Blog : Introducing our new TotalCare Maintenance Plan

Introducing our new TotalCare Maintenance Plan

Introducing our new TotalCare Maintenance Plan

We're really excited to roll out our new service called TotalCare Maintenance plan. It provides a comprehensive and dependable support for your ExpressionEngine or Craft CMS site, all with a flat monthly fee.

Why We Created the Plan

From all the way back in 2007, when we opened our company, we loved working for clients with existing websites. Sometimes they had bugs that could not be fixed, features that needed to be added, and plans to talk over. 

In working with over 160 websites in both ExpressionEngine and Craft CMS, we learned a lot about what clients liked and didn't like about the service they were previously getting. 

Our new plan is designed to answer as many of those challenges as possible. 

Getting Dependable Expertise

Rather than a retainer or an hourly rate, our TotalCare plan has a flat monthly fee. This eliminates the need to always request & calculate for estimates. 

The plan covers wide-ranging issues that a typical website needs (see here for the list). This gets rid of the worries where a bug or an issue won't be fixed even after a fee has been paid. 

For the clients who are continuously making changes to their website, the plan also includes unlimited site enhancements and CSS-based style changes. 

Is the Plan Right for Your Site?

It will be great to find out if it is. We think the best way to do so is with a call (and perhaps a screen share). Simply email us at hello@ejaedesign.com, schedule an online meeting with our scheduler, or simply give us a call at (646) 403 4338. 

Be responsive!

Be responsive!

Right now, more than 30% of your audience may be coming from mobile devices. Experts predict that number will only grow. Just this year, Google has started to reward mobile-friendly sites as well.

If you've been looking for a chance to convert your non-mobile friendly site, let us help. From large organizations like SantaFe.com and AGMA.org to individual sites like 119Mallard.com, clients have trusted us to implement a fully optimized responsive site for years.

Special offer only until August: Call us for details

For the first time, we're offering a discount on all responsive conversion projects. The offer ends in August, so get in touch with us for details. Call us at (646) 403-4338 or email us at jae@ejaedesign.com.

Introducing Craft CMS Services

Introducing Craft CMS Services

Craft CMS offers one of the most cutting-edge content management systems available today. we think that it offers a great set of core features and some powerful functionality not available elsewhere, including incredible flexibility in handling content, built-in previews, and one-click updates. 

As a newer platform, Craft is still missing a couple of elements such as a complex events & calendar management and multi-site manager (ExpressionEngine is still the choice for these features, but their forward-looking roadmap suggests they're coming soon).

If you haven't heard it yet, skip over to their site at http://www.buildwithcraft.com and see all it has to offer. If you're already sold on it and are looking for Craft developers, contact us and find out how we can build you a custom responsive site on this terrific new platform.

Creat-ee featured on Ellislab.com

Creat-ee featured on Ellislab.com

Ellislab.com, the maker of ExpressionEngine, had our EE training site http://www.creat-ee.com featured on their blog. Follow the link https://ellislab.com/blog/entry/live-online-expressionengine-training-from-creat-ee for the list of services, why we love training on EE, and our newest offering the "Co-Pilot" plan. 

We've been recognized by the talented folks at EllisLab as both a ProNetwork member as well as a Community Partner member, and we're very happy to be recognized as one of the top resources in EE training and education as well.

Blog

\n Welcome to our new blog. We'll be posting about our studio's latest work, ExpressionEngine and Magento news, tutorials, and more. Stay tuned.

\n Welcome to our new blog. We'll be posting about our studio's latest work, ExpressionEngine and Magento news, tutorials, and more. Stay tuned.

ejaeDesign v.3 launches

ejaeDesign v.3 launches

After a long overdue, our new site finally launched last week. Here are some technical highlights.

We added many of our best practices into the site, taking advantage of latest add-ons, template partials technique, and more. A few features include:

  • Responsive front-end based on the Gumby Framework
  • Multi-config development environments (local, dev, stage, and live)
  • Git-based version control pushed to BitBucket.org and deployed by FTPloy.com
  • Template partials using Stash elements and lists
  • Template morsels for cached optimization
  • 3-tiered automated backup (EE, server, remote)
  • Typekit driven web typography

As with all of our client projects, we also commit to having every single piece of content be editable via control panel -- say no to hard coded content!

On taking risks: interview by Solspace

On taking risks: interview by Solspace

Mitchell Kimbrough of Solspace was kind enough to arrange an interview with me. We discussed taking risks, teaching, and of course, ExpressionEngine.

Creat-ee’s opens new Tutorials section

Creat-ee’s opens new Tutorials section

Creat-ee has announced a new Tutorials section, a growing library of video & written tips, techniques, and add-on reviews.

10 tools to determine your page speed

10 tools to determine your page speed

Wondering how to effectively measure your page speeds and cross-check with multiple measurements? Try these great tools, thanks to Smashingapps.com.

EEUK: 1st EE Conference in UK! (8/26)

EEUK: 1st EE Conference in UK! (8/26)

\n Oh how I wish I could travel to the land of Jisung Park (a big fan!) and take in the fabulous new, and first, national ExpressionEngine conference in Manchester, England.

Don’t miss EngineSummit 3, happening on June 7th!

Don’t miss EngineSummit 3, happening on June 7th!

\n What is EngineSummit? It’s an online conference (yes, attend with your pajamas on) that has some of the best speakers and practitioners of EE lined up to discuss everything from running a multi-site installation, developing an add-on, building for mobile, and more.

New options for using beautiful, custom fonts online

New options for using beautiful, custom fonts online

\n Until recently, all websites were limited to the “system” fonts distributed by Microsoft and Apple when choosing a typeface for our websites. Thanks to services like TypeKit, Cufón, and Google Webfonts, that is no longer the case.

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\n Take a look at each to compare, but it’s certainly an exciting time for those work on the web, and also love typography.

Creat-ee’s now an ExpressionEngine Community Partner!

Creat-ee’s now an ExpressionEngine Community Partner!

\n Creat-ee’s very excited to announce that we’re now part of ExpressionEngine’s Community Partner program!

Web Trends: Larger mobile screens more popular

Web Trends: Larger mobile screens more popular

\n iPhone and it’s 320x480 screen size is still the most prevalent, but looking deeper into the stats say that the ubiquitous resolution actually decreased by a whopping 21.4% last year. What size increased its market share the most? It’s the relatively spacious 480x800 resolution, going up more than 7.7% in 12 months.

Walter-Samuels.com launches!

Walter-Samuels.com launches!

\n Working with the talented team at Atwoodco Design, we developed the site for Walter-Samuels Inc., one of the most respected real estate companies in New York. Complete with a sophisticated property search capability, the site was built on the latest ExpressionEngine 2.1.3 content management system.

ejaeDesign at SXSW

ejaeDesign at SXSW

\n We’re very happy to announce that for the first time, we’ll be attending SXSW in Austin, TX this March (from 11th-15th). Looking forward to making new connections and meeting new friends and colleagues!

The Overlook website launches

The Overlook website launches

\n The Overlook at Waco, Texas is a new beautiful senior living complex developed by the Walton Companies. ejaeDesign was commissioned to create its splash and full webdesign, complete with a user-friendly ExpressionEngine driven back-end and a full photo & floorplan gallery.

ROAL Living Energy website launches

ROAL Living Energy website launches

\n ROAL Living Energy is an innovative company that’s providing eco-friendly and green lighting and power supplies across the globe. 

\n We completely redesigned and built the company’s site on the latest ExpressionEngine CMS, with a Google map-based store locator, events calendar, forums, and multi-language support.

NorthLight Power is our latest EE launch

NorthLight Power is our latest EE launch

\n Working with the talented team at 3 Advertising (who designed the wonderful look & feel of the site), we built the new site for the NorthLight Power on ExpressionEngine 2.1.1, featuring full SEO setup, dynamic jQuery slider, and “edit anywhere” capabilities.

EatTV launches on ExpressionEngine

EatTV launches on ExpressionEngine

\n We’re just thrilled to announce the launch of EatTV.com, the terrific new site from Jamie Tiampo and his team.

\n It was a lot of fun working on the site, and we'll be adding even more functionalities in the upcoming days and weeks. In the meanwhile, make sure to check out his travel videos, but just make sure you've had something to eat beforehand: they will make you extremely hungry!

5by5’s The Mixdown

5by5’s The Mixdown

\n As part Creat-ee.com, we've been preparing a series of videocasts. We came across 5by5.com's "The Mixdown" during our preparation, and found it to be a great resource.

Creat-ee is now open!

Creat-ee is now open!

\n Creat-ee, the place for intensive online training on everything ExpressionEngine, SEO, CSS, and more, is now open for registration. Read about the the super testimonials our past students have left us.

Big changes coming to Downtown NY

Big changes coming to Downtown NY
Big changes coming to Downtown NY

\n Our office has been located in Downtown location (Financial District, or FiDi) for the past 4 years now, and we've seen a lot of changes. 

\n Now the neighborhood is about to change more dramatically, with the proposed plan to revitalize the area. Take a look at the entire plan at DowntownNY.com: http://bit.ly/9m2A8t.

HTML 5: Ready for prime time (except…)

HTML 5: Ready for prime time (except…)

\n HTML5 is (mostly) here, and it promises to be a great leap ahead. Gone are the array of plug-ins and downloads just to play multi-media files. 

\n Also cutting down time are new classes, API, and support for everything from background “canvas” to native drag-and-drop features. So what’s the worry?

Pixel & Tonic

Pixel & Tonic

\n It’s about time to give a shout-out to Brandon Kelly’s (new) company Pixel & Tonic. He just released Playa, Matrix, and Wygwam add-ons for ExpressionEngine 2.0 beta, and believe us we’ve been holding our breath for these essential tools. 

Juliausher.com rebuilt on ExpressionEngine

Juliausher.com rebuilt on ExpressionEngine

\n Julia Usher is a renowned pastry chef, author, and speaker, and we just completely rebuilt the site using ExpressionEngine 2.0. 

\n This new platform not only makes content update and management up to 70% faster, it sets her site up for some exciting additions and enhancements for years to come. Contact us if you’re interested in getting your site on ExpressionEngine.

New ExpressionEngine section opens

New ExpressionEngine section opens

\n We’ve been a huge fan of ExpressionEngine since we opened our doors. And to better showcase our capabilities and services, we redesigned the ExpressionEngine section.

\n It features our expertise, prices & packages, and selected case studies. We’re also working on our first projects on the 2.0 beta. Stay tuned!

Critical Mob launches

Critical Mob launches

\n Critical Mob, one of our latest projects is now live, featuring an terrific array of related music, books, movie, TV, and cultural profiles and review (about both the artists and their respective works). 

\n It was one of the most sophisticated ExpressionEngine builds we’ve ever done (designed by the talented group over at Sweden Unlimited).

Alternate solutions to Google Analytics

Alternate solutions to Google Analytics

\n We all love Google Analytics. But for those of us who would like to try some worthy alternates (whether to get a second set of data, or looking for additional features), there are a couple of great suggestions. 

\n They are Mint and Woopra. We have used both to accompany our Google Analytics setup, and have gained more insight to our traffic.

Our new homepage update

Our new homepage update

\n It is something we’ve been working on (and off) for a while, but we’re excited to get it live. The key feature is the new slider panel, which introduces us, highlights our strengths and differences.

\n We’ve streamlined the overall look by presenting a fewer number of items as well. In the upcoming weeks we’re planning to make the site more resourceful and content-driven.

Live streaming for Facebook and Twitter

Live streaming for Facebook and Twitter

\n Thanks to our friend and client Tom Masiero at YoParts, I was introduced to Livestream’s customized live interactive event services that fully integrates with Facebook and Twitter. 

\n If you’re looking to broadcast live events on Facebook and Twitter, its’ a game-changer.

Solve360: CRM for the rest of us?

Solve360: CRM for the rest of us?

\n As the owner of a growing business, I’ve long searched for an easy-to-use, practical, yet powerful (enough) CRM to manage our various contacts. 

\n The list that we’ve went through reads like a “who’s who” of SMB CRM solutions, but we may have found the ideal balance between usability and usefulness in Solve360 (http://www.norada.com/).

Typographica’s Typefaces of 2008

Typographica’s Typefaces of 2008

\n Typographica has a list of great typefaces published in 2008. We’ve already used a few of these in our projects and they’re quickly becoming our favorites as well.

The Smashing Book: Pre-Order

The Smashing Book: Pre-Order

\n Written for studios (like us), freelancers, and any business/site owners who are interested in an in-depth, comprehensive book on “best practices in modern web design,” This is one printed book (I do reserve my love for PDF and eBooks) that I am very much looking for.

Modern footer designs

Modern footer designs

\n Footer designs have certainly evolved over the years. 

\n From the simple “email us” to a more complicated sitemap, social networks, and even Flickr badged implementations. Webdesignerswall.com, always a terrific source for trends and tutorials, have gathered 30 of the better examples on this matter.

EE Roadshow open for registration

EE Roadshow open for registration

\n If you’re around Seattle area in early October, make sure to check out the ExpressionEngine Roadshow.

Baseline the Magazine

Baseline the Magazine

\n Since its inaugural issue in 1979, Baseline magazine has been one of the most influential publications in the field of typographic design. The next time you are in Barnes & Noble or Borders, make sure to look for the latest, and most likely stunning, issue.

Adding a professional workflow

Adding a professional workflow

\n If you’re working with more than one person to write, edit, and publish content, soon you’ll want to extend the rather simple open/close options that ExpressionEngine offers. 

\n There are a number of choices in this area, but we have been using (and heartily recommend) Leevi Graham’s wonderful NSM Publish Plus extension.

Mobile Web Design: A Book by Cameron Moll

Mobile Web Design: A Book by Cameron Moll

\n For anyone interested in designing for the mobile community (that’s you and me), pick up this book—digital or paper-based. Chockfull of practical tips, guidance, and examples.

Devot:ee Launches!

Devot:ee Launches!

\n Devot:ee, the place to share, learn about “everything ExpressionEngine,” has relaunched with much fanfare. Whether you’re looking for EE help, or developing an EE site yourself, this is one site that’s worthy of a bookmark.

Launching Your Website: 2nd Seminar

Launching Your Website: 2nd Seminar

\n After a long overdue, finally the date for our second meetup is set. On June 3rd, we’ll have our second seminar for our Meetup group in NYC “Launching Your Website: Getting on the Right Track”.

Add bookmarking tools to your site in 2 min

Add bookmarking tools to your site in 2 min

\n AddThis, a free service available to any site owner, is the easiest way to add bookmarking tools to your site, page, or blog. Just register at the site and copy and paste the code - it’s that simple. The latest beta also has a nifty rollover feature.