Drupal

We had two new website launches to kick off 2010: a complete redesign and migration to a new content management system for Kalamazoo Public Schools, and a custom Drupal build-out for SIGGRAPH Asia 2010, done in collaboration with Q Ltd.

Often clients want a touch of singing dancing javascript magic on one of their drupal forms. It seems like the right way to include that javascript file is to create a module that looks something like this:

One of the most useful pieces of navigation for a user is the 'breadcrumb' trail at the top of any page on the site they're visiting. It's something that is easy to forget, but so important (and expected) in all but the most simple of sites.

i just got back from Drupal Camp Colorado (DCC) last weekend. What a great experience! Many thanks to the the CommerceGuys (another local MI firm!) for covering nearly all my travel, lodging, and conference costs.

The three of us, Steve, Mike, and Mike met each other at the Ann Arbor Drupal Users group. We each had been using Drupal to develop and deliver content managed sites. We'd each used some other available tools to create and deploy these types of sites, but Drupal offered something that the others did not: developer friendly extensibility.

By using Drupal we realized that we could consistently deliver better solutions for our clients. Period.

I enjoy focusing on helping website users accomplish their tasks as effectively and efficiently as possible. I enjoy architecting and developing custom solutions for interesting business problems. Many times, in my ten plus years of working with the web, I've seen developers forget about the end users and/or get bogged down in the technical aspects of the development work. The developer friendly extensability of Drupal allows me to do the things I enjoy and not fall into this trap.

Working with Drupal allows me to concentrate on the higher level business questions. It gives back my time so that I can concentrate on the issues that really do matter when it comes to delivering your site - delivering custom well-designed solutions that help you keep your users and customers coming back.

After a few meetings (and after-meeting gatherings), we hatched the plan for Switchback. We've all been living and working in Ann Arbor for years, but hadn't found the right team of people to work with. We'd pool our knowledge, efforts, and resources and focus on delivering sites developed and managed via Drupal, and by doing so, we'd provide GREAT and cost-effective solutions for our customers. We decided that we'd strive to keep everything as open and transparent as possible, and give back to the Drupal community as much as we could, starting with continued organization of the Ann Arbor Drupal Users group.

I finally feel that I've found a great technology and community to build something around. We've got the right team and we're ready to launch. I'm excited to get things off the ground and I know the other guys are too.

Check this space in the future for posts about new Drupal modules and issues, about how your can help your users complete their tasks more successfully, and other general Switchback musings...