Custom Fit Launches Whistler Creekside Village Website
We're proud to have recently launched a new website for Whistler Creekside Village, a division of Lodging Ovations / Whistler Blackcomb. This site features the shops and services offered in Whistler's 'alternative' village. It's not the most technically complicated site we have ever built, but the site is built on a content management system with some cool custom features.
Here are some of the features of this website.
Randomly Generated Header Image
A new header photo loads each time the home page is loaded. Whistler Creekside Village can easily add, replace and remove images any time their heart desires.
Randomly Loading Logos with a "Slider"
One of the featured business listing logos randomly appears each time the home page is loaded. Then visitors can click on the arrows to move left or right to view more business logos. Ready to visit any of these business listings? Just click on the logo!
And logos are built into the business listing pages. So when a business listing is added or removed it's automatically updated to this 'slider'.
Facebook Friends That Won't Hang Up
We built a custom Facebook "Facepile" showing people who have liked that Whistler Creekside Village Facebook PAGE. (Yup, we set up and designed that page too.) But we did it with a twist. Sometimes Facebook is a bit temperamental.
When Facebook is down the feed used to evoke these images can slow down web page load times. We built a caching system so that when the Facebook feed is down the last feed found loads automatically. The result? A more consistently fast loading site!
That's good for website visitors and the site's search engine optimization.
Ditto for the Weather Page - Built-in Caching
We built a caching mechanism for the Whistler weather feed too. So when the Government of Canada weather office is experiencing hiccups with its weather feed that won't affect the weather page on the site.
Google Mashup Map That Works With Business Listings
We built a Google "mash-up" map that shows Whistler Creekside Village business listings and locations. Each listing has a custom icon. Click on the icon and a pop-up window appears. Click on the link in this pop-up window and it takes you to the business listing page. Easy-peasy!
Automated Navigation & Footer Links
Adding a new page to the site? Adding a new business listing? We got that covered too. When a web page is added or removed from the website the site's navigation is automatically updated too. This includes the main navigation drop-down menu, the sub-navigation in the right-hand column of all content pages and the footer links for business listings. So if a business listing is added or removed the links with business names in the site's footer area are automatically updated too!
Integrated Blog, Events Calendar & Video
This site also contains a blog, events calendar and video that is editable / updatable (is this a real word?) from within the main content management system control panel. Super simple to use for non-technical users. Did we mention that we developed and produced the video?
That's What a Good CMS is All About!
A good content management system should be easy for non-technical users to use. Plus it should accommodate customized, technical programming that produces a great experience for both website visitors and the sites' editors.
So How Could We Make This Site Better?
We don't stand on our laurels. We welcome your feedback on how we can make it even better. (If you asked about a Whistler Creekside Village webcam.... well, we were already thinking of that. We'll be recommending that too. We have built web cams, using a caching system, into several of our other clients' sites.)
By Roy McClean