(616) 356-2545 15 Ionia Ave. SW, Suite 220 - Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Site Re-vamp: Borgman Ford

July 25th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_BORG_C_smIn addition to their main new/used auto, truck and commercial vehicle site, Borgman has numerous mini-sites which we maintain on their behalf. Each mini-site focuses on a specific model or group of models, so given the numbers of Fords and Mazdas out there, you can begin to get an idea of just how numerous we’re talking.

Although designed some time ago to be mobile friendly, by your friendly neighborhood web-slingers at the Imagination Factory, changes at the various search engines dictated that we revamp ALL the sites to be even more mobile responsive.

Fortunately, when we originally designed the original structure, we had done so using a multi-site concept which deploys a single CMS engine as the back-side foundation and then allowed us to spawn each mini-site as a child of the master. This allows us to use a common master design and codeset, then easily tweak each child to be unique sites on their own even w/ their own domain name. It also reduces re-design, maintenance and update time considerably.

There are so many mini-sites, we couldn’t begin to list them all, but head over to Borgman Ford Commercial Vehicles Used Cars Grand Rapids or Grand Rapids Ford Escape and you’ll get the idea.


Site Launch: Bamboo Studio

June 29th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_BBS_smBamboo Studio is a fusion of paint party and asian cafe, bringing you the fun of learning to paint while sipping on Grand Rapids’ best bubble tea.

Cafe Boba came to the Imagination Factory to help them put together a site to 1) help explain the concept and 2) allow people to sign up online for paint parties, classes, and asian fusion meal/paint packages.

So we fused a gallery, a visual event calendar, and online ecommerce together to meet their needs – then made the whole thing mobile responsive.

Come visit the NEW Bamboo Studio and schedule your next paint party.


Web Tips Learned from a Cab Ride

June 9th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

What could a simple cab ride have to do with having a better website?

Actually a lot! I’m going to share five lessons you can learn in just the ride from any airport to a downtown hotel in any larger metropolitan area.

Now bear in mind that this illustrates only the initial customer interaction with your website. There is even more to consider when thinking about the customer’s different needs during the entire journey with you during their lifecycle which I hope to address in a later post soon.

OK… You’ve landed at the airport, gathered all of your luggage, and headed curbside to grab a cab.
Read the rest of this entry »


Site Launch: ITC-RV & ITC-Marine

May 1st, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_ITCMAR_smITC Incorporated is a dynamic, evolving company that has grown its LED capabilities with collections of lighting products for several industries including Marine, Cruise, RV, Healthcare, Retail, and Commercial Interiors.

This manufacturer came to the Imagination Factory seeking a web solution for its multiple companies. We designed a cohesive design for each manufacturing division and a plan to develop the content and launch multiple sites over several months.

With sites for the parent company, elio® and cruise® having launched late 2014 and early 2015, the fourth and fifth to launch were for the recreational vehicle (RV) division and the marine division.

IFIblog_ITCRV_smThese sites provide more information on each brand’s product line, offer specs as well as access to various online etail channels from where they may be purchased. All five are now tied together in the back by a common administrative structure making it easier to manage multiple sites.

Come visit the NEW ITC-RV and the ITC-Marine sites.


Site Launch: Premier Roofing and Exteriors

March 27th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_PREM_smThis family-owned West Michigan roofing company has built a superb reputation for high-quality repair and installation work that withstands West Michigan’s roughest weather. When it came time to renovate their website, they came to the experts at the Imagination Factory.

Just as they know the best products and installation methods to stand up to the harsh extremes of West Michigan’s climate, they knew they could count on the team at IFI to know how to present their story in an all important mobile-responsive cyber environment.

Visit Premier’s new site, today.


Ecommerce: Batter’s Up

March 15th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

ballsuites_2015So spring has been a bit slow in arriving to the midwest AGAIN this year, but that hasn’t stopped the minor league baseball clubs from their need to prepare for a whole new season of fans.

And its time for the Imagination Factory to come to bat. We have developed a fairly simple online menu system that accommodates each clubs unique offerings, calculates prices real-time as the fans select items, accounts for their unique tax structures and collects / emails the pertinent order information to the club’s catering team.

We have a few new clubs this season and a few of the old ones are are sporting nifty new logos and/or even new major league affiliations.


Site Launch: Automation Techniques

February 24th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_ATI_smSo… Where are you going to go when your hydraulic motor, pump or pneumatic component needs service or a part?

Automation Techniques, Inc., of course. ATI is the largest stocking distributor of industrial hydraulic pumps and pneumatic components in West Michigan. They carry a full line of hydraulic pumps, motors, valves, filters, hydraulic hoses, pneumatic tubing, couplings, fittings, controllers, end-of-arm-tooling products, electronics and more.


Site Launch: American International Foods

February 12th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_AIFI_smAmerican International Foods are leaders in the food ingredient supply chain who leverage their deep relationships with hundreds of food ingredient producers around the world to provide food and beverage manufacturers the highest quality materials at the best possible prices.

Following their move into a new location and recently re-freshed collateral materials, AIFI came back to the Imagination Factory for a site re-design.

Visit AIFI’s new site, today.


Site Launch: Learn to Groom Dogs

January 21st, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_L2GD_smMelissa Verplank, owner of numerous pet-related businesses including Paragon Pet Grooming, Whiskers Pet Spa & Resort and Whiskers University, had built a successful online video education program that was functional but had outstripped the underlying design and technology of their current partners.

The key people at Learn2groomdogs.com came to the Imagination Factory to see what was possible. We spent a lot of time investigating the old site, researching current technology, making educated guesses as to future tech, and especially discussing the shortfalls of the current site – for both the owners and the users.

The result is a subscription-based, members-only, ecommerce, mobile-responsive site with hundreds of streaming videos from multiple sources and by numerous training partners and grooming experts from around the world. The site allows members to search and view streaming categorized videos on their desktop, tablet or even smartphone. Members may subscribe monthly, quarterly or annually via several payment gateways to gain access to videos that are searchable by category, by training partner, by title, by technique, by tool, and by breed.

One of the more sophisticated orders by function and by security needs that we’ve been asked to design!

You may visit L2GD’s new site and see it in action.


Site Launch: ITC Incorporated

January 19th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_ITCUS_smITC Incorporated is a dynamic, evolving company that has grown its LED capabilities with collections of lighting products for several industries including Marine, Cruise, RV, Healthcare, Retail, and Commercial Interiors.

This manufacturer came to the Imagination Factory seeking a web solution for its multiple companies. We designed a cohesive design for each and a plan to develop and launch multiple sites over the next several months. With sites for elio® and cruise® having launched earlier this year in time for various tradeshows, the third to launch is for the parent company itself.

The site provides much more information on each of their brands and will serve as a springboard to each brand site. All are tied together in the back by a common administrative structure making it easier to manage multiple sites.

Come visit the NEW ITC Inc. site, today.


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