Foster Solutions (FSI)

Francesca Stanfill is a published author who needed her website migrated to a CMS, so she can write and edit on her own website.

Her site was “rebuilt” to look as it did but on a WordPress / Genesis platform.

FSI is also consulting on a strategy to work with online publishing and social media.

It has become mandatory to use Facebook and Twitter as part of your website marketing strategy.  The development environment for both Facebook and Twitter is finally getting to a point to allow good integration among the various platforms.

This can be a formidable task for the developer/consultant as well as the client to understand how the platforms all tie into a marketing strategy.

Except for large project, we develop exclusively on WordPress for websites, and fortunately there are some great plugins to easily (almost) set up a way to PUSH or PULL content between your website and FaceBook Page and Twitter account.  The client may want to post their content on all platforms separately, but this is burdensome for most.  It is more likely they will want to post on one platform primarily and have it disseminate to the others automatically.

The first question is to ask where the client feels most comfortable publishing content.  If the spend their day on Facebook, then the solution is better to pull content from Facebook to the website.  A good plugin for this is Facebook Like Box.  This will add a like button, photo gallery and the posts as a widget.

To pull tweets I depend on Genesis – Latest Tweets.  We develop all our sites on the Genesis Framework and this is one of many great plugins included.

If the client wants to publish on their website, they will want to PUSH their data to both FB and Twitter.  I recommend WP-To-Twitter and Facebook-page-publish for these tasks (also Wordbooker).  To accomplish both of these tasks, you will need to establish an application.

Foster Custom Kitchens helps its clients design, build and install high end kitchens, baths and cabinets in all parts of the house.  It also has commercial clients.

FSI built its landing page and is in process of completing a completely new website using the Genesis framework for WordPress.

P.S.  Yes, the name is no coincidence.  This is my brother’s company.

Experts Exchange is a great service where you can post your programming issue and you will more likely get a quick and professional response.  You can either earn points by answering other questions or you can pay a monthly fee.

This is the best service I’ve seen by far and I have been using it for years.  It has paid for itself many times over by saving me time when I’ve been stumped.

They also have a new look and feel.  Check it out by clicking on the pic at the top.

FSI partners with The MarkNet Group to build small and medium sized websites based on the Genesis Framework for WordPress.

The MarkNet group has a team of more than 10 programmers that can build scalable websites, with strong graphic design skills and SEO expertise.

If images are float left on a listing/blog page and the next item doesn’t break below the image but continues to wrap around it, you need to add a float:left and clear: both to a class in the style.css.

See below

#featured-bottom .featuredpost .post, #featured-bottom .featuredpage .page {
margin: 0 0 10px 0;
padding: 10px 0 15px 0;
border-bottom: 1px solid #333333;
    float: left;
    clear: both;
}

Embracing your Life is an illustrated book by award winning Jenny Vainisi.

FSI built the site in WordPress using the Genesis framework and the Prose child theme as a foundation.

The site includes a slider showing sample pages and Jenny’s beautiful artwork.

Gravity forms is a plugin for WordPress to build forms for surveys and mailings.  It isn’t free, but well worth the price as a very well designed product.   If  you are in the business of building websites, you inevitably will be needing to have at least a contact form on each of your sites, and having a consistent plugin on all your sites is invaluable.

Gravity will create a couple tables and allows you to easily view all form submissions and export to Excel.  You can very quickly build forms with pull down menus, radio buttons, CAPTCHA, auto responders and many other advanced features.

The developer’s version will cost you $199, which is a bit pricey, but allows you to use it on unlimited sites.

Angels in Design is a new business that needed a high-end but affordable website.

Foster Solutions used StudioPress’ Genesis framework to build an elegant site with a dynamic feature image with text and other features such as gravity forms.

FSI partnered with premier designer Jenny Vainisi for the logo and supporting graphic items.

Parsing names is an age-old process of taking a full name (i.e. “Mr. John C. Smith, Jr.”) and extracting the first name, last name, middle name, etc.

The following SQL Server function handles 99% of the situations, including prefixes, suffixes and hyphenated names.  It will get tripped up with two first names, but that is extremely difficult to trap for.

To call this function, use use the following syntax:

select dbo.PARSE_NAME_UDF(full_name,’F') as FirstName,  dbo.PARSE_NAME_UDF(full_name,’L') as LastName from myTable

create function [dbo].[PARSE_NAME_UDF](@NameString varchar(100), @NameFormat varchar(20))
returns varchar(100) as
begin

–PARSE_NAME_UDF decodes a NameString into its component parts and returns it in a requested format.
–@NameString is the raw value to be parsed.
–@NameFormat is a string that defines the output format.  Each letter in the string represents
–a component of the name in the order that it is to be returned.
–    [H] = Full honorific
–    [h] = Abbreviated honorific
–    [F] = First name
–    [f] = First initial
–    [M] = Middle name
–    [m] = Middle initial
–    [L] = Last name
–    [l] = Last initial
–    [S] = Full suffix
–    [s] = Abbreviated suffix
–    [.] = Period
–    [,] = Comma
–    [ ] = Space
–Test variables
– declare    @NameString varchar(50)
– declare    @NameFormat varchar(20)
– set    @NameFormat = ‘F M L S’
– set    @NameString = ‘Melvin Carter, Jr’

Declare    @Honorific varchar(20)
Declare @FirstName varchar(20)
Declare @MiddleName varchar(30)
Declare @LastName varchar(30)
Declare @Suffix varchar(20)
Declare    @TempString varchar(100)
Declare    @TempString2 varchar(100)
Declare    @IgnorePeriod char(1)

–Prepare the string

–Make sure each period is followed by a space character.
set    @NameString = rtrim(ltrim(replace(@NameString, ‘.’, ‘. ‘)))

–Remove disallowed characters
declare    @PatternString varchar(50)
set    @PatternString = ‘%[^a-z ,-]%’
while    patindex(@PatternString, @NameString) > 0 set @NameString = stuff(@NameString, patindex(@PatternString, @NameString), 1, ‘ ‘)

–Remove telephone ext
set    @NameString = ltrim(rtrim(replace(‘ ‘ + @NameString + ‘ ‘, ‘ EXT ‘, ‘ ‘)))

–Eliminate double-spaces.
while  charindex(‘  ‘, @NameString) > 0 set @NameString = replace(@NameString, ‘  ‘, ‘ ‘)

–Eliminate periods
while  charindex(‘.’, @NameString) > 0 set @NameString = replace(@NameString, ‘.’, ”)

–Remove spaces around hyphenated names
set    @NameString = replace(replace(@NameString, ‘- ‘, ‘-’), ‘ -’, ‘-’)

–Remove commas before suffixes
set    @NameString = replace(@NameString, ‘, Jr’, ‘ Jr’)
set    @NameString = replace(@NameString, ‘, Sr’, ‘ Sr’)
set    @NameString = replace(@NameString, ‘, II’, ‘ II’)
set    @NameString = replace(@NameString, ‘, III’, ‘ III’)

–Temporarily join multi-word surnames
set    @NameString = ltrim(replace(‘ ‘ + @NameString, ‘ Del ‘, ‘ Del~’))
set    @NameString = ltrim(replace(‘ ‘ + @NameString, ‘ Van ‘, ‘ Van~’))
set    @NameString = ltrim(replace(‘ ‘ + @NameString, ‘ Von ‘, ‘ Von~’))
set    @NameString = ltrim(replace(‘ ‘ + @NameString, ‘ Mc ‘, ‘ Mc~’))
set    @NameString = ltrim(replace(‘ ‘ + @NameString, ‘ Mac ‘, ‘ Mac~’))
set    @NameString = ltrim(replace(‘ ‘ + @NameString, ‘ La ‘, ‘ La~’)) –Must be checked before “De”, to handle “De La [Surname]“s.
set    @NameString = ltrim(replace(‘ ‘ + @NameString, ‘ De ‘, ‘ De~’))

–If the lastname is listed first, strip it off.
set    @TempString = rtrim(left(@NameString, charindex(‘ ‘, @NameString)))
–Below logic now handled by joining multi-word surnames above.
–if    @TempString in (‘VAN’, ‘VON’, ‘MC’, ‘Mac’, ‘DE’) set @TempString = rtrim(left(@NameString, charindex(‘ ‘, @NameString, len(@TempString)+2)))

–Search for suffixes trailing the LastName
set    @TempString2 = ltrim(right(@NameString, len(@NameString) – len(@TempString)))
set    @TempString2 = rtrim(left(@TempString2, charindex(‘ ‘, @TempString2)))

if    right(@TempString2, 1) = ‘,’
begin
set @Suffix = left(@TempString2, len(@TempString2)-1)
set @LastName = left(@TempString, len(@TempString))
end
if    right(@TempString, 1) = ‘,’ set @LastName = left(@TempString, len(@TempString)-1)
if    len(@LastName) > 0 set    @NameString = ltrim(right(@NameString, len(@NameString) – len(@TempString)))
if    len(@Suffix) > 0 set    @NameString = ltrim(right(@NameString, len(@NameString) – len(@TempString2)))

–Get rid of any remaining commas
while  charindex(‘,’, @NameString) > 0 set @NameString = replace(@NameString, ‘,’, ”)
–Get Honorific and strip it out of the string
set    @TempString = rtrim(left(@NameString, charindex(‘ ‘, @NameString + ‘ ‘)))
if    @TempString in (
‘Admiral’, ‘Adm’,
‘Captain’, ‘Cpt’, ‘Capt’,
‘Commander’, ‘Cmd’,
‘Corporal’, ‘Cpl’,
‘Doctor’, ‘Dr’,
‘Father’, ‘Fr’,
‘General’, ‘Gen’,
‘Governor’, ‘Gov’,
‘Honorable’, ‘Hon’,
‘Lieutenant’, ‘Lt’,
‘Madam’, ‘Mdm’,
‘Madame’, ‘Mme’,
‘Mademoiselle’, ‘Mlle’,
‘Major’, ‘Maj’,
‘Miss’, ‘Ms’,
‘Mr’,
‘Mrs’,
‘President’, ‘Pres’,
‘Private’, ‘Pvt’,
‘Professor’, ‘Prof’,
‘Rabbi’,
‘Reverend’, ‘Rev’,
‘Senior’, ‘Sr’,
‘Seniora’, ‘Sra’,
‘Seniorita’, ‘Srta’,
‘Sergeant’, ‘Sgt’,
‘Sir’,
‘Sister’) set @Honorific = @TempString
if    len(@Honorific) > 0 set    @NameString = ltrim(right(@NameString, len(@NameString) – len(@TempString)))
–Get Suffix and strip it out of the string
if @Suffix is null
begin
set    @TempString = ltrim(right(@NameString, charindex(‘ ‘, Reverse(@NameString) + ‘ ‘)))
if    @TempString in (
‘Attorney’, ‘Att’, ‘Atty’,
‘BA’,
‘BS’,
‘CPA’,
‘DDS’,
‘DVM’,
‘Esquire’, ‘Esq’,
‘II’,
‘III’,
‘IV’,
‘Junior’, ‘Jr’,
‘MBA’,
‘MD’,
‘OD’,
‘PHD’,
‘Senior’, ‘Sr’) set @Suffix = @TempString
if    len(@Suffix) > 0 set @NameString = rtrim(left(@NameString, len(@NameString) – len(@TempString)))
end

if @LastName is null
begin
–Get LastName and strip it out of the string
set    @LastName = ltrim(right(@NameString, charindex(‘ ‘, Reverse(@NameString) + ‘ ‘)))
set    @NameString = rtrim(left(@NameString, len(@NameString) – len(@LastName)))
–Below logic now handled by joining multi-word surnames above.
/*    –Check to see if the last name has two parts
set    @TempString = ltrim(right(@NameString, charindex(‘ ‘, Reverse(@NameString) + ‘ ‘)))
if    @TempString in (‘VAN’, ‘VON’, ‘MC’, ‘Mac’, ‘DE’)
begin
set @LastName = @TempString + ‘ ‘ + @LastName
set @NameString = rtrim(left(@NameString, len(@NameString) – len(@TempString)))
end
*/
end
–Get FirstName and strip it out of the string
set    @FirstName = rtrim(left(@NameString, charindex(‘ ‘, @NameString + ‘ ‘)))
set    @NameString = ltrim(right(@NameString, len(@NameString) – len(@FirstName)))
–Anything remaining is MiddleName
set    @MiddleName = @NameString
–Create the output string
set    @TempString = ”
while len(@NameFormat) > 0
begin
if @IgnorePeriod = ‘F’ or left(@NameFormat, 1) <> ‘.’
begin
set @IgnorePeriod = ‘F’
set @TempString = @TempString +
case ascii(left(@NameFormat, 1))
when ’32′ then case right(@TempString, 1)
when ‘ ‘ then ”
else ‘ ‘
end
when ’44′ then case right(@TempString, 1)
when ‘ ‘ then ”
else ‘,’
end
when ’46′ then case right(@TempString, 1)
when ‘ ‘ then ”
else ‘.’
end
when ’70′ then isnull(@FirstName, ”)
when ’72′ then case @Honorific
when ‘Adm’ then ‘Admiral’
when ‘Capt’ then ‘Captain’
when ‘Cmd’ then ‘Commander’
when ‘Cpl’ then ‘Corporal’
when ‘Cpt’ then ‘Captain’
when ‘Dr’ then ‘Doctor’
when ‘Fr’ then ‘Father’
when ‘Gen’ then ‘General’
when ‘Gov’ then ‘Governor’
when ‘Hon’ then ‘Honorable’
when ‘Lt’ then ‘Lieutenant’
when ‘Maj’ then ‘Major’
when ‘Mdm’ then ‘Madam’
when ‘Mlle’ then ‘Mademoiselle’
when ‘Mme’ then ‘Madame’
when ‘Ms’ then ‘Miss’
when ‘Pres’ then ‘President’
when ‘Prof’ then ‘Professor’
when ‘Pvt’ then ‘Private’
when ‘Sr’ then ‘Senior’
when ‘Sra’ then ‘Seniora’
when ‘Srta’ then ‘Seniorita’
when ‘Rev’ then ‘Reverend’
when ‘Sgt’ then ‘Sergeant’
else isnull(@Honorific, ”)
end
when ’76′ then isnull(@LastName, ”)
when ’77′ then isnull(@MiddleName, ”)
when ’83′ then case @Suffix
when ‘Att’ then ‘Attorney’
when ‘Atty’ then ‘Attorney’
when ‘Esq’ then ‘Esquire’
when ‘Jr’ then ‘Junior’
when ‘Sr’ then ‘Senior’
else isnull(@Suffix, ”)
end
when ’102′ then isnull(left(@FirstName, 1), ”)
when ’104′ then case @Honorific
when ‘Admiral’ then ‘Adm’
when ‘Captain’ then ‘Capt’
when ‘Commander’ then ‘Cmd’
when ‘Corporal’ then ‘Cpl’
when ‘Doctor’ then ‘Dr’
when ‘Father’ then ‘Fr’
when ‘General’ then ‘Gen’
when ‘Governor’ then ‘Gov’
when ‘Honorable’ then ‘Hon’
when ‘Lieutenant’ then ‘Lt’
when ‘Madam’ then ‘Mdm’
when ‘Madame’ then ‘Mme’
when ‘Mademoiselle’ then ‘Mlle’
when ‘Major’ then ‘Maj’
when ‘Miss’ then ‘Ms’
when ‘President’ then ‘Pres’
when ‘Private’ then ‘Pvt’
when ‘Professor’ then ‘Prof’
when ‘Reverend’ then ‘Rev’
when ‘Senior’ then ‘Sr’
when ‘Seniora’ then ‘Sra’
when ‘Seniorita’ then ‘Srta’
when ‘Sergeant’ then ‘Sgt’
else isnull(@Honorific, ”)
end
when ’108′ then isnull(left(@LastName, 1), ”)
when ’109′ then isnull(left(@MiddleName, 1), ”)
when ’115′ then case @Suffix
when ‘Attorney’ then ‘Atty’
when ‘Esquire’ then ‘Esq’
when ‘Junior’ then ‘Jr’
when ‘Senior’ then ‘Sr’
else isnull(@Suffix, ”)
end
else ”
end
–The following honorifics and suffixes have no further abbreviations, and so should not be followed by a period:
if ((ascii(left(@NameFormat, 1)) = 72 and @Honorific in (‘Rabbi’, ‘Sister’))
or (ascii(left(@NameFormat, 1)) = 115 and @Suffix in (‘BA’, ‘BS’, ‘DDS’, ‘DVM’, ‘II’, ‘III’, ‘IV’, ‘V’, ‘MBA’, ‘MD’, ‘PHD’)))
set @IgnorePeriod = ‘T’
end
set @NameFormat = right(@NameFormat, len(@NameFormat) – 1)
end
–select    replace(@TempString, ‘~’, ‘ ‘)
Return replace(@TempString, ‘~’, ‘ ‘)
end