Website & application development
Website & application building
Website development is at the core of what we do at SilverStripe. We have built hundreds of websites for clients across the planet and we love doing it. Our proven open source CMS and web framework make up the base on which we build your site.
Whether you want to create a brand-new website or migrate an existing one, we use the latest web development techniques (and even create a few of our own), intelligently apply them to your site, and give your users an outstanding experience.
Application development
The distinction between websites and web applications is less relevant than it once was. Business software, including internal processes, are moving increasingly from desktop applications to the web, and geographically disperse people collaborate through web-based tools.
Nearly all of our projects have at least some application components. In fact, we split the SilverStripe CMS from the Sapphire framework to accommodate this industry evolution. Doing so allows us, for example, to model your custom business processes and create multiple user interfaces based on business needs.
Because no two web applications are the same, every project is tailored specifically to your business needs. However, because the SilverStripe CMS and the Sapphire framework are open source, we can build upon the foundation of the SilverStripe platform so you can take advantage of a rich history of design and technical best practices.
Integration
Few projects start from scratch and are fully self-contained. Most likely, what we build for you will work with your existing systems or with third-party applications or databases. Every integration is different and tailored to your specific business needs.
In the past, we have successfully integrated with diverse systems that deal with environmental data, geospatial data, document management systems, payment gateways, journey planning systems, and many others.
Content migration
New web projects often have existing content from previous websites that needs to be migrated to the new site. We can migrate this content in a number of different ways, from manual migration to a completely automated system. We work with you to come up with the solution that's best for your particular situation.
When migrating, you need to consider:
- the amount of content that currently exists, and the amount of content that will be created during the project.
- the state the content is in — will the content be migrated as is, or do you plan to rewrite it?
- the current format — are you migrating already formatted web content only, or do you wish to migrate other types of documents?
- your internal processes for creation and review.
We can write scripts to automatically pull some or all of your existing content and map it to the new site structure. We can also give you tools to easily manage large sites with many documents.
Intranets
Evolving organisations have evolving needs for communication, collaboration, and efficient completion of tasks. Intranets are no longer just a means to distribute information from management to staff. Intranets need to have content relevant to the specific roles of staff members, and they should be able to find that content quickly and reliably.
We have worked with a number of different organisations to redevelop their intranets. Our experience will benefit your project when it comes to needs assessment, integration with existing systems, content planning and copywriting, search and personalisation features, and deployment within your organisation's infrastructure.
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Visual design
The visual design of your website carries your brand through to your web presence. But design is more than just making your site look good. A well-designed site draws users in because it communicates clearly and effectively, and is easy and enjoyable to use. The end goal is to organise the information your company has to offer in a user interface that speaks in a clear, unambiguous visual language.
SilverStripe practices design-led development, a process that puts discovery and research first. Only after we have a deep understanding of your business goals can we create concepts, start solving problems, and discover solutions while evolving the conceptual design.
The vision gained during the research and design phases guides the technical implementation through launch and beyond.
Mobile website design
Web design is not just for the desktop any more. The number of people who expect to interact with your business at any time through mobile platforms is growing rapidly, and mobile users aren't content with simply looking up information, but want to use services such as making a purchase or completing a survey.
At SilverStripe, we are enthusiastic users of the mobile web ourselves. We can create templates for your site that are optimised for mobile devices, or even create a special version of your site that's designed for mobile platforms.
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Copywriting
We like to write clean, tight, and on-point copy. You have a message, and you need to make sure your message resonates with the reader.
Whether you are undertaking a content migration effort, creating a new site from scratch, or augmenting an existing site, we can help you craft the right words in the right way.
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Hosting
We offer a range of web hosting solutions for client websites and applications. You can choose between several shared server options, or, if your project requires it, even have a dedicated machine which is yours alone.
SilverStripe has two industrial-strength server facilities here in New Zealand with all the features needed to keep your sites running reliably. This includes daily off-site backups and outage SMS notifications to our support staff (and if you wish, to you). All hosting solutions come with a generous allotment for traffic and disk space, which can be increased as your needs change.
(Please note that our hosting solutions are for our our web project customers. We cannot offer hosting to non SilverStripe Ltd. customers.)
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Mobile website development
The number of people who expect to interact with your business at any time through mobile platforms is growing rapidly, and mobile users aren’t content with simply looking up information, but want to use services such as making a purchase or completing a survey.
At SilverStripe, we are enthusiastic users of the mobile web ourselves. We can integrate 3rd-party services with your site and optimise them for mobile devices, or create a special version of your site that's specifically designed for the mobile platforms.
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Support
SilverStripe offers professional paid support, which includes:
- Hourly support for new and existing clients.
- Pre-paid support retainers for new and existing clients.
- Hourly or daily support for organisations and agencies developing with SilverStripe software.
- Developer mentoring.
- Phone and email support.
Please contact us to discuss a support arrangement tailored to your needs.
If you are looking for help with our open source product, refer to the Help & Support section on our open source community website, silverstripe.org.
Retainers
Going live does not mark the end of a project. Your website needs to remain up to date at all times. As your business grows you may want to add additional content or features. Or, you may want to take advantage of new functionality in updated versions of our open source product. Or you may simply want us to tweak the design.
Whatever your ongoing needs are, you are likely to have a number of changes you'd like to make. We recommend that you enter into our Retainer Support Plan once your site is out of warranty. Retainers are pre-paid support hours on a quarterly basis. With a retainer, you purchase our time and the assurance of dedicated resources from us because we schedule retainer time just like we schedule projects.
We offer a number of different retainer options, from a few hours to several weeks per quarter, so you can pick the one that best suits your needs. You can use your retainer time for support issues or small feature enhancements. As you use up your hours in your retainer, we'll let you know so you can choose how best to use remaining hours.