INTRODUCING: 2013 Greater Perimeter Business Expo

www.gpbe.org

The Greater Perimeter Business Expo is back for 2013 and is again a joint effort between the Sandy Springs and Dunwoody chambers.  Sponsorships affordable for a wide range of businesses are still available, as are display booths in the ballroom at Crowne Plaza Ravinia.  This Expo is one of the best annual networking events in the area.  You learn a lot about your neighbors and the city around you when meeting them in a business environment, eye-to-eye.

This website is a significant upgrade from the original launched last year.  First, it is the Dunwoody Chamber's first step into Drupal 7.  Drupal is an extraordinary powerful open-source content management system (CMS) whose advantages include fine granularity of permissions.  (That means you can set up your site so each user or group of users you designate has different abilities to access different functions, or to have different experiences with content.)  This latest stable version of Drupal has built-in code that makes slideshows (like the sponsor filmstrip above) easier to install and maintain.  Unlike most Joomla and WordPress extensions/plugins, it isn't hard to have more than one slideshow or other animated feature.

The other major improvement is the site design:  it still reflects the original, but was updated to the most current design trends.  This theme is optimized as much for a tablet/iPad as for a desktop or laptop.

Finally, I didn't forget the smartphones!  It's not enough to design for horizontal rectangular screens anymore. Site visitors may use anything from an iPhone to a 60-inch TV screen.  There are several ways to accommodate this wide variety of screen sizes and proportions.  In this site, I used the latest technique called "responsive design".  That means the server where the site resides can "read" the screen size that is viewing it, then rearrange the elements and font size to fit.  You can access all of the same information and function as comfortably on your phone as on any other device.

Here's a simulation of how this same site looks on an iPhone:

The following is intended for my fellow web geeks and ChamberMaster users.

As of this date, ChamberMaster's SEO-optimized content modules are not compatible with Drupal 7.  D7 has javascript libraries included in core that make image/content sliders easier to install and optimize jQuery animated navigation associated with mobile devices.  However, there's a trade-off:  It is no longer possible to copy/paste or otherwise insert JavaScript of any kind into a Drupal page.  Not even one little line, even from Google or similar libraries.    So ChamberMaster's SEO-optimized modules will end up breaking your theme and navigation entirely, because they function by inserting JavaScript into the page.

Adding additional JavaScript requires including the script in an external file and declaring it in a theme, or referencing it in a module.  You can declare a javascrript in either the theme's .INFO file, or in the functions.php directory, to load the script on every page.  Or, download and install the "Javascript Libraries" module and your javascript can be called on a per page basis.  With the module, you can even load the script after the footer and speed up your page load time.

I've already been on the phone to Micronet to explain the conflict and the solution.  (SamC.?  Buddy?  You listening?)  To make ChamberMaster modules compatible with D7, the javscript will have to be exported to external files and referenced in the integration code.  Then the user would need a list of those scripts and reference them in their site's theme (or the Libraries module) while following the usual ChamberMaster page integration instructions.  I tried this with individual "plugins" like the search function and main business directory and it works when you edit the inserted code individually and build/reference your own .JS files.

Sitting in my chair, it's simple, if detailed, but I have no idea what Micronet would have to go through to modify their code for Drupal compatibility without fouling up another internal function on their side.  In theory, this should work equally well on Joomla, WordPress, SiteFinity, Expression Engine, and other CMS.  Those would not have to have the javascript referenced in their theme, as long as the ChamberMaster module references the location locally.

BTW - how did I get the event registration integrated into the GPBE site?  IFrame tags on the main registration page, lightboxes for breakfast and lunch registrations.  Not the most elegant solution, but it does work.  And with the new color/style management system in the admin side of ChamberMaster, it matches the rest of the site easily enough.  The Drupal 7 upgrade of the Dunwoody Chamber website is on hold until this conflict is resolved.

Birth of a New Dunwoody Tradition?

The Dunwoody Preservation Trust washed the Farmhouse in blue in honor of Autism Awareness Month.

(John's blog post on the subject.)

Why should the Empire State Building have all the fun?  Like Light Up Dunwoody, and the Fourth of July parade, our City's icon can be used to celebrate all kinds of events and commemorations that bring our diverse community together.

Is there any chance the DPT can make the Farmhouse lighting a regular event?  Red, white, and blue for July 4 and other national holidays?  Yellow for Lemonade Days?  (Only half kidding....)  With some forethought and planning the Farmhouse, a symbol of Dunwoody's past, could be used to make relevant statements about Dunwoody today.

Great idea, DPT!

INTRODUCING: The new RikEmmett.com

It's been a while since I've posted - here's why.  This project was an intense labor of love.

I got a call one evening from Rik Emmett (formerly of Triumph, now flying solo) inquiring if I would be willing to assume command of his website and other online resources.

Can I get a "hell, yeah"!

Rik's site is a combination of ecommerce and social networking.  Much of his discography is available for sale via download, in addition to books and videos.  There is also a subscriber-based fan network, performance date listings and other information.

One of the rarely-discussed aspects of webmastering and website development is the fact that taking over someone else's website and upgrading it can be a greater challenge than just creating a new one from scratch.  This site is a case in point.

The original rikemmett.com went live in 1996 and had experienced three different webmasters (all major fans on a slight budget or fan-enthusiasm basis) and the presence I was to upgrade was a patchwork of different kinds of technology that evolved over eight years.  They included static HTML files, an outdated phpBB bulletin board program with many custom modifications in the source code, an obsolete mailing list code, and a very outdated WordPress installation.  The databases had not been reviewed or cleaned of old or spam data since at least 2004.  The subscription aspect of the site did not integrate with the main website, the database had become corrupted, and the program was failing - users were seeing obvious errors and security holes were allowing spammers to infiltrate.  The hosting company site wasn't what I call "user friendly", either.

Ever see one of those "Hoarders" shows?  The first step in this process is the same:  assess what's here, try to figure out what previous programmers had done, then decide (quickly, before everything caves in) what should stay, what needs a good cleaning, what should be tossed on the spot, and what should be built fresh.

The final product needed to look as similar as possible to the one I inherited, but with an updated, widget-enabled WordPress theme.  All of the old graphics were going to be retained.  Brand new highly interactive theme, essentially created from scratch, using recycled images from the previous version.  All of the page content was imported into the new install and new plugins were added to drive such features as an interactive photo gallery (as opposed to a manually-created page with pictures).  Next was an upgraded ecommerce plugin.  The ecommerce solution is unique in that "add to cart" buttons and a shopping cart can be placed anywhere within the site, not just within a designated "store".  Then the mailing list was moved to MailChimp for better maintenance and guarantee of delivery of online newsletters.

The biggest innovations I brought to the table were new membership management and integration of the bulletin board with the website.  Previously, renewal notifications and subscription expiration was highly unreliable.  The current solution displays member status and expiration dates clearly in a user panel and settings for delivering notices are managed via the main dashboard.  Subscription payments are managed through the same shopping cart that manages the digital downloads and other merchandise.

After trying Wordpress-based plugin bbPress numerous times without success, I decided to keep the bulletin board in phpBB.  I discovered a plugin that I highly recommend entitled WP United.  This plugin keeps the bulletin board and main website databases separate, but allows the bulletin board to be integrated into a WordPress page and allows for logins and other bulletin board content to appear where needed.  (see below).  The result is a useful and comfortable home page for logged in subscribers with key content included from the bulletin board alongside other members-only information.

The final result is a comprehensive system where all elements and features can be managed from one dashboard and do not require manual editing of a page's source code or separate control panels for various functions.  That means when I get a phone call or email from Toronto asking for an update, it's fast and easy to do:  the fans get what they're waiting for quickly, my boss is happy, and it costs less money to keep it maintained and updated with frequent, fresh content.

Thanks for reading!  There are more web updates on the way!