We’ve been to many WordPress Meet-ups and met designers who are there to learn the basics of WordPress because their clients want websites. Outside of the basic easy formatting tasks you can do in WordPress, complicated things can take a bit more programming knowledge than you may have or want to know about.

This is where Silver Maple Web comes in. We have years of development and programming expertise, have done graphic design work ourselves, and have experience working with graphic designers.

A case study of how we work with graphic designers and their designs

In November 2011, one of our Virtual Assistant clients (Prime Admin Solutions is a branch of our corporation, Devondev Inc.) was unhappy with her website. It was a site set up in HTML using tables. The people who created the site also did her updates for her. She was finding that even the simplest of updates could be a hassle – she was tired of the constant back and forth to correct errors. She asked us if we could help her convert her site to a format so that she could do simple updates herself. We suggested WordPress.

When we started the project our client sent us PDF files (see gallery below) and graphic images that had been created by her graphic designer. Even though this website was done in WordPress, we implemented some advanced features such as:

• A movable paper clip above the menu. It moves to be positioned over the menu item of the page it is on.
• Placement of the post-it notes on the home page flush against the menu bar.
• A slider on the “Who Are We” page that is controlled by a menu to show the bios of each member of the team.
• Creation of a customized plug-in called “simple promo code” that is placed inside thought bubbles on the Tip of the Month page. The client advertises in various publications and offers free downloads of useful documents. The simple promo code helps her measure response rates from each publication. As an aside, this plug-in is available on the WordPress plugin repository and has had 482 downloads since implementation in February 2012.
• Links to external sites superimposed over graphics.

Here is what our client had to say about our work:

“We were so frustrated working with our previous supplier, that it’s great to finally have a supplier that understands our goals. Silver Maple not only achieved the right look but also implemented up-to-date technology so that we can now easily update the site internally …while at the same time it’s nice to know that there is flexibility to have support whenever we need it.”

Gallery of PDFs sent by our client’s graphic designer… 

[nggallery id=”4″]

We’re not limited to WordPress…

WordPress is the latest darling of the web design world. It’s very easy for clients to update themselves and because it’s a blogging platform it’s an all-in-one solution for many clients. Because WordPress is so very easy to use, that ease of use introduces limitations – especially when laying things out on the page.

If your client needs more advanced layout capabilities or needs customized programming, we can help with more powerful frameworks such as Symfony® which allows us to build more customized solutions. We can even implement a content management component so that your clients can update their sites themselves (with some training from us).

If you are looking for a partner to help your clients be their best on the web, consider partnering with Silver Maple Web – our expertise can give you a competitive edge with your clients. Give us a call at (905) 849 9708, we’re always happy to chat with you and answer any questions you have.