WordPress theme Archives | Samantha Soper

HostGator Blog Theme on WordPress

September 7, 2018September 13, 2018
by Samantha Soper

After the successful implementation of the Bluehost blog theme, I was referred to their sister company for the HostGator blog theme redesign. While the Bluehost project was more development-focused, HostGator’s team wanted full UX design, theme development, and implementation.

HostGator Blog Theme

First of all, I single-handedly took this project through UX design and development to final implementation in under six months. Significant improvements to SEO, schema markup, and customizability were the HostGator team’s most important objectives. Therefore, those requests were kept in mind throughout the design and development process.

Current Live Site

UX Planning

As a result of my blog questionnaire, I learned that their content manager was inspired by FitBit and Hubspot’s blogs. Additionally, they wanted a more modern look using colorful flat graphics, matching their new brand direction. They also liked board-style content blocks and subtle hover effects.

Sketch Concepts

Home Page Wireframe Sketch Options

Single Post Wireframe Sketch Options

Archive Page Wireframe Sketch Options

Wireframe Mockups

Home Page Wireframe

HostGator Blog Single Post Final Wireframe

Single Post Wireframe

Archive Page Wireframe

Tools Used:

Lean WordPress Theme Foundation: _S (UnderscoreS)
WordPress Test Data: WP Theme Unit Test
Framework: Bootstrap
Class for Recent Posts Widget Adjustment: Extend Recent Posts
Class for Category Meta Additions: Catapult Taxonomy Meta Class

Bluehost Blog Theme on WordPress

March 2, 2018August 29, 2018
by Samantha Soper

A former colleague, Machielle Thomas, contacted me to build the Bluehost blog theme, since they were looking to redesign. They had worked with their in-house designer some mockups, but they didn’t have a developer on staff with time available to complete it. Their blog was built on WordPress and Machielle worked with me during the Golfsmith blog build. As a result, she knew my experience and skillset would be a good fit for the project.

Bluehost Blog Theme

Based on the provided homepage and single post mockups, I built out the blog in a short time frame with little other creative direction. Significant improvements to SEO and customizability were the Bluehost team’s most important objectives. Therefore, those requests were kept in mind throughout the development process.

Current Live Site

Tools Used:

Lean WordPress Theme Foundation: _S (UnderscoreS)

WordPress Test Data: WP Theme Unit Test

Framework: Bootstrap

Golf Town Blog on WordPress

March 31, 2017August 9, 2017
by Samantha Soper

The Golf Town blog came into play as a way to move several successful digital programs over from Golfsmith. Unfortunately, the What’s in the Bag (WITB) PHP applications that I built for Golfsmith didn’t work on Golf Town’s server environment. Due to this, I made the suggestion that the WITB Pro Pages content be incorporated into the blog.

There was a rush to get the WITB Pro Pages plugin live before the 2017 Masters. Starting with the old Golfsmith blog on my own development environment, I had a contractor begin working on modifying the template to match Golf Town’s branding. I focused on getting the WITB plugin built out and set up full localization on the Golf Town template, once styling was completed. I coordinated with Golf Town’s IT staff to set up WPEngine hosting for the blog and then handled a portion of the MySQL migration to the new hosting location.

Golf Town Blog

Current Live Site

Result

Major Canadian golf news sites have already started to partner with the Golf Town blog. By August, ScoreGOLF teamed up with Golf Town to announce their yearly Top 59 Canadian Golf Course Countdown. In addition, the blog nets over 28,000 views on peak traffic days.

Credits:

Additional Theme Development: Shelby Pickett

Golfsmith Blog on WordPress

December 14, 2015August 8, 2017
by Samantha Soper

The Golfsmith blog was an effort to bring Golfsmith to the content marketing forefront and to direct social traffic towards the website. First of all, I researched and created wireframes of the best option for the blog layout and content organization. In addition, I set up the blog, installed the appropriate plugins, and developed the WordPress template. To complete the project on a rushed timeline, I trained a contractor and coordinated with him on wrapping final stages.

Golfsmith Blog

Screenshots & Wireframe

Blog Home Page on Tablet

Blog Post on Mobile

UX Wireframe of Blog + Icon Sketches

NOTE ON LIVE EXAMPLES: As of 11/4/16, Golfsmith is no longer conducting business and all associated websites are offline. However, you can check out the Golf Town blog, which I used this template to build.

Result

Within a year of launch, the blog ranked #1 on Golf Assessor’s Top 50 Best Golf Blogs. Furthermore, the blog was awarded #6 in Feedspot’s Top 100 Golf Blogs on the Web.

Credits:

Additional Theme Development: Isaac Franz

Hellas Construction Web App

January 24, 2014December 19, 2018
by Samantha Soper

The Hellas Construction web app was a massive undertaking I conquered singlehandedly. First of all, their website hadn’t been updated since 2009 and became a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster situation. Due to several unnecessary pages, the user experience was highly confusing. Adding projects to the site was slow and regional sales managers needed them quickly. Several of the issues are detailed in the In-Depth UX Analysis and Overview below.

Hellas Construction Web App

In-Depth UX Analysis and Overview

Hellas Sales Portal WordPress Plugin

Beta Training Documentation

Roxie Polymers

August 6, 2013April 19, 2017
by Samantha Soper

View the Project

Visit the Roxie Polymers website

Nina Davis, MA, LMT Site on WordPress

January 10, 2013March 29, 2018
by Samantha Soper

Nina Davis, MA, LMT is a biodynamic craniosacral and lymph drainage therapist. Located in Austin since 1996, she treats adults and children. Her gentle, touch-based therapeutic modalities move energy and fluid around the body. Most noteworthy, she was voted Best infant Craniosacral Therapist for three years by the Austin Birthing Community.

About Nina Davis’s WordPress Site

Nina contacted me wanting to expand her business online and spread the word about her small business. Furthermore, she wanted a unique user experience that highlights naturally-occurring fractals. As a result, each page features on a large, natural fractal and matching background. Blue and green menu themes correspond to the fractal image, as well, while a frosted glass pane displays page content. I built page subsections with jQuery tabs.

Current Live Examples

NOTE ON LIVE EXAMPLES: I built this site in 2013 and was not hired to maintain it.
Visit Nina’s website

Screenshots

I collected these screenshots soon after I built the site.

Home page

About Nina page

About therapeutic modalities page

Referrals & resources page

Contact page

NeuSkin Organic Skin Care on WordPress

January 9, 2011March 29, 2018
by Samantha Soper

Started by Elizabeth Bentley, NeuSkin Austin performs organic, non-invasive dermatological procedures. In 2007, Elizabeth got her esthetician license from the Aveda Institute. Her unique approach works closely with each client to determine the cause of their skin problems. In addition, she engages in an in-depth consultation about the client’s insecurities and concerns. As a result, she delivers a soothing, effective and pain-free skin care solution.

About the NeuSkin WordPress Site

In 2010, I worked with Elizabeth to launch her website for her new small business. As NeuSkin grew, she reached out to me to add an e-commerce store to her website. In conclusion, she’s been able to offer organic skin care products for several years and has grown her product offerings.

View the Project

A NOTE ON LIVE EXAMPLES: I launched the original neuskinaustin.com site back in 2011, so it has since been redesigned. However, I collected the screenshots below while the site was still active. You can also visit the old site via the WayBack Machine, but it is an archived version so some data may be missing or non-functional.

Home page

About page

Services page

eCommerce store

Project Tag: WordPress theme

HostGator Blog Theme on WordPress

HostGator Blog Theme

Current Live Site

UX Planning

Sketch Concepts

Wireframe Mockups

Tools Used:

Bluehost Blog Theme on WordPress

Bluehost Blog Theme

Current Live Site

Tools Used:

Golf Town Blog on WordPress

Golf Town Blog

Current Live Site

Result

Credits:

Golfsmith Blog on WordPress

Golfsmith Blog

Screenshots & Wireframe

Result

Credits:

Hellas Construction Web App

Hellas Construction Web App

In-Depth UX Analysis and Overview

Hellas Sales Portal WordPress Plugin

Beta Training Documentation

Roxie Polymers

View the Project

Nina Davis, MA, LMT Site on WordPress

About Nina Davis’s WordPress Site

Current Live Examples

Screenshots

NeuSkin Organic Skin Care on WordPress

About the NeuSkin WordPress Site

View the Project

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