This is the new Gulf Islands International Education Program website, created by hand with care and love. I don’t do a lot of website creation, but for regular clients—those with an ongoing need for photographs—I sometimes do.
The International Program at Gulf Islands Secondary (GISS) has a limit of 60 students, or ten percent of the total student population. It’s always full. Students love the modern campus, the friendly staff and students, the extensive array of programs, and the natural beauty of the Gulf Islands.
But as Districts struggle for dollars, the International programs in BC have become highly competitive. And it’s the job of this new site to give prospective students, their parents, and agents a solid feel for what makes this program special.
And, with hundreds of professional images (smile), extensive content, links to online and PDF program forms, the bar has certainly been raised for the competition.
Building this site was an interesting experience. The site is powered by the solid and speedy WordPress platform and the Genesis framework. It provides for easy modification by the site owners. It also represents over 90 hours of development time.
There are:
- 40+ pages
- hundreds of photos, and hundreds of internal and external links
- custom portfolio pages for student testimonials and student advisors
- many photo galleries with ‘lightbox’ effects; some pages have mulitple galleries
- password protected pages for the Asian, European, and Latin American agents
- RSS and email subscription feeds and Google Places location
- integrated blog for program administrator and District officials
- on-site search
- one click social network additions
- easy update pages with content management system
GISS currently has students from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Each group comes for different reasons and with different expectations.
Just launched, the site no doubt has a wrinkle or two somewhere. If you find a wrinkle let me know. Enjoy your look at the Gulf Islands International Program website.
Sister site, Salt Spring Photos is where I post a new photo of Salt Spring Island every weekday. These daily pictures illustrate the lifestyle, the place, and the people of Salt Spring Island.