendations. After several reviews with Play Society, this document served as the primary roadmap for site development.
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Design
We also recommended several designers, including the one that was ultimately chosen by Play Society, Inc. HandBrewed also helped manage the completion of all screens by offering a choice of several design templates from which Play Society could choose from and/or make revisions to. We also made recommendations on branding, logo and overall site look and feel. HandBrewed also worked closely with the designer to help resolve usability issues.
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Development
HandBrewed designd and created the database schema, database and all database tables for PlaySociety.com, as well as provide a testing environment and staging server. We also converted design templates to HTML/CSS and developed all of the functionality for PlaySociety.com including registration, accounts management, events management, page and content management and more.
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Deployment
We also recommended and acquired the production server that hosts PlaySociety.com. As a part of our "Go Live" process, HandBrewed installed, patched and configured all of the software on the production server necessary for PlaySociety.com to function. HandBrewed also acquired and installed the SSL certificate on production server and managed all of the files and databases.
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Maintenance
PlaySociety.com is currently in Beta so that HandBrewed can continue to make modifications to the site based on user feedback. In our never ending quest to improve the quality of the web sites we build, we know there's nothing important than users of the site and the client. Ultimately it's them that let us know where we got it right, and where we got it wrong.
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Overview
SJLN Enterprises came to HandBrewed with a design and a loose requirements document, and one major problem--a lean budget. But we're good for any challenge; and the result is Court of Opinion, a fun mock court where users can plead cases, judge cases before a jury (or council) of their peers.
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Social Media
This is something you want all your friends on. That means it has to be easy to share and easy to get on. You can email a case to anyone (whether or not you've signed up yourself), and sign-up is one short page. We'll even pull in your WordPress avatar via Gravatar--or you can upload your own, quick and simple. Bits of AJAX are sprinkled in for fast response times when you want to know a little more about a member. This is Social Media on a budget.
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Integration
Even when you're not on a budget, it makes sense to offload as much as you can to other services that are dedicated to make "their thing" work, and work right. On Court of Opinion, you can use your Gravatar avatar for your profile (keeping one face across the internet), link YouTube videos as evidence, or keep up to date with a slew of RSS feeds.
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Flexibility
What's next? In the the fast-changing web of development, it's hard to say. HandBrewed has stepped up to bat with suggestions we think will make the site stronger, and we hope to implement a number of them soon. HandBrewed always develops lean, mean sites that can be bent whatever way the wind is blowing.
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Overview
ReefGeek asked HandBrewed to redevelop their old Perl website and migrate all existing product and category data to a completely new platform. The new site was to be written in PHP/MySQL and required a whole host of new content management tools including administration for an "aquarium builder", page creation, manufacturers, users and orders, custom and featured products, product colors, categories and category navigation and much more.
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E-Commerce
We developed a fully functioning shopping cart from the ground up with sophisticated, easy to use tools for managing almost every aspect of the ReefGeek.com shopping experience. A user logged into the site with the correct permissions may even use the site to take orders over the phone. Visitors of the site may register and login to buy products, or they also have the option of making a purchase without ever creating an account.
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Data Migration
HandBrewed migrated from the original database to a completely re-structured and normalized database. Where there was a single "products" database table before, there were now "products", "manufacturers","colors", and "features" tables in the new schema. These changes to the database helped make ReefGeek.com a far more flexible and easy to manage application.
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Search Engine Optimization
The developers at HandBrewed.com pride themselves on building high quality, search engine friendly, accessable and standards compliant web sites. We feel that ReefGeek.com is no exception. Meticulously coded to the most exacting of specifications, ReefGeek.com adheres to the World Wide Web Consortium's HTML/CSS as well as several international accessibility standards.
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Content Management
HandBrewed built an intuitive Content Management System for ReefGeek.com, allowing the site administrators to manage virtually every aspect of the website including the images and text on the home page, users and accounts, categories, products, shipping options, orders, featured and sales items, discounts and product grouping, just to name a few.
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Overview
HandBrewed was contracted by TwoHeadedMonster.com (now sabertooth.tv) to build a new website to showcase Mark Liddell's photography. We wanted to create something as unique and powerful as Mark's artwork. From just a few design sketches and discussions regarding the sites requirements, Handbrewed came up with this intriguing solution.
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Flash Animation
The site is built entirely in Flash and ActionScript. Animated navigational elements add style and grace while enhancing the user experience. Design elements animate throughout the site to add contrast and interest to the multiple photo galleries. An mp3 player plays different tracks per gallery, and can be updated by the site admin.
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User Interface Design
The user interface was designed with one goal in mind, showcase Mark Liddell's photography. A large viewing area was created to display photos of varying sizes, with a menu of thumbnails displaying all images in the current gallery. All other design elements, including the main navigation where simplified in order to not distract the user from the experience of the photograph.
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Content Management
XML is used to manage the multiple photo galleries, individual photos, and the mp3 tracks per gallery. Mark has the ability to quickly and easily add, update, and remove photos, galleries, and music at any time. Its always a treat to view the the 'New Images' gallery and see the latest photographs and new celebrities Mr. Liddell has been working with.
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