How many strings to your bow?
"A carpenter can paint a picture. A farmer can cobble a pair of shoes. But the wise man lets a plumber fit his boiler."
- Chinese Proverb
Case histories
Chester@Large
This popular online guide to the restaurants, pubs and bars of Chester includes editorial content, reviews, a dynamic map facility and a discussion
forum. Various technologies are used to maintain and develop the site. A bespoke client-based content management system handles the review and listings
data, generating static HTML pages which are uploaded to the host as required. The maps page is based on Google Maps and the Google Maps API, using
Javascript to generate markers for every venue covered by the site. The bulletin board uses the popular phpBB bulletin board package to host several
local community driven boards.
TsunamiDave
TsunamiDave is an artisan builder of ultra-high spec mountain bikes. With a product like the TsunamiDave bike which is, by its nature, a big ticket, low volume commodity, the emphasis for the website is on design-led attributes such as impact, quality, integrity and excitement. The Web Plumber achieved this by taking an open source template and completely rewriting it so as to fit the attractive graphic scheme to TsunamiDave's requirement. The site uses HTML, CSS, Javascript-driven animation and a PHP mail processor. The Web Plumber also delivered a parallel site at no charge to the client, showcasing the charitable work that the revenue earned from the TsunamiDave bike goes to support.
Wedding Theatre
A 17-page brochure site for Chester-based wedding planners Wedding Theatre. This site is built in standards compliant HTML and CSS. Photographic content was supplied by the client and sourced by The Web Plumber from stock libraries. As well as the new website, the client required a logo for the new business and printed publicity materials - The Web Plumber created these in good time for the client's launch event. A future development will be the integration of the site's Events page with the client's Facebook Events page.
Apex Media Management
In the world of visual media, it is so important to present a convincing, graphically coherent image. This media management business needed to refresh the image they were presenting, by moving on from their original Web 1.0 site design. The Web Plumber created this stylish 6-pager using an off-the-shelf template design. Apart from static content and a feedback form, the site includes a video showcase. This is a great example of what can be created with ready-made components: the site was up and running in less than three days.
TektonTransformations
Tekton Transformations is a web-based retailer of replacement kitchen and bathroom unit doors and accessories. The Web Plumber met their requirements using the popular PHP/MySQL-based Zen Cart shopping cart application. This was a soup to nuts project, involving the development of the requirement, the development of a pricing model, artwork, copywriting and photography, customisation of the software application, integration with Paypal for the handling of card based payments, testing and ongoing support for the site.
