Sam the Site Maker

The following partial client list indicates the types of services SSM has provided. Click on the domain names in the left-hand column to visit the site or click on the SSM logo to learn how SSM helped make the site more effective.
Domain Name	Services Provided	Category
audreysabstractart.com	original design, content, graphics, management	Fine Art
belfieldartworks.com	original design, content, graphics, management	Fine Art
calvertgop.net	original design, content, management	Political
cbaudit.com	content review and editing	Business
denverbasinmusic.com	hosting, consulting	Business
patsyfleming.com	content, design, management	Fine Art
foundrygallery.org	content, design, management	Fine Art
fullmeasureproductions.net	hosting, consulting	Business
gavinglakas.com	original design, content, graphics, management	Fine Art
gouldingphotography.com	original design, content, graphics, management	Fine Art
inabindinc.com	design, content, management	Business
invoiceinsight.com	comprehensive content review	Business
lasnerphoto.com	hosting, management	Fine Art
mcgop.net	content, design, graphics, management	Political
mcyr.org	hosting	Political
mfrw.org	original design, content, management	Political
miketoomeybaseball	original design, content, management	Business
rwaac.com	design, content, management	Political
shearwatercondos.com	hosting, consulting	Non Profit
the-grammar-guru.com	original design and content, management, graphics	Business
thewashingtonclub.com	original design and content, management, graphics	Non Profit
torycowles.com	original design, content, management	Fine Art
waverlystreetgallery.com	content, original design, graphics, management	Fine Art
yellowbarnstudio.com	content, design, management	Fine Art

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Case Studies

• The client came to SSM with very definite unique ideas for the design of his new site. We implemented his ideas, suggesting and implementing additional or modified features to make the site more accessible and user-friendly. The final product includes a shopping cart so that shoppers can quickly and conveniently order any of the photographic prints displayed on the site.

• Baseball coach and major league scout Mike Toomey came to Sam the Site Maker to design a new Web site to advertise his Professional Coaching/Training and College Recruiting programs. The response from prospective students and their parents has been very gratifying. The site has been instrumental in filling Coach Toomey's training camps to capacity. He recently told us "...thanks to you our camps are filled with more [students] than we can handle".

• The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery used amateur volunteers to manage their Web site, in part as a cost-cutting technique. Each successive volunteer redesigned a few pages of the site and then lost interest or diverted to other pursuits. The result was a hodge-podge of pages with different designs, an animated greeting screen (splash page) that served no useful purpose and a routing page on which fully half of the links led to an "under construction" notice for months on end, even though the pages to which they referred actually existed. Site visitors were sorely challenged to find the information that they sought. Within two weeks of taking control of the site, SSM applied professional design standards, converted all pages to a common design format, and revised the internal link structure so that all main pages are directly accessible from the home page. No page is more than two clicks from the home page. By putting the most timely information right on the home page and adding a search function, we assured that site visitors would be able to find the information they were seeking. SSM’s low cost structure enables us to provide Yellow Barn with hosting and management for less than they were previously paying for hosting alone. Our improvements in the usability and timeliness of the site resulted in a more than 10 times traffic increase in the first two months after we assumed management of the site.

• Montgomery County Republican Central Committee SSM took over management of this site when the previous webmaster was unable to keep it current. Site traffic at that time was a few visits per day. SSM made extensive revisions to the format and content, adding features such as a membership application form, a site-search tool, and new and improved graphics. Ongoing activities include maintenance and updates on a near-daily basis. After increasing steadily for three years, traffic reached an all-time high of 360 visits per day preceding the 2004 general election.
  

• Invoice Insight SSM content specialists conducted a study of the client’s enterprise, which became the basis for a comprehensive review of site content. The review included editing for grammar, punctuation, syntax, consistency, and content as well as sharpening the marketing language to increase the selling power of the site. We interviewed key players and used their inputs to develop the tone, style, and language of the site. SSM also worked with the graphic artist to fine tune the layout to align with content and navigation.

• Check Back Auditing SSM worked with company officers to edit existing site content and develop new material to reflect business expansion into new areas. We contributed to the graphic look by providing feedback on layout and design elements.

• Working from the artist's résumé and photographs of her paintings, we created Audrey's Abstract Art. The paintings in the catalog are viewed as small thumbnails. Clicking on any thumbnail leads to a full-page image of the painting, with medium, size, and price information. SSM performs maintenance for the site by adding new paintings to the catalog as requested by the artist.

• The client, In-A-Bind, Inc., contracted with a high-priced provider to create and manage their new Web site. Because the cost of this arrangement was not justified by sales obtained through the site, In-A-Bind switched to a low cost provider who did nothing but host the site. When the domain name registration expired because there was no active management, Sam the Site Maker reregistered the domain name and assumed management of the site. We added an on-line contact form and a convenient reorder form. A steady stream of orders paid for the cost of managing the site many times over.