design

Designing a website is first about functionality.
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development

Most projects share a similar timeline.
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content management

The open source movement has made this accessible without special tools
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Why Plasterdog?

The inspiration for the name Plasterdog came from a friend’s collection of literal plaster dog figurines. Each had been heavily customized in terms of coloring, shape and attitude while at the same time structured around a common and proven format. Each was an example of how a seemingly confined medium (plaster) can be approached to anticipate rapid production, fluid modification and personalization.

This is an apt metaphor for what most website owners want: a custom and securely structured site that they can maintain, edit, modify and extend on their own.

We provide you with a foundation of secure structure, accessible tools and access to straight-forward instruction so that you can focus on your content.

project management

It is best to break down each web development project into manageable pieces and to follow a logical progression of tasks.
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responsive layouts

We no longer live in a world where "standard screen size" is a meaningful term.
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Building with expansion in mind

A site will function best if there is a plan and structure that allows for new content to be added in a fluid manner
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Our Philosophy

Every project we do is unique, defined by special circumstances, and custom designed and constructed.

We follow a logical and efficient progression of design steps that keeps the client involved in all editorial and functionality decisions.

Our orientation is to make it as easy as possible for the site owner to manage their site in a secure and flexible environment.

We believe that given a proper framework, tools and orientation, any site owner can be put in control over their content and free to manage their website without elaborate tools or extensive technical knowledge.

wordpress

There are very few things that cannot be done with WordPress
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user tutorials

Here are some tutorials covering common WordPress tasks.
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development notes

WordPress is an Open Source community where knowledge is freely shared!
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We recommend WordPress!

Over the years we have built sites in a variety of CMS systems… WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, PHP Fusion, Zen Cart, CMS Made Simple, Business Catalyst, Movable Type … to name a few.

At the end of the day we recommend WordPress for most applications for a couple of key “game changer” factors:

  • Learning curve
    The WordPress interface is clean, concise, and familiar to anyone familiar with common editorial tools like MS Office or Open Office – and so readily comprehensible for most people
  • Ease of update
    CMS software needs to be regularly updated for security and functionality – WordPress has a very strong commitment to backwards compatibility and can be updated with a single click
  • Reach of project
    Current estimates peg WordPress as running nearly a quarter of active websites

WordPress Front-End Development

Plasterdog Web Design is Jeff McNear and an confederation of WordPress developers from the Chicago area
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design principles

We have found that following these ten principles will ensure a successful website project
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repair & support

We have updated, repaired and reconfigured many sites developed by other designers, while each project is unique all tend to follow a similar sequence of steps
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The Plasterdog Approach

The guiding principle behind our work is to put as much control into the hands of the website owner as possible. We build highly customized sites that are designed to reflect the owner’s aesthetic sensibilities, developed to anticipate growth and modification, and to provide an optimized experience for users and search engine algorithms.

A highly customized site does not need to be complicated to manage or difficult to navigate, we make the complex simple and intuitively comprehensible.

We provide a stable, flexible and secure platform along with the support and training needed so that you may confidently manage your message!

Questions & Consultation

We are always happy to field questions, offer advice and consult on strategy formulation … drop us a line!
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Project Development

Whether it is a new site, site modification, migration or fixing a broken site - we can handle it!
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Immediate Need

In a jam? Tell us what needs to be done and we will take care of it!
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