We are thrilled to announce the successful launch of a new WordPress-powered website redesign for our friends and Vancouver-based startup, Minpraxis Solutions Ltd..

With a clean and intuitive interface, the website not only showcases Minpraxis’ cutting-edge Minpraxis Tester but also reflects its commitment to excellence in the mining and technology industry. It was a pleasure working with the team and we take immense pride in delivering a platform that sets a solid foundation for Minpraxis Solutions’ future endeavors and growth.

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As a newly minted #girldad, it’s a bit special to have a small hand in something like this. Even though we’re not in Edmonton, it’s cool to see a group working to connect girls playing minor hockey.

https://femalehockeyalliance.ca/

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Still seems weird to say this but after close to 15 years of being on twitter professionally and personally, both accounts have been shut down.

Armadillo Studios and my own personal career wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for Twitter’s platform. I have connected with many of our clients. Built and maintained friendships. Reinforced professional expertise and credentials. Helped win political campaigns. Helped build local communities. All through twitter.

Experiencing “web 2.0″‘s birth and death along with dozens of world events online was an incredible experience to share with everyone. But it’s time to move on. There is very little redeeming value in Twitter from a professional and personal level. I’d recommend that most businesses and political entities start considering creating an exit strategy for the platform.

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We’re thrilled to unveil the redesign for our friends at Place2Give.com. We’re excited to present a brand-new interface designed to enhance the giving experience. The new site includes:

1. User-Friendly Navigation: We’ve simplified the navigation to make it easier for you to find the information you need. Whether you’re searching for charities, exploring causes, or learning about our services, everything is just a click away.
2. Modern Design: The new design is not only visually appealing but also optimized for seamless browsing across all devices. Whether on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone, you’ll enjoy a consistent and engaging experience.
3. Improved the GIVE WP Donation Process: The streamlined donation process ensures that your contributions reach the causes you care about efficiently and securely.

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First and foremost, I do hope that everyone is staying safe, self-isolating and of course doing their best to help #flattenthecurve during such strange times. Second, as a business owner, I am under no assumptions that a little WordPress design studio really warrants a formal COVID notice (like the ones that have flooded our emails for the past month), so I’ll get straight to the point.

Over the past few weeks, I have received a few questions about Armadillo’s operations during the pandemic. Simply put – Armadillo Studios is still open and still continuing to work with clients. Business is as usual in most daily aspects, except for two major difference:

1) To comply with the physical distancing suggestions, all meetings for the foreseeable future will take place over the phone or through Zoom.

2) There will be an added emphasis on payments made via Stripe or e-transfer moving forward.

Again, these are just a handful of small changes that Armadillo can make to help flatten the curve. I hope everyone is staying well, healthy and look forward to returning to our new normal soon.

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Armadillo Studios is once again proud to be acting as an in-kind sponsor for Bow Valley College’s 2020 VentureQuest Awards.

Since 2015, we have had the opportunity to work with many of the finalists of these awards and provide some of the winners with $1,500 of in-kind online development and guidance to help kick start their business ideas. Most recently we worked with Amber of Once Upon A Story to get her business web site up and running. With the reception banquet this evening, we are looking forward to working with the latest crop of young entrepreneurs from Bow Valley College in 2020.

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Over the past couple of years, I have been using GiveWP to power the donation processing side of some of our most successful WordPress installs. Essentially, it’s an all-in-one third party WordPress plug-in that allows any organization to accept donations seamlessly and through an enhanced user interface. In particular, GiveWP has been invaluable when working with political campaigns, community organizations (that are not registered charities) and businesses looking to leverage a donation model for their revenue generation.

But what makes GiveWP different from the dozens of third party external donation tools and WooCommerce enabled set-ups? Here are the just some of the key features that I believe give GiveWP the edge:

1. The core GiveWP install is free and relatively easy to install. Development time takes about an hour or two to set-up and the core plug-in comes with a slew of core features that are hard to find in most donation solutions. Additional add-ons are relatively inexpensive to add to a single domain (in comparison to the full cost of other WordPress Donation tools).
2. GiveWP is incredibly versatile and isn’t only for registered charities, it works for non-registered charities, organizations looking to leverage a donation model (cough bloggers cough) and most importantly any sized political campaigns.
3. Two key design features that are incredibly advantageous for online donation campaigns – fundraising goal trackers and donation amount buttons – come prepackaged and ready to go with the base install of GiveWP. (Click here to checkout the tool in action)
4. It connects with Paypal and Stripe, right out of the box. The plug-in recently improved it’s core install to include both Stripe and Paypal payments gateways.
5. Using GiveWP allows you to keep users on your site, without having to take them to a third party donation site.
6. It comes with a full suite of reporting features within the WordPress backend to monitor donations and the email template set-up is easy to set-up to track donations received.

So if you’re a non-profit or an organization that is reevaluating your donation process after #GivingTuesday or looking to beef up your WordPress web site by accepting donations through your site before year-end or even frustrated by the existing tools out there, check out GiveWP.com. When it comes to the available tools out there, you won’t be disappointed at how powerful and easy-to-use the tool is.

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Yesterday, I was incredibly humbled and touched to receive this special print in recognition of the years of support Armadillo Studios has provided to Calgary Alpha House. It has been an honour to have the opportunity to work with Calgary Alpha House Society for the past few years, as they are a critical and part of the Calgary community. Thank you for this special gift. It’s going to have a nice spot in the office.

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A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of presenting at WordCamp YYC on my experiences using WordPress for political campaigns. Earlier this week I stumbled upon the posting of the full talk on WordPress.TV, so I figured it was time to share for those who weren’t at WordCamp Calgary 2017.

With the another round of municipal elections set in Alberta for October 2017, we are about to be bombarded by candidates vying for our votes and attention. But what makes a good Political Campaign Web Site? What makes people take notice of a candidate? And are there lessons about design, branding and functionality that we can learn from campaign web sites to enhance our own business and non-profit web sites. This honest and frank talk will dive into the world of political web design to provide you with ideas on how better tell the story of your organization and get people to buy in to your message.

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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of giving a talk at WordCamp Calgary 2017 called Campaigning With WordPress: Design and Story Telling Lessons From The World of Political Web Design. At the request of many attendees I’ve attached my slides for download and viewing via Slide Share below.

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