There are certain sites that are just fun to work with. DiamondDel.com was one of them. The site was for a really unique business that was not only challenging but also provided an opportunity to develop some elements that I hadn’t had the opportunity to develop before.
The main idea of the site was to promote Diamond Del online to people who may not have an idea of what this company does. It is a little unique in that it is a field trip that comes to you. Teachers contact Diamond Del and then a representative works with that teacher to schedule the event. On the event day Diamond Del sets up a trailer on school property and the children simply walk into the trailer and begin learning a ton about gemology.
Here are a few of the site elements that were fun to create for DiamondDel.com:
1. Map
The map was a challenge. I’m not gonna lie to you. Although the great people at Diamond Del had already determined what the purpose of map was going to be there were so many options out there that had to be explored.
We finally settled on a WordPress plugin that allowed you to edit a Google map with different icons. It also allowed me to add an image and specific information (such as links) to the “bubble” that pops up when a location on the map is clicked.
We didn’t want to limit the user’s experience by only having the “location” search so we added the points of contact for each representative of Diamond Del. This also gave us an opportunity to mark what areas they take care of and a link to their specific contact page.
2. Gemstone Chart
Every time Diamond Del visits a school for a field trip they hand out a gemstone chart. This chart allows the students to get to know more about the specific gem they are looking at. They wanted this to appear on the site for future reference for the students and teachers.
Instead of just throwing up a large picture or a bunch of pictures with text we decided to design a layout that closely resembled that of the handout they give to each student. It was also necessary to allow the visitor to easily print off the page.
I accomplished this by adding a CSS framework (no tables) to the page. This resulted in not only a user friendly experience but also a search engine friendly design. Each gem image was optimized for it’s particular information.
3. Franchisee Information
Diamond Del is literally servicing most of the south eastern U.S. and needed a way to interact with their franchisees. This was going to look something like an intranet. The big difference being there was no need to develop an entirely new domain.
We added the WordPress plugin Wishlist Member and then created specific pages to the site that were only viewable by franchisees (members). We also created a blog that allows the owner of Diamond Del to reach out and encourage his franchisees with ease.
5. Store
When Diamond Del does a field trip they take with them several items that the children can purchase as memento. Not only do they get to keep the 12 gem stones but they have this other chance to wear or use the gemstones. It’s a great opportunity for Diamond Del to expand their relationship with the teachers and classes.
They decided that they wanted to incorporate a small online estore that would allow anyone to purchase the items in a very effective and efficient way. We turned to the plugin WP Estore. This allowed the site to have a completely independent integrated web store.
The solution works great with Paypal integration. There was no need to spend hundreds of dollars on an over killed ecommerce solution. This solution not only allows them to have a small estore on their site but it also will enable them to grow in the future if they decide to expand what they offer.
Overall this was a great experience for me and I look forward to seeing some really great results from the website.
If you are a teacher or know of one, Diamond Del would be a great field trip for your school. It comes to you! Check out the site and contact them so that you can see how cool this is first hand.
(site design by Studio Nudge, powered by Standard Theme)
