KAREN GIFFEL INTERIOR DESIGN

I started working with Karen over ten years ago. I was referred to her by a colleague at LOUIS, who was a friend and client of Karen’s. 

At the time, Karen’s website was built using hardcoded files on a hosting provider’s servers. Karen’s original website was also pretty basic and didn’t include a lot of the features she was looking for. She wanted better social media integration, project galleries, and additional pages to highlight her idea boards. We ultimately scrapped the original site and I rebuilt  Karen’s website using HTML, CSS, and PHP on the same hosting platform. We completely redesigned the layout and added the features and highlights Karen was looking for. I maintained the code base for this site for several years. 

In 2021, I recommended that we migrate Karen’s website to a content management system (CMS). I thought this was better for the safety and security of her site, because hosting her site on a CMS would ensure it got the latest security updates and code releases automatically. It would also ensure that others on Karen’s team could add or update content in the future, if Karen or I needed to delegate some tasks. We also decided to give the site a new look and feel during the process.

Karen’s website is now hosted on Weebly, a platform that has a more user-friendly backend for Karen’s needs, and has a lower annual cost. Special features include:

• a video banner on the homepage, which I also design and produce. We update this every 6 months or so, to highlight new projects.
• A testimonial section on the homepage. I created a form on the website that is sent out to clients to request feedback. I also recently drafted a project close out email Karen and her team can send out that includes a link to the testimonial form, Google reviews, and Facebook reviews.
• A FlexBox widget which provides hover animations, used primarily on her Portfolio page. 
• Facebook Messenger widget so users can connect Karen and her team directly through her Facebook page.We recently set up automated messaging to drive users to her contact page.

Ongoing maintenance for Karen’s website includes managing the CMS renewals, monitoring her domain renewal, and curating project galleries to highlight Karen’s work. The latter involves me reviewing the photographer’s collection and identifying images I think will show the fullest scope of the project. I also work with Karen and her team to create the project titles and descriptions. 

Recent developments include generating two Instagram feed widgets via Elfsight. One widget replaced an existing LightWidget feed in the footer. I also replaced the “Featured Project” section with a full width layout. This makes the section more dynamic and surfaces the project highlights Karen and her team post on Instagram. Users can hover over a post to read the description and see likes and comments. This will help drive traffic from Karen’s website to her Instagram feed. 

THen

now

Explore Karen's website

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In Karen's own words...

Jaime with JKBarrilleaux Designs has far exceeded my expectations. She has been creative, responsive and personable. She has created a beautiful website for me that truly embodies my interior design firm and portrays what we wish to convey to our existing design clients as well as new design clients. Truly a pleasure to work with!  -kfg