Over the years we’ve built everything from teeny tiny one page websites to sites with thousands of articles and multiple custom post types. We feel like we are well-prepared to handle not only custom integrations, but also large resource migrations between different platforms. We want to talk about some of the ways we’ve expanded beyond out-of-the-box WordPress capabilities and let you know that we’re here to help you tackle that big project you’ve been working towards.
Plugin Extensions
As much as we can, we aim to work with plugins that already exist, as to not reinvent the wheel. Sometimes we can only get so far, or the client has asked for an additional feature that the plugin doesn’t include. In these cases we can assess the request and the plugin to see if there are ways to modify or hook into existing code so that the objective can be completed.
Standalone Custom Code
When a solution isn’t available anywhere, we can see if a fully custom plugin or code insert will work. This takes a good bit of research and time to write out the PHP needed to complete the objective. The plugin will need to go through rounds of testing and revisions to ensure any bugs are worked out. This method can come with drawbacks though. As WordPress and technical standards continue to change, the plugin may break and will need maintenance and upkeep to stay secure and compliant.
Data Integrations
For data-heavy websites, we can use one of the two methods above to connect with an outside database to import sets of data to display on the site. We dedicate a bunch of time up front to mapping fields into the appropriate place in WordPress. From there we can use other plugins to handle the date and create outputs. In these cases we build out custom template pages that display the data styled as the end user would see it on the site.
Example
Client wanted a job board created on the site with multiple data points and specific user actions to interact with those jobs. We began with a lightweight plugin out of the box and installed add-ons that completed most of the tasks that were desired. Using other plugins, we added additional custom fields to those jobs to intake more data. We worked with the client’s contractor to write the mapping between their data source (FileMaker) and the site we built in WordPress. We started with small batches of records and used those to help create the custom job board pages you see on the website. To take things even further, we hid certain pieces of data depending on the user’s membership level. The result was a fully custom display with the client still being able to manage jobs from their 3rd party source.
We take time up front before the proposal is written to flesh out possible solutions to these sorts of sites. If you have a project that might involve a custom application, don’t hesitate to reach out to get the ball rolling! We’ve worked on many different custom projects and 3rd party integrations and can help to give you the advice to make your ideas become reality. Give us a call at 540-869-5991 or fill out this form to get started.