Knowing this, we undertook to create a software solution with certain goals in mind. For one, we wanted to help out smaller dealerships, who may not have the money or know-how of ranking their sites on major search engines. Secondly, we wanted to create a new standard of web site optimization across the car industry. We found a market that was in need of a solution. A market that has been overlooked.

So, I personally took on task of creating a system that could scale as big as our dream. A system that would ensure dealerships exposure on the web, with a management system that would only require little or no training. About 2 weeks ago, I finished the project, and we launched our first website in a target city in Florida. The site lists all the dealers with Used Cars in Lakeland Florida. The site itself provides a really simple experience for the car buyer. They can easily view the dealers in that area, view inventory and specials, and easily get in contact with the various dealerships. We now also have used cars in orlando florida. used cars in California, and used cars in Utah.

Our hope is that we can start partnering with others to bring these websites to other cities across the nation. We are open for discussion with dealerships and individuals who may be interested in pursuing this opportunity with us.

I am excited for the opportunity to be speaking at SMX West this year, in Santa Clarita, California. I will be speaking the first day (Feb 10th, 2009) and first session on “Technical Issues for SEO Developers”. I have heard great things from past conferences, and I am looking forward to meeting other industry professionals and making new contacts.

If you are thinking about going, make sure to sign up before Feb 9th to save some money. And if you do come, make sure to say hi.

I am not doing any tricky or that hasn’t been done before. I am simply following strict guidelines to make the internal link structure clean and symantic, to optimize the site to it’s fullest. Recently we redesigned it, and are hoping to launch the official site for Orlando florida next week. For updates and news, you can check out the official Orlando Florida Used Cars Blog, which will be updated constantly as we approach. We are looking to launch these sites in key areas across the US, and give all dealerships big and small an opportunity to list their inventory. Hopefully something like this can help an industry that’s in a lot of trouble.

The live version I definitely like. My idea here was to focus on my recent work, and most importantly give a clean and modern feel. I like the overall tone, and feel it goes with my name and brand.

The first version I actually like a lot too. This one I had been working on for a while. However, I still felt it was missing something, and could feature my work a little better.

I think the main thing with both of these versions, is keeping things simple and clean. That’s what I am all about. Also, don’t think you can steal the second design since I am not currently using it… I most likely will work it into a future client. Or who knows, maybe a do an A/B test using both designs.

For those of you who would like to know, I used Spry to handle the animations. I created my own function that handles the timer to make it move on it’s own, as well as highlight the current number. Also, I used a simple function to pull my latest WP blog posts. The blog and portfolio are currently being redesigned. In the meantime, let’s get some feedback.

So, formally, we are accepting applications for a full-time web designer position. Please only apply if you have the skills to develop websites like these:

www.utahweddings.com | www.braintreepaymentsolutions.com | www.97thfloor.com | www.calema.com | www.bluehouseskis.com

We will be most impressed with applicants that can bring the following skills to the table:

• XHTML / CSS valid scripting
• Javascript / Ajax general knowledge
• Backend languages like PHP and MySql aren’t foreign to you
• You are familiar with Flash and actionscript
• WordPress and Os Commerce are your friends
• You can create clean and beautiful designs for various industries
• You are likeable, work hard, and love to better the web

Although we would like for you to be local (Utah) we have no problem having you telecommute if you knock our socks off. Keep in mind, we are NOT looking for a firm whether state-side or overseas to outsource to. We are looking for an individual that can make things happen. Please send a BRIEF resume with 5 of your best websites to jobs@modernbluedesign.com.

We look forward to viewing your work!

Patrick Bennett
President
Modern Blue

Useage:

This toolbar allows you to quickly see if a particular web page has been submitted to other social media sites, namely Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon, or del.icio.us. Also, when scanning those websites, you can see whether a story has been submitted or not. In this way you can easily see if top stories have been submitted to other sites — if not you can click on the logo in the toolbar which will take you to the necessary page to add it through your account. This will allow us all to build better accounts on all of the major social sites. Take a look at another screen shot:

Credits:
I would like to personally thank Charles Berube who did the most work on the project. He is an excellent programmer. Also, I want to thank the guys at 97thfloor.com for partnering with us to make this tool happen.

97th Floor is actually my brother’s company. He has helped them become one of the most respected SEO firms in the business, with clients such as Omniture. So, needless to say this site and project was important to me. And although I will miss the old site, this new one has a lot of potential, is more flexible, and looks awesome.

We are humbled that we have the chance to give the Provo / Orem Chamber a new face as well as implement new features. Also, as a public service, we will be doing all of our design work and programming for free. This will allow the Chamber, which is non-profit, to use those funds in other areas.

1. Make things less cluttered
2. Feature the blog more
3. Showcase our work better

The new design I feel, really portrays what we are about here at modern blue. We like to keep things simple. We like to create websites so clean you could eat off of them. And we like to push the boundaries of design.

This redesign can be seen as a “new launch” as well. I have been personally working on it for about 1 week. So, now that it is complete, I am going to try and focus more on writing really good posts on the blog, keeping the portfolio updated, releasing press releases etc… Basically, just doing the normal stuff I began slacking on.

I am excited for the 2nd half of this year. It has been an amazing year already here at Modern Blue. We haven’t even been around one year yet, but we are growing.