Javascript

Jun 11, 2013

Derby is one of a new breed of JavaScript frameworks that take advantage of the interesting NodeJS to create a web app framework that runs your code both on the client and the server. This has a tonne of huge advantages compared to writing a complex JavaScript application that has to communicate with a different language on the server and still maintain visibility to Google. The big advantages I see from this: Only one language to work in makes it easier for developers Communcation between client and server is automatic and seemless Pre-rendered on the server, updated on the client so Google gets the proper content but you still get dynamic updating for your users So with this in mind I decided to do a little test app and of course the first step was getting it installed. These are the steps I had to go through to get it working.

Dec 1, 2011

DataTables are a brilliant plugin for JQuery that restyle and add functionality to your tables. They add searching, pagination and sorting right out of the box with very little configuration needed – unfortunately the sorting doesn’t support the UK date format so you need to add your own sorting methods – basic ones are supplied by the site itself but I have added a couple of tweaks to handle blank dates.

Aug 15, 2011

Building websites that can be quickly and easily updated is vitally important but with so many content management systems available how do you make the decision as to which one to use. I am really concentrating on what I would categories as “lite” content solutions. Sites that take the pain out of managing your design and content but aren’t going to give you absolutely everything you might ever need in the process.

Apr 28, 2011

I am pretty sure I missed the boat with this one but I feel like I should do my bit to contribute to the worthy cause of getting some decent Javascript documentation at the top of relevant google searches. The basic problem seems to be that some of the sites out there occupying the top spots have been there for so long and have built up such a reputation for google that they aren’t going anywhere soon.

Feb 11, 2010

For this project we added the Prototype and Scriptaculous javascript libraries to find.gg in order to provide some sliders and AJAX functionality for a loans aggregator for the local Guernsey loans market. The loan providers can all be configured in the sites admin interface and the customer simply selects their loan amount and term and their loan options are presented in a grid with details fo the company and their offer.

Jan 25, 2010

This website build was a WordPress site built to a design put together by our in-house designer and included JavaScript fading images and pop-up windows for video, for which we used flowplayer. The site design had a few complicated elements, mainly the JavaScript fading images that needed to fade in-sync with each other (the ship masts overlap on some images etc.). We achieved a really professional looking site and everyone involved was pleased with the results.

Dec 16, 2009

This project was undertaken to add a new dimension to searching for and finding property in Guernsey. Sellers or estate agents are now able to position a marker on a google map to indicate the location of the property and buyers are able to see this location on a map when viewing the property details. This involved plenty of javascript integration between the find.gg website, it’s Ruby on Rails backend and the google maps API.

Mar 6, 2008

We could see that a huge amount of SEO traffic was navigating to the calculator even though the links to the calculator were not emphasised. We added the calculator to try and engage that traffic in order to improve CTE. By giving customers access to the functionality that they want we hoped to keep them on the site longer and expose them to more marketing. Even more traffic reached the calculator but CTE was unaffected.

Oct 1, 2007

In Sept 2007 I designed a new landing page and added a number of enhancements to the application form. Primarily these were client-side enhancements based on usability. The design was never fully utilized but the application form enhancements were retrofitted to the current site. This new design was an attempt to add clearer messaging and more elements to reinforce the users trust in the site/company. This included a single core message at the top (mirroring the PPC copy in use), three simple bullet points on the left, addition of “lender logo’s” and the added prominence of the “security & Privacy” comment.