Not a week passes by at Bighouse Graphix without a conversation about updating or tweaking an existing site. Heck, we want to do this with our own site now and then, and you better bet we could give you a list of websites we’d love to get our hands on too.

It’s too tempting to wipe the slate clean without giving any thought to the current site. But before reaching for the eraser, the smart thing to do is to really review the site goals and call to action, measure google analytics and determine the real problem. In some cases, just a few smart changes make all the difference.

Lisa Lancaster, a veterinarian in Denver, Colorado asked us to design her website a few years ago. As a mobile veterinarian Lisa needs her website to provide her clients enough information that by the time she gets to their door they have a good idea of who she is and what she can do. Bad communication in this case means a lots of wasted time.

The website we created about 3 years ago had beautiful photos of Lisa with the horses she has cared for, a lot of equine related info and elaborate online forms for her clients.  Now, several years later, her business focus has expanded to include small animal care and some new holistic therapies. Along the way, Lisa also discovered that her online forms weren’t providing her with the information she needed. Worse, the forms often confused her visitors. So, the website that Lisa loved three years ago needed to grow and change along with her business.

Because we know that it’s not about how pretty your website is, it’s about relevancy and convenience, we completely understood Lisa’s request. We audited her current site, studied site traffic and usability. We looked at what information on her website was proving useful and what was getting in the way. We re-adapted the site structure and design while keeping the consistent look of the brand that we had developed for her. We shifted the focus from strictly equine services to also include small animals. By simplifying her online forms, strengthening her brand imagery and really pairing down what was important on the site, the end result was much stronger.

Take a look for yourself, Lisa’s new website is www.lancasterequine.com

It’s hip, it’s here, the Thunderbird Inn has a new website. With a hip neon sign beckoning you to the Thunderbird Inn, we felt it only proper to back it up with a hip new website.  With bright vivid colors and retro theme, we feel it fits the bill pretty well.  A few of the custom features bighouse graphix integrated into the site are the ability to click a button to switch the theme from night to day (go ahead and try it, you know you want to), an events calendar and a custom reservation sidebar.

The Thunderbird Inn is not your traditional spanish moss, historic Savannah brick, run of the mill hotel. Reasonable rooms, cool folks, moon pies, a swanky room to sleep in and personal service set it apart from any other hotels in Savannah.

http://thethunderbirdinn.com/

Bess Chappas currently travels the country promoting her children’s books. Since her retirements, she has been telling stories professionally to both children and adult groups across the country.  She has won Honorable Mention for an article in the Writer’s Digest contest and has authored the  CD, “Savannah Ghost Stories” and the children’s book, “Kiki and the Red Shoes.”

She wanted a simple website that would allow her to sell her CDs and books along with the ability to post upcoming events and articles. Building on a wordpress platform, we were able to achieve both goals fairly simple by incorporating a simple blog into the site. This allows Bess to easily make updates, add new pages, post new articles and add new items to her store.

www.savannahstoryspinners.com

When our longtime friends at VSAG contacted us about being part of the Founding Farmers restaurant project back in July, we were more than excited.  Founding Farmers is unique in that their model is to provide Farm to Table serves fresh Farm-to-Table American-inspired true food and drink, sourcing locally and regionally whenever possible. It’s the first restaurant in Washington, DC to meet the LEED Gold Standard design criteria, and the Green Restaurant Association deemed it a Certified Green Restaurant. This $6 million, 2-story, 8,500 square foot restaurant serves up family farm favorites like fresh-baked biscuits, breads and pastries, omelettes, pancakes, and all the breakfast trimmings, big, hearty rustic farm sandwiches and soups, big, colorful green salads with just-picked vegetables, a variety of pot pies, prime cuts, pot roast, roasted chicken, and rich, delectable pies and desserts from the pastry bar, supplied by the in-house bakery.

The restaurant has even invested in the state-of-the-art Natura® water system to provide guests with fresh-filtered, purified, mineral-filled, chilled sparkling and still water served in glass carafes to eliminate truck deliveries, carbon emissions and to reduce tons of plastic and glass waste.

Other LEED criteria design elements and energy-efficient moves include the use of day lighting to illuminate the restaurant, increased ventilation, green-sourced power and low-VOC emitting paints.  Founding farmers officially opened its doors this spring.

bighouse graphix was honored to do the website build for Founding Farmers, and gives props to Allison at Seth Design for the website design.  Other credits go to VSAG (Developers), CORE (Architecture) and SPIN (amazing PR work).

SEE THE VIDEO: Founding Farmers on US News

www.wearefoundingfarmers.com