Gunnar Bikes website: www.gunnarbikes.com
The Gunnar site was a rewarding project. I built it myself using Worpress as a CMS. My client was a builder of custom bicycles whose previous site didn’t do justice to the awesomeness of his products. He had no budget, but we were able to negotiate an equitable trade.
I’m no designer, but I was able to put together a site that improved on its predecessor and was easier for my client to maintain. I created a Flickr group and installed plugin that allowed owners to upload pictures of their bikes and have them appear on the site. I also created a Facebook page and configured it to pull in content from the site’s blog page. I helped my client write new model descriptions, too. Because WordPress is so easy to use, my client was able to take full ownership of the site after its completion. He has done a great job updating it with photos, blog posts, and color schemes that match his color of the month.
Manitou website: www.ManitouMTB.com
This site was built by a design firm in British Columbia, Canada. Because all of the firm’s designers worked part-time on evenings and weekends, communication was at times challenging.
The site is very social media-centric. It features a blog (which I managed) on the homepage, in addition to links to the Manitou Facebook page and Twitter feed (which I also managed). One particularly interesting post regards a promotion I briefly ran through Twitter, in which I tweeted a single-use code that enabled one person (the first to act) to purchase HBG products direct from the company at a 50% discount. This stirred up some dissent from bike shop owners, who felt they were being circumvented. One of them contacted me through the site’s contact form, expressing his displeasure in some pretty strong language. We ended up having a respectful, amiable discussion via email, the result of which was my decision to end the promotion. My next post was an announcement of the promotion’s end, including my thanks to those who participated and also to the shop owners who took the time to voice their concerns. That post got a lot of comments (many of which were unsuitable for approval) from riders who were sad to see the promotion end, but also from people who appreciated my consideration of the dealer base. In the end, it was a great discussion, and it communicated the humanity of the brand in a way I could never have foreseen.
Answer Products website: www.AnswerProducts.com
This site was built by a small, Milwaukee-based agency that had introduced themselves to me via Twitter. I included them in my RFQ, and their quote impressed me with its creativity, clear goals, and understanding of my requirements.
The site is built on WordPress. This was a key requirement, as it enabled us to make updates and changes ourselves, rather than incurring the expense and delay of having changes made by a third party. It also simplified the build, enabling it to be completed in just three weeks. This was another key requirement, as the deadline coincided with the bicycle industry’s major annual trade show. We managed the project with Basecamp and hit every milestone. In fact, I promised the designers a case of beer if they launched the site ahead of schedule. I made the same bet with the General Manager at HBG. The designers delivered, and the GM had to pay.
The Answer Products site contains a Twitter feed on the home page. I co-managed this with the Answer Products product manager. Similarly I created the Answer Products Facebook page, then turned it over to the PM.
