Long-time client Candy Blog came to us again recently. They wanted to modernize their site, which has been up and running since goodness knows when.
The biggest change for us is that we added several new data types so that candies could be cataloged and cross referenced in multiple ways. Going forward, there’s no limit to how you might be able to receive candy information when you need it most. (The biggest change for them was that their URL finally changed to CandyBlog.net, but that’s not as hard, technically, with EE.)
Other simple but essential modifications included adding sharing icons and modernizing the way Candyblog’s categories were organized. Candy Blog first launched with EE 1.2.1, so as you can imagine, there are many under-the-hood settings that can be done differently now. Some of this work required crawling into the database plumbing of ExpressionEngine and doing direct database manipulations, but it all turned out well.
To assist in the site’s work flow, we created some additional entry statuses and hooked that up to the “What’s Next” box on the home page. They’ll find it easier to orgnize entries, while readers will automatically get more current information than they used to. We added smart ads to the RSS feed, and customized the user profile pages.
We also installed SolSpace’s Tracker module so they could tell instantly what candies were hot each day. All in all, a fun renovation with an immediate traffic bonus, site revenue increase, and efficiency boost. As always, it’s fun seeing what Candy Blog will come up with next—all while we learn about the latest sweet trends.
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