Foodlink
www.foodlink.org.uk
6 Catherine Street
London WC2B 5JJ
Summary:
PSE developed the new foodlink website for the Food and Drink Federation.
This site was launched in April 2002 and is the focus of the National Food Safety
Week programme.
The site uses our PageLocker system to control content management and access
to the database.
The brief
"New foodlink website"
The old foodlink website had won some design awards and was rich in content. FDF
wanted the site redeveloped to improve the user navigation and allow the content
to be edited using simple web forms.
The main features requested were as follows:
-
New fresh design that appeals to both children and adults
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Ability to edit page content using web forms
-
Dynamic content for some pages to be drawn from a SQL-server database
-
User friendly database search and edit facilities for editing tabular content in
the database
-
Text-only version of the main areas of the website
-
Shop section allowing electronic ordering of products
-
Forms to allow event organisers to add their events to the site subject to
approval by FDF
How we answered it
Graphic design
Nykris were commissioned to complete the graphic design for the site and
produce HTML mock-ups for design approval by FDF. The designs incorporate the
foodlink Frank cartoon character designed by FDF's illustrator.
Dynamic content
Using PageLocker, we took the designs produced by Nykris and developed the
Active Server Pages for the new site.
FDF needed to be able to enter a substantial amount of the site content online
and the site was therefore developed in stages to allow this entry to take place
as soon as possible.
The PageLocker system was ideal for this project as the organisation of the site
is based around factfiles and the A to Z list. Database tables were designed
around the structure of the various types of information in the content and then
made available for editing via PageLocker. The Active Server Page templates were
then designed to deliver the content from the database into HTML pages in the
newly designed format.
Online ordering
The foodlink shop was an important part of the development. The paper-based
system had caused considerable confusion because each product is available in a
number of different pack sizes. Customers often miscalculated the amount to pay
or ordered quantities that were not possible with the available pack sizes. We
wanted to remove any ambiguity in the online system. The form we produced allows
for the customer to enter the actual quantity of products that they wish to
order. The system then checks that the order can be fulfilled with the given pack
sizes and calculates the cheapest price.
Once the order has been validated, an Excel spreadhseet containing the order
information is sent to the distributor for processing and the information is also
entered into the online database for tracking.
Text only version
We didn't want to have to maintain two separate website for the graphic and
text-only content. We developed the ASP pages in a way that displays the content
in graphic or text-only mode using a parameter within the URL. Dynamic content
in the text-only version is stripped of all image tags using a facility built
into PageLocker. The result is a fully integrated site allowing text-only
viewing of the majority of the pages with a single source for the content.
The technology we used
The following development languages and technologies were used in the
development of this solution:
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