The sites don’t have anything so useful as data feeds, so this employs a bit of hackery. First of all I get the page contents via my own web server. I then display them using jQuery – targeting the DOM node that I’m interested in.

NOTE: This works for me in Firefox, Safari and Chrome. I have no idea about IE as I don’t use it, and I built this site for me really! I suspect it does work though.

note: screenshots below are by no means the completed project – there’s still much to do!

After much to-ing and fro-ing, we settled on using BigCommerce as the platform for the new site. It was the best balance between front end flexibility and backend power that led us there.  The site is slowly evolving with Ben from Torico inputting products whilst I build the frontend into something that works, and looks the part.

As with using any off the shelf tool, there’s always a pay off between the features you want, the features you need, the features you can live without and price + ease of use. I’ll write a post about how we came to choose BigCommerce over Shopify and the rest. It wasn’t an easy decision!

More Mountain needed a more efficient way to handle their bookings, and more importantly to gather information from their guests.

Previously, they had a word document booking form that the group leader downloaded, printed off, filled out, signed and sent back via snail mail. This system worked, but was not without it’s downsides: The group leader was responsible for entering all the groups information (up to 14 people) – They had to find out their dietry requirements, flight details, sleeping preferences etc etc. It left a lot of work to be done by the group leader alone. This lead to delays getting the booking forms back and errors when they were returned. Once a booking was confirmed and the form sent back, MoreMountain had to chase up their clients for balance payments when they were due and had to sift through printed forms to find out who was staying where in their chalets.

The new system allows MoreMountain to email the group leader (and a nominated “second in command”) with the new online booking form. The form can be filled out in stages, forwarded on to the other group members to fill out their details and then submitted to MoreMountain.

The form displays all the details of the groups bookings for both MoreMountain and the group leader. Any further changes can be delt with via the back end and the client can see how much is owed and when. The system emails clients 2 weeks prior to their balance payment being due – a gentle reminder to the group leader to gather payments.

On top of this, the system can generate VAT invoices for MoreMountains accounts (saving them doing it manually) and can show them real time cashflow forecasts based on the current bookings in the system.

In the future clients will be able to pay online, saving another step and streamlining the process from start to finish.

Technologies used:

• Django/Python/MySQL
• HTML/CSS/Javascript

I moved it from it’s previous backend of CakePHP to an up to date version of Django and Python. On the way tweaking bits of the site to function better – especially the online booking system. We’ve included internationalization in this build so that Doorstep Skis can be read now in both english and french, with the possibility of adding more languages without the need for much tinkering with the back end.

The system sends out confirmation emails & request for feedback emails, along with a useful SMS facility so that Doorstep Skis can find out when a client is arriving into the resort so they can fit their equipment at their earliest convenience.

Visit doorstepskis.com

Technology Used:

• Python/Django
• Django-CMS
• HTML/CSS/Javascript (jQuery)
• Mediaburst SMS

The site was designed and built for Fennie using Django and Python. We opted for a custom solution as it suited us better than many of the “do everything” shopping cart solutions out there. It would have taken just as much time to distill one of those packages down to the essentials needed for this site as it did to build up a custom solution. We also had the advantage of making it work exactly how we wanted, rather than Fennie squeezing her working practices in to an everyman product like Magento or other such solution.

The payment gateways are implemented in a modular fashion so as to allow Fennie to change her payment provider in the future. At the moment it works with PayPal and RBS Worldpay. There is also a simple “Cheque” payment gateway on there for her customers who would prefer an alternative payment method.

Visit yourdivinedestiny.co.uk

Technologies Used:

• Python/Django/MySQL backend
• HTML/CSS/Javascript (jQuery) front end
• PayPal website payments standard
• RBS Worldpay integration

And the latest version with graphics n everyfin’

Here’s another mixtape – quick break from work in rainy Morzine today… Not much in the way of mixing – just a playlist really.

Some long tracks in there near the end!

1. Rapael Sadiq – Sure hope you mean it
2. Kylie Auldist – Community service announcement
3. Hurcules and Love Affair – Hurcules Theme
4. Young Deciples – Apparently Nothin’
5. Aretha Franklin – Save me
6. Simple Minds – Don’t you forget about me
7. Empire of the Sun – Walking on a dream
8. MIA – Sunshowers
9. Salt n Peppa – Push it
10. Bobby Womack – Across 110th Street
11. Kanye West / Mark Ronson – Touch the sky
12. Curtis Mayfield – Move on up
13. Nina Simone – Sinnerman

Get it here – Nicely Does it.m4a

Here they are:

Polka Dots from Guy Bowden on Vimeo.

halftone pattern from Guy Bowden on Vimeo.

3D Dots from Guy Bowden on Vimeo.

 
Playing with Boids from Guy Bowden on Vimeo.

Need to find my old work with video cameras….