Allen has been a client of Spilled Milk for a couple years now. We originally built him a flash website, but considering the slow demise of flash our clients have started to slowly move over. It has been such a rewarding experience not only as a developer, but as the client, Allen get’s more control than he previously had. He won’t ever have to come to us to have something changed, and his site is backed up and maintained by us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Worry free.

The entire site’s structure can be instantly changed with drag-and-drop thanks to PageLines, the new framework that we have adopted for all of our custom sites. PageLines let’s us do some amazing things, and let’s us write custom code that can hook into their framework. In other words, we have so much more freedom now than we previously did before. Allen can change things on his own now that the custom site is completely finished.

http://photobyallen.com

Allen’s site, is actually not completed. He has several different brand-extensions in addition to Weddings, so using our Networks feature he’ll be able to have Mini-Sites that will fall under his domain name. Each can have a different theme, or can instantly match the main site to be cohesive.

He also offers a lot of products, so we created a Boutique page to showcase these things. He can update the images at anytime, and even add new sets without ever touching a lick of code. Eventually the box sets will link to other pages, which he can also create easily. There is no limit to what he can do on his own.

http://photobyallen.com

There are so many amazing new things that we can achieve on the new platform. 99% of our clients want blogs, so now we have blogs bakes right in. The blog is just another page of the site. The blog can also have ANY layout you choose. If you want that standard wide layout that blogs traditionally have, we can do this instantly. This is the beauty of the new platform we’re on.

However I think the best part of the entire thing, is the “responsive” nature of the site. In other words, this site runs on any device, guaranteed. Plus, it will run on ANY device that EVER comes out, from here until eternity, guaranteed. As long as that device can use a web browser, your site will be seen. And not some mulled down, half-cocked version. This is the full site. It dynamically responds to anything that is viewing it. You can try it. Re-size your browser. It took a lot of code on my part, but it’s worth it for our clients because their sites are so much more accesible now, and that is what is most important.

http://photobyallen.com

It was so much fun working with Allen to bring this to life, and we have many other clients that are making the switch. If you can’t quite afford a custom site, be sure to checkout Project Parkwell. It’s a sweet website service that we just launched that offers a similar setup as Allen, except with a few templates to choose from. Full HTML5 and ready for the future!

Our Migration

A few folks have been asking about the platform that we have migrated too. Honestly, this decision was weighed very carefully, and is the result of over a year of planning and research. We had actually been planning a departure for quite some time, but we were waiting for technology to catch up to what we expected of it. When I went back and researched a platform I previously had my eyes set on, and had seen their newest version, I was immediately sold.

Migration began instantly too….drum roll please…PageLines!

PageLines is now our premiere and exclusive design platform. And this for so many reasons. The number one reason is the ability for us to hook into the framework and do crazy things. We create our own themes, our own plugins, and our own sections. To create these takes a lot of code. Standard HTML, CSS, and more PHP than anything else. The framework has hundreds of hooks, filters, and actions that we can use to make it bend and flex. If you are a developer, PageLines is a dream come true. This company cares so much about their 3rd party developers, and I feel lucky and blessed to be part of the that community. It is quite literally a breathe of fresh air, and I am so much happier in our new home. The new platform is pushing my skill set into new directions, and the benefit of this is better, faster, cleaner sites for YOU, our clients. If you’re a developer who’s looking for a framework to call home, go with PageLines. It’s the bees-knees.

With Liz’s site, I used textures to compliment her brand. The first draft I had of this site had everything bubbly and 2.0′ish in nature. It was clear that wasn’t the direction that Liz wanted to go with things, so I went the opposite direction and used textures. I have to say, I LOVE the way her background texture turned out! So great!

I decided to keep some solid colors in place on the contact page, which by the way is completely different and worth a look! It’s like a bit of story, which works great with the way that Liz wanted things. As the site was nearing the end, I started customizing her MilkPress theme to match her site.

A custom background, and about an hour later, the customization on the blog was finished! I really love how her brand is streamlined between the site and blog!

Her about page is really neat too, as it offers a deeper look into Liz’s personality. Congrats on your new site Liz!!

http://lizlovi.com
http://lizlovi.com/blog

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Well, after being completely re-located to another area, and after a few months of picking up the pieces, Carolyn was finally ready to get the site underway. Before the site was started, I hooked her up with our logo person to get a beautiful logo redesigned. Then the floods hit. After it was over, she decided to keep her old logo. In hindsight, I think it was a good call. After all, her business was still standing.

So the site build starts, and Carolyn lets me have full control over it! That is no doubt when my best work is produced. Giving full control is hard, but if you’re making the investment, it’s part of the deal. She absolutely had a lot of input, and the site wouldn’t be where it is today without her. The sketches she provided give life to an otherwise inanimate object. I live traced them, turned it into a sharp as a tack vector object, and split it down the middle. After sending it to my Amigo David for some animated fun, the site practically put itself together.

I wanted to keep things simple using only black and white. I think it puts emphasis on her work, despite the graphics being heavy. Effects were used in the galleries to bring them out a bit more, but it’s subtle so you don’t really notice it too much. The process unfolded rather quickly after things were set in motion. I think it’s a really great balance between design and usability, and hopefully gives a bit of personality into who Carolyn is. But, all of that to say and I haven’t even mentioned her work. Wow! You really do have to spend a few minutes looking through her work; well worth the visit! Maybe it’s that Australia light.

http://carolynb.com.au/

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So development started back on on MilkPress, with the most important goal of making updates easy, and more frequent. New features can come always come at some point, but we have to have a way to actually get them to you. With MilkPress 2.5, we have this feature built right in. Now, you’ll be notified within WordPress that a new version exists. Then, just like updating your WordPress plugins, you’ll update our theme in just one click. All without over-riding your settings at all. This new update system will allow us to send out updates as we have them ready.

In addition to the new update system, we have a brand new theme options panel in WordPress. This new panel dubbed MilkWorks, sets the stage for the next update that includes sidebar & widget support, multiple page layouts, and a new skin compatible from mobile to desktop and everywhere in between. Our plans for MilkPress stem longer than I could ever put into words in just one post.

The work we’ve done over the last few months, lays the foundation for what MilkPress is planned to become. For now though, here are the new features and other fixes in MilkPress 2. If you ordered hold a previous version of MilkPress or Amelia, this update is free. Send an email to nick at spilledmilkdesigns dot com with the subject line 2.5 Update. Then, before we dispatch the next update you’ll be emailed a license key to use to access the updates.

• new update system
• new theme options
• refreshed showit style groups
• new icon system for style groups
• PASS integrated style groups
• new social sliding menu
• better social customizations
• post slider improvements
• lots of bug fixes

I really can’t thank you guys enough for being so patient. Big props to those who pre-ordered and made this round of developments a possibility. It’s you guys who call the shots on this theme, so let us know what you think by posting on the MilkPress Facebook Page (http://facebook.com/milkpress.)

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The whole “realism in design” thing faded off a few years ago, but to be able to pull it off subtly was a challenge I welcomed warmly. Binita’s site features a lot of custom widgets, custom animation, and custom buttons that you won’t see much of anywhere else. Not only are they on the site, Binita has full control over these elements, should she want to use them somewhere else, or change them in the future.

http://binitapatelphotography.com

Custom Buttons

Those little Facebook and Blog icon buttons can be changed in the advanced panel of Showit.

Custom Widgets

On the Team page of the site, each of those boxes is a custom widget. A look into the Advanced Panel of Showit reveals options for her to update the image, and even link it somewhere if she decides to change this, or add-on in the future.

I won’t lie, I am scared. I’ve been running this business for 3 years now, with my prior experience being a photographer, and before that a veterinary technician. What do I know about running a design business? Well, it’s turns out that I actually know a lot. Well, I’ve learned a lot I should say. I’ve also learned over the years that, you just can’t please everyone.

Today marks a pivotal day because, for the first time our entire web presence accurately depicts the type of work, and the type of clients that we want to attract. Our beloved milk bottle of  nearly 2 years has been replaced with, nothing. The idea behind the shift is, we create highly creative sites. If our site is highly creative in itself, then it overshadows the work that we love to do. I think that makes sense right? So, after a lot of though (a years worth) we’ve shaped ourselves into something that shifts the focus back to our work, and our clients.

Another big change is, we are no longer “we.” It’s back to just “me” and honestly, I couldn’t be happier. Sure, it was nice having designers working under me, but now I can actually have a hand in the work itself. There isn’t anything I love more than sitting down, with a black screen, and going to town inside of Showit. I am truly thankful for this position, I am thankful for our fans, and I am thankful for the 160 clients that have trusted us with their web presence.

I have a lot of surprises in store for you. Won’t you buckle up and take a ride with me?  The road is long and may shift course, but the ride will be worth it.

If you didn’t know by now, Tumblr just passed WordPress in the total number of installed blogs. This of course doesn’t account for the millions of self-hosted installations of WordPress, but it does go to show just how popular the micro-blogging service Tumblr has become.

Tumblr wins because it’s just dead simple. No plugins to bloat the theme or wreak havoc, easy to understand markup, easy to implement options, and a huge market for high school seniors if you’re the type of photographer who caters to that demographic.

[quote style="boxed"]You can’t just make one thing.[/quote]

We fused together Tumblr with Showit, to provide the ultimate in simple, customizable, no frills photography blogs. If you want to be unique, hop on Tumblr. Everybody is on WordPress right now anyways.

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