Yesterday one of my long-time clients launched a new website. This was an exciting event for all of us involved as it was a long time coming. My client, Mäni's Bakery Café, is a retail bakery and cafe focused on providing healthy gourmet food using organic ingredients whenever possible as well as alternative sweeteners for their baked goods.
The website design was a collaboration between Michelle Beilner, a talented graphic artist who is responsible for the visual consistency of all of Mäni's packaging, cafe decor and printed and digital materials, and Hop Studios.
We chose Hop Studios for the website design and creation because I've been consistently impressed with their work, AND, one of the principles is Susie Gardner, a blogger I met through the blogosphere and when Patsi and I were working on our Build a Better Blog ebook. Susie is also the author of Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies.
Hop Studios built the website on a blogging platform called Expression Engine. Essentially the whole site is like a big blog, though it may not appear that way to the user, except for the part that is Mäni's Blog. This means that the client can make updates very easily with minimal tech skills and without having to have a techie on staff or pay high web designer hourly fees. No waiting for updates -- they can be made on the spot which is important for this business as they update their menu on a regular basis and have occasional specials that they need to announce and feature on a regular basis.
I hope you'll visit the site and let us know what you think!
