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Issue 2012 January > Sitebuilders

Website Case Study: Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center

Written by Ryan Meravi | Sunday, 01 January 2012 00:00 | Published in 2012 January
VMEC’s primary mission is to improve manufacturing in Vermont and strengthen the global presence of the state’s smaller manufacturers. The goal is to help Vermont manufacturers achieve profitable growth through innovation, increase their productivity, improve manufacturing and business processes and reduce costs, while creating and retaining good paying jobs.
Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Website Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Website

Basic Overview

Company Name: Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC)
Developer URL: www.pshift.com
Development Time: Four months
Category: Nonprofit

Developer Bio

Since 1995, Power Shift in Stowe, Vermont has continued to provide Internet and web services. Over the past few years, we have focused on deploying cost-effective web solutions using Joomla! Content Management System. We believe in “Shifting Power to our clients,” by educating and training clients to make changes to their websites through the CMS.

Development Team

Breanna LaRow, Graphic Designer / Project Manager, provided the graphical design and managed the project through completion.
Nick LaRow, Senior Web Developer, developed the custom template and integrated and styled the various extensions used.
Larissa Kepchar, Web Designer, created content and assisted with client communications.

What was the biggest challenge you faced?

Redesign the site’s original navigation structure and content to create a more user-friendly website.

How did you solve it?

We developed a design combining several menus into what can now be viewed as their current menu. We simplified the site’s navigation, making it much more user friendly. We were also able to highlight their core products on the homepage.

Joomla! Extensions used

Menu: SW Menu Pro
Forms: Chrono Forms
Event Registration: DT Register
Event Management: JEvents
Glossary: Glossary
Editor: JCE with plugins
Error Pages: Error 404
Site Map: Xmap

Final Thoughts

When VMEC first approached us, they were experiencing many technical issues with their current Content Management System. Joomla! and other extensions effectively enabled us to provide VMEC with a cost-effective way to increase their website’s functionality without making core modifications to the CMS or extensions.

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Image Gallery

View the embedded image gallery online at:
http://magazine.joomla.org/issues/Issue-Jan-2012/item/647-Website-Case-Study-Vermont-Manufacturing-Extension-Center#sigProGalleriadb81e91e28
Tagged under Sitebuilders
Ryan Meravi

Ryan Meravi

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Comments (3)

  • avatar
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    Paul Wallace
    2012-01-03 05:03:09

    Ryan and Powershift do a fantastic job. The customer service is outstanding and their dedication to the Joomla! community let's you know that they truly care about the end user and open source. Although I've done most of the work on my site, Ryan and Powershift have been right beside me the whole way.

    Thanks

    ReplyQuote
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    Huyen NT
    2012-01-12 03:53:18

    Thanks Ryan for your article.

    I like the template you guys used on http://www.pshift.com/. It is very clean.

    And I am curious about the slideshow to introduce articles. It is an available extension or you customize yourself?

    ReplyQuote
  • avatar
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    Ryan Meravi
    2012-02-21 23:40:33

    Hi Huyen,

    Sorry for the delayed response. We used DJ Image slider on the pshift.com site. It's in the extensions directory here: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/photos-a-images/images-slideshow/image- mootools-slideshow/13119

    ReplyQuote
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