How this site got started
I had been a part of the downsizing of the telecommunications. Freshly moved to the Central Coast of California, I started doing some web sites for friends. One, a realtor, had asked me to add information on schools and utilities to his site.
I started by setting up an area for each of the local areas. There are a lot of small towns in a in relative proximity near San Luis Obispo. After a while I started adding information about area attractions, adding photos I had taken with my new digital camera.
Originally designed for someone moving to the Central Coast, a lot of information was sought by weekend and extended travelers. Pretty soon the section had outgrown his web site, and I moved it to it's own account.
This has continued to grow to over 1,000 pages. Every time I add a new section and think I'm done, I discover another hidden treasure that would look good on the site.
No doubt this site has been a lot of fun to create.
But there are some very important technologies
on display here.
Interactive Flash technology. Some huge
Flash movies have been created that really annoy
customers. But Flash can be an important too in
creating light weight animations and interactive
tools. Check out our
maps for more.
PHP. PHP allows pages to be built at the
time it's requested. Current information can be
included, like events stores in a database.
SQL allows a database interface for item
or event tracking. Here, we use it for our Event
Calendar. But it's key to any ecommerce solution.
Javascript. Javascript is a very simple
scripting tool that allows immediate user feedback.
The pull down menus are done in Javascript.
Video. Streaming video allows you to really
show your stuff. A personal message, plant tour,
or close up of products. See the personal message
from the Cayucos
Chamber of Commerce. Or combine it with Flash
for more interactivity.
Virtual Tours. Getting a 360° view can be a great aid in choosing a camp site or area to visit. So far I've used QuickTime, but I'll be movign to the more portable Java to display these.
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