Whexim Flooring & Hardwoods

Whexim Flooring & Hardwoods

Whexim is a major distributor of domestic and exotic hardwoods, as well as finished and unfinished wood flooring materials.

The Challenge

Whexim had a complete website when they came to us, and asked us to upgrade it. The first thing we noted when we analyzed their current site, was that the layout of the site did not accurately represent their business model. While Whexim itself is divided into two distinct divisions (flooring and hardwoods), their site intermingled the two in a fashion that was not only inconsistent with Whexim's own business model, but it didn't make any logical sense either.

The Solution

We proposed creating what would essentially be two distinct websites, one for each division, while creating a strong sense of unity between the two divisions. The two sites would be joined in two ways: a simple domain front-end would allow quick access to either section, and a set of tabs at the top of both sites would allow visitors to easily slip back and forth between the two sites.

We avoided a significant amount of budget inflation by using the same template for both sites, with a few significant modifications to the header, footer, and background colors.

Scripting Engine: PHP
Site Engine: Custom-Built CMS
Page Markup: XHTML 1.0 Transitional
Presentation: CSS

Tips & Tricks

Dream the Web

A lot of people think that web design should begin in Dreamweaver or whatever HTML program they have. These programs are not made for creating visually pleasing designs; they're made for generating html code.

When you're trying to create a graphically pleasing design for your website, don't limit your potential for truly innovative appeal. Begin with a graphic design program, like Photoshop or Illustrator. These programs are designed to encourage creativity and ease your work flow. After you've achieved a look that you're satisfied with, work towards formatting that look with the web output tools that your design program provides, and duplicating that look in the web design environment of your choice.