Bloomfields

Authored

Note that this post is archived: I archive posts when they become outdated or feel less relevant.

The Bloomfields site aims to portray a classy, clean, and innovative image in-line with the business itself. I personally built the site from the ground up, including requirement gathering, design, build, and testing.

  • Design & development
  • LAMP server set-up on a VPS.
  • Pure JavaScript gallery, with touch interaction.
  • Custom PHP & MySQL content management system.
  • Validation and error handling.
  • Dynamic user feedback.
  • Responsive and light-weight build.

The client side of the website is responsive and supports a wide array of browsers, hardware, and operating systems. I also put together a full-screen gallery in JavaScript to show off what Bloomfields has to offer. The gallery is easily reusable and supports some nifty features such as swipe gestures for navigation. All this without a reliance on JQuery, which therefore means the gallery remains small and nimble.

As mentioned, the site is not a static but also includes an entire, custom content management system. This CMS allows Bloomfields to upload horsebox models and sales. In addition, it includes a user system so Bloomfields can safely allow partners (with limited rights) to enter horseboxes for sale without concern.

Validation is also fully taken care of by the system, both back-end and front-end, giving the user helpful information along their way. Simple user experience details like these really make a difference, and it shows on the Bloomfields website.

Of note is that the back-end of the site does not rely on any frameworks. I built it with pure PHP/MySQL following an object orientated approach. Whilst this allowed for ultimate flexibility, provided a brilliant learning task, and most importantly got the job done, I plan to rebuild the site using a php framework (likely Laravel) in the future. This is mostly to improve maintainability and extensibility.

I set the site up on a LAMP stack hosted by the brilliant Digital Ocean. At the time this was quite the test, for instance back then I had never even heard of a Vhost... onwards and upwards!

Ultimately the Bloomfields site is functional, smart looking, and a project all of my own - I can't wait to rebuild, refine, and improve the site even further going forward.