Lara Maville Design

I recently heard someone say that a website is the cheapest store you'll ever own. While I didn't do the math (not my strong point - I'm an art major after all) I would probably agree. With an online store, the up front costs include design, development, domain registration, and hosting. Hosting plans vary depending on the website requirements (does it need to be secure, an online store, etc). Designer and developer costs can also be across the board depending on who you contract. Once your site is up, you continue to pay for the hosting and domain. All said, certainly this is less expensive than owning and operating a brick and mortar store.

15 years ago, when I first began my career as a graphic designer, I would not have been able to do an e-commerce part of a website. I am a designer first, code writer second. Now, with the invention of the Content Management System (CMS), I am able to design and develop a database-driven e-commerce site that clients can edit.

Silloway Maple
Silloway Maple, a family-run maple sugaring business located in Randolph Center, Vermont, needed a website to sell their maple products. Maple, and farming, has been in their family for generations and they have been selling their products from their farmhouses. When they were finally ready to make the leap to an online store they contacted me. I am from that neck of the woods, and understand how hard they work to produce their syrup. I wanted to create a website that reflected their maple products as well as their work ethic and family values.

I first worked with Silloway Maple to create a logo. Using plans for their new sugarhouse, I created a traditional style logo for use on business cards, hang tags for glass syrup gift jars, and the website.

Once the logo was approved I set up the hosting account. I worked with the clients to design the website, and developed it in Joomla, a CMS with e-commerce functionality. Now Silloway Maple can make changes, add products, write a blog, receive orders, and manage shipping, in between tapping trees, boiling syrup, and milking cows. It's a good time to be a store owner.