Dynamic websites with PHP and MySQL

These sites were all built on the LAMP stack. PHP generates each page, keeping design completely separate from content, and the data lives in a MySQL relational database. Every site was versioned in Subversion (TortoiseSVN), and all graphics were designed in Photoshop.

yorkbia.com

Built on Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, with jQuery, AJAX, CSS and JavaScript. Also used: PHP CAPTCHA, Google Maps integration, two WordPress blogs and photo gallery integration.

Development

Full life-cycle development:

1. Analysis. Working with stakeholders across the association (more than 300 businesses) to capture every viewpoint.
2. Specification. Defining the site’s modules: layout, navigation and the dynamic parts.
3. Design. Layouts, navigation and the MySQL database, with all data structures and sample data.
4. Coding. Adding functionality without disturbing the design prototype.
5. Testing. Full beta testing on a test server before going live.

Design

• Images and icons created in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
• A normalized MySQL database, designed and maintained in MySQL Workbench
• PHP hand-coded in NetBeans and Dreamweaver
• Social integration with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp and others

Cloud and email

Google Workspace for the yorkbia.com domain, used as the company mail server with POP access for full backup into Outlook, plus forwarding and auto-responses. HTML email templates increased engagement with members’ customers. All business and store data and workflows were kept in Google Docs.

Analytics

Full Google Analytics integration, with a training manual for admins, businesses and staff. Admins had dashboards for mobile, for Google Ads (including keyword analysis), for business profiles (which member businesses performed well on which keywords) and for core metrics such as page views and bounce rate.

accommodationsinbc.com

Built on the LAMP stack with jQuery, AJAX, CSS and JavaScript, plus PHP CAPTCHA, Google Maps and photo gallery integration.

• Full life-cycle development, as above
• All PHP pages and web forms, PayPal integration, JavaScript and jQuery, and social sharing with AddThis
• Images and icons created in Photoshop and Illustrator
• A normalized MySQL database designed in MySQL Workbench
• Google Workspace email with forwarding, auto-responses and HTML email templates
• Google Analytics with a training manual for admins, businesses and staff

bettenhauscanada.com

Built on the LAMP stack with jQuery, AJAX, CSS and JavaScript.

• Full life-cycle development with the business owners, from analysis to beta testing
• Images and icons created in Photoshop and Illustrator
• A normalized MySQL database designed in MySQL Workbench
• Google Workspace email with HTML templates
• Google Analytics with a training manual for staff

dbrs.com

Built with a team of five. I created the XML output for the RSS feeds and the basic mobile version of the site. The stack was Linux, Apache and PHP with a normalized Oracle database, using Subversion and the Symfony PHP framework.

rapidremittance.com

Built on the LAMP stack with a custom CMS: web interfaces let administrators manage daily currency exchange rates and store locations. Membership registration runs over SSL.

• Full life-cycle development with the business owners, from analysis to beta testing
• A normalized MySQL database designed in MySQL Workbench
• Google Workspace email with HTML templates
• Google Analytics with a training manual for staff