Case Antiques – Online Antiques Gallery
Please pardon me as for today’s installment of Links of Interest as I am linking to one of my client’s websites. Rather than being a shameless plug for my services, I’m linking to this site because I want to draw attention to my client’s use of his website.
This past year, John Case of Case Antiques hired me to re-design his website. As an up and coming antiques appraiser and dealer, John uses his website to showcase antiques that he has for sale and to promote upcoming auctions and other aspects of his business. The key specification for the re-design was that I design an easy to use website that John could update himself. When you browse this site, you will notice that the site’s layout is very clean allowing you to quickly get to the content on each page. In addition, the part of the site that most interests me and is the reason for this post is the online antiques gallery.
The top two specifications for John’s antiques gallery were the presentation of his inventory and its ease of use. Keeping this in mind, I set out designing and developing a gallery that allows visitors to browse through category and subcategory thumbnails until finally drilling down to individual items. For each individual item, through a back-end interface, John is able to upload multiple pictures and add an item title and description. After John has uploaded his photos, the system automatically creates all the thumbnails and other image sizes that are used throughout the gallery. In addition, on each item page, I created a form that allows visitors to inquire about the item. Submitting this form sends an email to John that includes a thumbnail picture of the item making it easy for him to identify the subject of his customer’s inquiry.
All this being the case, I must say that John is really making good use of his online gallery. A check of his gallery’s homepage shows fourteen large thumbnails emphasizing categories such as antique paintings, antique silver, antique pottery, and southern folk pottery. I particularly enjoy browsing through his antique paintings for sale as the variety and color in this section makes for a great visual presentation.
In summation, what I like about the Case Antiques website is the satisfaction that comes from creating a web application that my client is able to use to his advantage. Oftentimes, I find myself checking the site just to see what John has added to his inventory.
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