About the Project: I worked with the homeowners of this vacation rental home to build a website from the ground up. They already had their home advertised on various listing websites (such as Virginia Vacation Rentals and Home Away) and they wanted their own original website to be able to go into more detail. After they had their own website, they were then able to advertise their home on the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce’s website, as well as the Virginia Is For Lovers tourism website.
Applications & Software Used: WordPress, YouTube, Final Cut Pro X, Quicktime Player, Photoshop CS6, Open Office.
My Roles: I built this website from the ground up using WordPress and a pre-designed theme. I worked with the homeowners to gather the necessary information they wanted to convey, as well as the photos and videos they wanted to include. I did all of the installation of WordPress and the theme onto their hosting provider’s website, and advised the homeowners on the steps they needed to do to choose their hosting package. I then worked in Photoshop to customize the images and design their logo, and formatted/did light editing of their videos in Final Cut Pro X before uploading them onto YouTube. I created a YouTube channel for them and then embedded the videos into the website. I proofread existing text they were using for their descriptions and added to it when necessary. And then I included widgets and information that would make the home more appealing, such as tourism attractions, a weather app, a link to their Facebook page, etc. I also worked with outside technical support when necessary (such as the hosting service, and the creators of the theme – to get specific CSS code to change some of the layout of the website). Once the website was completed, I helped lead the homeowners through the necessary steps so that they could keep backups of their website. I also discussed specific steps they would need to do if they ever wanted to make any edits or changes to the website themselves (such as adding new photos of the home, updating any text if circumstances changed, etc.).
Original Website: To see the website, or for more information, visit: http://www.dreamcometruelakehouse.com.