The site was my latest creation in Joomla and I feel it was a rousing success. As with any projects we had our challenges to overcome but the end result is a vast improvement over their previous site.

The largest and most challenging section of the site was the Investor Relations. I created a specialized landing page for it which incorporates a Yahoo! Stock Quote module which pulls in pertinent information about the company’s stock and displays it directly on the page. It worked like a charm. I also implemented a Latest News module, a HTML module and a couple of RSS feeds in this section.

In addition I deployed a specialized contact form module and a form creation module to handle the multiple forms within the site. We still have things to add but overall I’m pleased with the results. I look forward to working further with Mind Cartel.

You can view this site at FushiCopperweld.com.

The design incorporates a complex repeating background, portions of which appear only behind the main header.

There were some tricky WP “features” I had to overcome to create the final template. Being the widgets in the left column do not necessarily use the same styles used in the basic template there was quite a bit to tweeking to be done. The blue background behind the headings in the left column were a particular problem as adding no margin to the li would cause all the text to be flush with the borders of the box, or if one added padding it would cause the blue background to move as well resulting in a gap between the background and the bar. The answer was to resort to actually changing the PHP code to add a class around the text in the blue bars. And then going into each widget and adding a little padding.

Overall I’m pleased with the results and enjoyed the challenge.

View the finished site.

I’ve built several CMS sites in the last few years, but this is the first that I can call my own. This one I can manipulate, experiment with and just have some fun.

My goal with this blog will to be to share some of my “web-worldly” experience, such as how I solved a certain problem or what I’ve found that’s new and exciting (for a web designer). I might even post a few pet peeves, so tread lightly.

One new and exciting change that I’d like to share is my future job as an adjunct instructor with The Art Institute of Nashville. Web design is a career that has sprung up quickly and I feel proper training in the field has been neglected, this is my way of contributing to the development and improvement of the vocation. I’ll be teaching Information Architecture, so expect to hear a lot about that.

One less exciting change is that I’m currently umemployed. I’m seeking either a full-time or free-lance position. So if you need a designer, my resume, portfolio and contact information can be found here at kathyevans.biz.

Have a great day!

K