Portfolio & NetSuite Web Sites

Here are samples of a few of the sites we have created or worked on over the past eleven plus years. Before and after shots are shown when a makeover of an existing site was developed. All of our current work involves NetSuite Web Site set up and customization. (Sites with a use NetSuite.) Very recently completed or in progress: Tophy.com, Bagmasters, MicroFlight, Industrial Networking, Oya Costumes, Institute of HeartMath, Save Phace, RIdout Plastics, Beach Store, earthdog, Outdoor Speaker Depot and more.

We work well within the limits of design, daily maintenance procedures and site objectives. Give us a call for a free evaluation of your NetSuite site. Though we are located in Santa Barbara we have clients across the country. Working via phone, Internet and video conference allows us to understand your needs, share graphics and build a great web site.

Contact us by calling at (805) 409-4300 or video conference via our AIM account:

MOTIF Modern Living   

A furniture store featuring modern designs wanted to update their web site. A graphic designer was charged with creating a modern, clean home page design. We were selected to make it work and carry the design through the rest of the site. On the item detail page, multiple views were required.

Our Solution: With an image of what they wanted their home page to look like we went to work creating a cleanly coded page with useful hover effects using modern techniques. The main image fades from one to the next, without using Flash, and can be modified easily by the site owner by changing linked photos from an external page. Plus, the images corners are rounded automatically, saving the site owner time. Main category, sub-category, info pages and item detail pages were themed based on concepts used on the home page. The item detail pages has multiple views available that fade-up into a super larger view when clicked. All in all, a modern look and a good example of what can be accomplished with NetSuite... by MVL Design.

Spa Equip  

SpaEquip is the premier distributor of spa equipment to everything from large hotel chains to individual spas. They asked us to move over their current site's look into their NetSuite site. However, that look needed to slightly change and navigation totally change, when a user from a partner corporate site logged in by coming from a partner URL. Also, that user was to only see specifically approved color selections, a sub-set of all the colors offered for selected products. Oh, and the add to cart button text needed to change for the partner corporate sites, too. In other words, the one NetSuite site had to act like many different sites.

Our Solution: Getting the desired look fitting into NetSuite was done first, it is what we do best. We started working on this site before System 11 so a lot of DOM walking was in order to get the functionality desired. It worked but wasn't ideal. NetSuite System 11 changed all that by providing us with better tools to implement the design.

Passsword-protected, corporate partners sites with unique looks and product mixes can be easily added. The add to cart button changes based on the site you are in and on if the product has options. In-stock items are treated differently than drop-ship items as far as displaying inventory and shipping times. If an order has items shipped via truck then UPS shipping is automatically removed and a detailed message is delivered. The list of functional customizations goes on and on.

Swiss Knife Shop  

A growing company wanted to push NetSuite to a new level by being able to add multiple items to the shopping cart at the same time: a knife, optional engraving and gift bag. Engraving had to be a separate SKU and be easily adjusted by item for font, color and style and price. Live Person needed to be added to the site... a first for a NetSuite driven web site. The rest was a simple move over of their current site's look.

Our Solution: Custom code for the add to cart button was developed first. It validates all fields, grabs the needed NetSuite product codes and option values, the adds each of the three items to the cart, behind the scenes, one at a time. When done, it takes you to the cart. Pretty neat!

To make it easy to attach engraving or gift bags to each item we use specially coded related items. Regular related items are still available. Finally, if an item was on sale the normal and sales price are both shown, with a strike through on the old price.

Timberwolf Organics  

A NetSuite user needed to add password-protected pages for wholesalers and distributors. The pages would hold less than 30 items and must have the ability to add all the items selected to the cart at once.

Our Solution: Multiple items to the cart at the same time is my specialty. So is password protecting certain pages of a NetSuite web site. Adding the two together was all that was needed. Since you can't view the process on their web site (it's password protected) I created a short animation of the ordering process. Click on the image to see it in more detail.

Christmas Done Bright  

CDB manufactures and sells high quality lighted lawn ornaments. There site design required a black background for all product images, and the colors red and green for everything else. Current product and customer data needed to be maintained while moving over to NetSuite.

Our Solution: Moving over all product data into NetSuite can be a big chore. Our NetSuite partner, InnoVergent, accomplished this task for CDB. A site design was developed by us to their specifications and a few of our unique customizations were added. The end result... a site targeted specifically to their customer base that is easy to use and update.

InnoVergent  

InnoVergent is a NetSuite partner. They specialize in the back-end set-up of NetSuite and in house training. MVL Design does the front ends for all their NetSuite clients. We recommend you call them for all your NetSuite needs that we can not fulfill. (like importing product data into NetSuite)

For their web site we supplied the conceptual design, HTML, CSS, SEO and graphic expertise, actually everything, to quickly build their web site in a search engine friendly way. Though this site is external to NetSuite their contact us page (shown) uses a form right from NetSuite so leads populate a customer record automatically. (Hint: it uses an iframe to grab a custom NetSuite online customer form.)

True Care Advantage  

True Care Advantage has a NetSuite external catalog web site. They have a few items that are mutually exclusive... their customers only purchase one of the items they offer. The twist is that there is a one-time application fee that also needs to be added to the cart when a main item is purchased.

Our Solution: First, we took their current look and added that into NetSuite so the site looks seamless during the view cart and checkout process. Then we created a customized method for selecting a product. First, a time option is selected then the Add to Cart button becomes 'clickable.' When the item is added to the cart the application fee is auto-magically added at the same time. Then the cart is shown. The neat feature on that page is that the application fee cannot be removed.

Kiosko   

After a few years of using NetSuite for accounting and CRM they wanted to add the ability to sell items directly through their web site. They had a particular look they wanted for their item pages and a purchasing flow that warranted custom programming. After trying to do it themselves for a few months they took the easy way to getting 'live' and gave us a call.

Our Solution: We created a plan for quickly implementing their desired look and to have more than one web site/theme for the single NetSuite account. Though they had been told they could not use NetSuite Web Presence in the exact way they needed we were able to come up with custom JavaScript and CSS to give them exactly what they wanted. Online lead forms, custom WSHF item pages and more were part of the solution. They were so happy that they asked us to help modify and expand their current external home page and web site.

BobuxUSA  

BobuxUSA is the authorized distributor of Bobux Baby Shoes of New Zealand. They contacted us for a number of reasons: they wanted to improved search engine ranking of their homepage, they needed to make their site look more like the parent site, they wanted better site navigation and our exclusive fixed-width, centered-site fix.

Our Solution: We created a home page using WSHF that focused on their key selling points while taking look and feel cues from the parent site. A simple, search-engine-friendly drop-down navigation was created to access the inner pages and a simple left navigation replaced the NetSuite generated navigation, even during the checkout process. The standard category templates were modified with custom CSS, a new item template was created for the baby shoes and finally, to get it all working right, a NetSuite generated text field bug 'feature' was overcome with custom javascript for the gift wrapping item. They're well on their way to moving up in rankings for their main key phrase: baby shoes.

Sunburst Bottle Company   

A successful mail order company wanted to upgrade their presence on the Internet. Their initial site was functional but lacked the image they wanted to present. We came up with a fresh modern design (see right) that played off the colors in their logo and used the MIVA shopping cart.

Sales went very well. When they wanted to connect their shipping and accounting more tightly to the web site the site owner decided to use NetSuite and asked us to help. Little did he know, we're NetSuite Web Site experts!

Instead of a textual homepage with drop-down menus he wanted his product categories to be seen on his home page all at once, along with a clear branding message that really sticks out.

Our Solution: We came up with a unique, effective home page design: everything at one glance. Our unique "plop-ups" provides a larger view in a smooth animation. The branding message is unmistakable, clear and definitely noticed as it jumps off the screen before settling back into place to bother you no more.

Inner pages needed to keep a little of the previous site's navigation look so old-time customers would feel at home. A few of our exclusive NetSuite features were needed like: NetSuite left navigation that looks and acts like an image-based navigation. A rotating testimonial shows up at the bottom of each inner page.

The site is clear, easier to use and works well within NetSuite. The site owner is quite pleased.

Maharishi Ayurveda Products   

MAPI.com contracted with us to maintain their large shopping site and bring it up-to-date technologically. When we took over we found a really great site inside a huge mess. The site had over 1600 pages but less than half were live. Something as simple as a price change had to manually be done on over 10 pages, some of which may not be live. No one knew for sure. Every link went thru a CGI script so no link checker could tell what page was real.

The home page was everything a shopping site should not be. The shopping cart malfunctioned much of the time. Navigation was less than stellar, at best, and totally confusing or unusable at worst. Their best informational pages about their products were not even active! And the one page their customers used the most took over 45 seconds to load even over our high-speed line. They really needed our help.

Our Solution: Since they were committed to turning their site around over time we started simple and changed more and more of the site as time (budget) allowed. The 45 second load-time page was changed first, replacing the "old-school" code with fast-loading CSS and other techniques. The page now loads in a few seconds. (you would to if 1400 font tags were removed from your back)

In June '04, a new shopping cart (NetSuite) was added to the site. Links were made to be direct so now Dreamweaver could tell us what pages were live. (500 old, useless pages were thrown out) Navigation was updated and made consistent throughout the site. A slightly modified version of the old look was maintained where possible.

A new home page was designed focusing on the four main ideas they wanted to present. One section of the home page changes with each loading highlighting a new product area. Many new pages were created and a new template was made for the old, un-linked content, updating its look. A search engine was added making it easy to find your way through the vast content of the site. When Podcasting came up we suggested and implemented it immediately.

We added special shipping customizations that disallow orders to PO Boxes or International orders from being placed. Also, various shipping promotions can be used... order three of a particular item for free ground shipping, place a particular promo code for free ground shipping, etc. Their express shopping page allows for multiple items to be added to the cart at the same time.

IPEXX   

A new NetSuite user had a design they wanted to achieve. First the site owner wanted us to implement the site in NetSuite. We did so, with a great deal of customization to achieved the desired functionality. We took the design they communicated via a Word document, added a simple, search-engine-friendly drop-down navigation, created custom forms and impressed even ourselves with making the login page look like the rest of the site AND adding customized navigation for the Customer Center based on the role of the customer.

However, after a few months use, it became apparent that NetSuite really wasn't what he needed and a different solution was found. We quickly moved the site design over and the site owner is thrilled with the results.

The Classical Image

This was fun and our solution is unique. What to do when a new web site: looks like it will end up with 65 pages, needs to be easily updated and expanded by the site owner, is full of nothing but images, and is under a somewhat tight budget? I mean, besides give us a call. That's right... combine HTML, CSS and JavaScript in useful and creative ways.

The site owner sent us the exact look he wanted for the home page and we did the rest. Most the site uses only two pages, the home page and the gallery page. Everything you see is controlled by three simple text files the site owner can update and expand easily (gallery groupings, price and size data, image information). As of this writing the site owner has yet to add the price and size information so you cannot purchase the images. But the site is still way cool.

Sunburst Label

Pleased with our work Sunburst hired us to create a web site for their new label printing business. The owner wanted his bottle customers to easily find the right sized label to fit the bottle they were purchasing, whether they were still at the bottle site or coming into the label site directly. Information regarding which label fit which bottle needed to be managed from an Excel spreadsheet. Updates to the sites data needed to come directly from this spreadsheet. Finally, the site needed to be very simple to use, provide for a tips on label artwork creation and be able to accept uploaded artwork files. A shopping cart was not desired as direct customer contact is an essential part of their business model.

Our Solution: At first we met with the site owner and worked out the business model and order flow. Much of the above requirements came through our suggestions after hearing how the label business was to function. To keep the site simple we came up with the "easy as 1 2 3" concept and carried that over into the site look and feel. But the neatest touch came with how we manage the Excel spreadsheet data. (Yes, that's me on their home page)

With little modification the spreadsheet became a javascript. When new data is warranted the site owner enters it into the spreadsheet, copies from Excel and pastes into a .js file using a text editor, then uploads to the Internet. Super simple. (we made a video tutorial to walk them through the process.) The HTML pages use the .js files to fill in bottle, label and price data. Instead of hundreds of pages for the over 900 different bottle codes the site has less than 10. And some are quite unique!

In action: Look at the "Select Label by Sunburst Bottle code" page. As you type in a Sunburst Bottle item code the spreadsheet is checked in real time and the name and photo of a match is instantly displayed. Type in AB16, as you get to the one the "1" the 1 ounce Amber Boston Round bottle is displayed and the "Continue" button becomes active. Then when the "6" is added it instantly changes to the 16 ounce bottle. This provides an interactive and visual way of confirming numerically entered data. (rollover and out image on right to simulate the effect) Custom JavaScript web applications have become quite mature.

NCTM Illuminations

A crisis had developed. After over a year of development by another group the site still wasn't live; it didn't meet the vision of the sponsors (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and MCI Foundation.) The new director asked for for our help.

By the end of the month Illuminations was live on the Internet with an improved homepage and a new direction.

Our Solution: The new homepage represented our above-the-fold¹ home page design: all critical info and buttons are quickly visible. Less-critical homepage material is lower on the page yet partially showing to encourage scrolling. Pop-up text for each button gives the new user an idea of what lies ahead.

The new homepage was heralded in the words of one educator, "Bravo! What an incredible job you've done getting this together. ...The Illuminations home page can be a model for what a home page should be. Anyone from neophytes to super geeks can successfully use this page and get where they want to go with minimum clicking." Another educator said. "WOW! The site looks wonderful! It has clear text, functional links, and it loads quickly. It also seem like there is a world of useful information on the site."

Completely redesigning the structure and layout, the site was easy to navigate, update and use. This 50 MB, 1600 page web site became the best math education site on the Internet.

At a later date we were able to provide a completely new look and feel when the Illuminations logo changed. Much cleaner than the first design (which we had little to do with) and much easier to update. We added database connectivity to the SWR section of the site and a QuickTime "live-tour." But we all know the history of MCI/WorldCom and when their bankruptcy hit the money for the web site dried up. Sigh.

Medical Discoveries, Inc.

Working with graphic designers from DaraNET we created the HTML for this new site. Cascading style sheets are used throughout to maintain a consistent look. Monthly press releases are highlighted along the right edge of the home page.

We can easily work with your artists and graphic designers to actualize any design concept. You'll be surprised how fast we can go from design to a fully functioning web site. Give us a call.

Intercultural Insights

A small site based on a brochure.

The site owner needed to have a place on the Internet where he could send prospective clients. An easily changed "brochure" that is available 24/7.

We designed the site to look like his existing hand-outs, even using the same images from the print graphic artists.

Get Healthy For Life

We worked with Clark Marketing Group who provided the branding, logo, and content. We came up with a clear organization of the content and easy-to-use navigation throughout the site.

All wrapped up in a clean modern design.

All the bells and whistles for a useful, informational, shopping site. A password protected distributors's area, poll, quiz, newsletter sign-up and much more.

Mortgage Fool

This one was tougher than it may look at first. The customer wanted to have a slightly playful site yet be taken seriously in the mortgage brokering business. The site had to "break" normal design rules yet be easy to navigate.

It also needed to be updated daily with new mortgage rates using software they were used to using (Excel), provide different rates based on the location of the customer, and allow for company expansion into new states.

We came up with a great design (after a few tries) and procedures for safely updating mortgage rates daily without the need for a web designer. We will work with you to insure that a highly-trained webmaster is not needed for every type of update to your site. We can provide training videos, too. Give us a call.

Sunburst Shades

The owner has spent the last few years getting his web site to look exactly as he wanted. His main feature is the high quality sunglass photos and the site around them did not detract from that. But the main pages were slow loading and he wanted a simple shopping cart. Actually he had a very specific system that he thought through based on his way of doing business and his desire to keep tabs of stock manually. What he wanted was a HTML/JavaScript coder and, though he didn't know it at the time, a CSS expert.

Our Solution: On the pages that mattered we removed all the font tags and much of the old-school design methods. This cut the page sizes down to a third their original size and drastically improved page loading speed. The site owner was happy.

We created a JavaScript based shopping system using his exacting specifications. We made the system to work better than anticipated. All without modifying his unique, hard-earned look-and-feel! The site owner was thrilled.

Finally, we created a simple way for the product status to be nightly updated by the site owner. As a final push we made a training video going over the simple process we developed. (Hint: it uses CSS classes in a creative way) If we told you the site owner was ecstatic would you believe us? He is. Ask him.

CIT Solutions, Inc.

CIT Solutions was formed to bring the highest standards of software development, consulting, systems integration, and training to U.S. and international telecommunications companies. The principals of CIT Solutions pioneered the use of the Internet with Web applications for worldwide telecom services. Their web site had to reach only top executives with high speed Internet access, and Windows running on an 800 by 600 screen was specified as the design platform. (Back in the mid-90's this was a big deal.)

Our Solution: They wanted to mimic a new brochure back cover (see above) but with a new logo, new text, animated graphics, unusual page loading sequences and, oh by the way, "make it look like this platinum credit card." Though the company is no longer in business, (not our fault, we swear) the site is still a model of old-school design with DHTML.

Iowa Wind Energy Institute

A web site was needed to go along with a new brochure being printed from an exhaustive study on wind energy in Iowa. The web site was to fit in with the look and feel of the Iowa DNR web site and was to have live calculation pages so users can determine the practicality of wind energy at their location. A 100 page Word document was provided by the client and a great web site was delivered.

Purely Organic, Ltd.

Purely Organic, Ltd. imports the finest organic Italian food: from $10 bottles of olive oil to $155 bottles of balsamic vinegar. Their web site needed to look rich, dignified and inviting. They personally visited every farmer in Italy to insure their farmers were passionate about the quality of the exclusive organic food they produce.They wanted their web site to promote their unique travels and exclusive products.

Their current web site violated every "rule" in the business: slow loading graphics, hard to read menu, etc. but a great product!

Our Solution: We redesigned and rewrote the site in stages. A change in front page color scheme, text, visual presentation and components. The Online catalog sidebar has subtle rollover buttons. The words "Our Products", "Our Travels", "Direct from Italy" & "The Growers" give, at a glance, a taste of what they want visitors to immediately know about the site. When the mouse is placed over them more text and graphics pop-up to inform, delight and entice the visitors. The site is uncluttered, dignified, inviting, and loads fast!

This was one of the first sites we did professionally and still looks good after all these years, though the coding and navigation images could use updating. Uses Merchandizer.

Clark Marketing Group

Get Profitable.com needed a makeover. We were asked to come up with something that looked modern yet conservative...and use a unique shade of blue. A lot of text had to be included on the homepage yet the top shouldn't look cluttered.

Our Solution: A blue was chosen to wrap around the site. On that a light gray navigation bar was built out. The top navigation bar looks like transparent tabs as the dark blue slightly shows through. The modern yet conservative objective was achieved. (Well... for 1999)

A customized forms-based shopping cart is built into the site. It uses Authorize.net to automatically accept credit cards and allows for selling hard and soft goods on the same order. (This is one of the first sites we did an could now use a code and look touch-up.)

Rukmapura Park Hotel

Working with their in-house designer who designed the navigation and wrote the content we quickly created the site they wanted for a very reasonable price. A few of our artistic touches and the site gives the elegant feel desired.

 

 

 

This is just a sampling of the many web sites we've worked on since beginning web site design in 1996. We still love web design and coding, and would be more than happy to speak with you about your project. Give us a call. Contact us by calling at (805) 409-4300 or video conference via our AIM account:

 

 

1. "Above-the-Fold" refers to the area on the top half of the front page of a newspaper. The most important new stories are placed here so they are visible when selling the paper. The space within 430 pixels from the top are viewable by a typical Windows IE browser screen. We call this area "above-the-fold" and design our sites with the most important items in this space. top