We’ve been pretty busy the past few weeks and we haven’t had the opportunity to write about the latest sites we’ve been working on. Take a look to see the latest sites we have launched.

City of Fountain Inn

The site is powered by LightningCMS and has our dynamic weather and time of day system integrated. Soon the site design will update depending on the time of day and even the weather.

Launch Website: http://www.fountaininn.org

FindCarolinaDentists.com

We redesigned and upgraded FindCarolinaDentists.com with new features allowing dentists to sign up for premium memberships. The premium memberships allow for on-site advertising, photo galleries, promotions, and much more.

Launch Website: http://www.findcarolinadentists.com

Eversouth Development

Eversouth Development is a commercial real estate development company based in Greenville, South Carolina. They needed a new website to effectively showcase their development portfolio. The site is powered by LightningCMS and features a custom web design by LightningHammer.

Launch Website: http://www.eversouth.com

Rising Tide

Rising Tide offers Sports and Event Marketing. The site is powered by LightningCMS.

Launch Website: http://www.risingtideco.com

Hill Marketing and PR

Launch Website: http://www.hillmarketingpr.com

Virtual Sidekick

Launch Website: http://www.yourvirtualsidekick.com

We have a winner for our Halloween iTunes gift card giveaway!

Congratulations to GiraffeDiva (Dana), the winner of our $25 iTunes gift card.

Of course you’re curious of how we selected the winner. Well since we’re software developers after all, we decided we would write a program to do it. If you like you may take a look at the page we created here.

Here is how it works:

1. Input a list of names with each name on a new line.
2. Click the “Get Winner” button.

The page takes the list of names and sorts them into a random order, then it picks one of the names at random. Of course, with the more names the more random it will get.

Feel free to use our page to for your own contests, or if you would like to make your own page here is some code to get you going:

ASP.NET Code:

   1: <!-- Text Area to collect names !-->

   2: <asp:TextBox id="txtNames" runat="server" TextMode="multiline" validationgroup="winner" CssClass="field" /><br />

   3:  

   4: <!-- Submit Button !-->

   5: <asp:Button id="btnSubmit" runat="server" Text="Get Winner"  OnClick="btnSubmit_Click" validationgroup="winner" /><br /><br />

   6:  

   7: <!-- Label to display Winner !-->

   8: <asp:Label id="lblWinner" runat="Server" CssClass="winner" visible="false" />

C# Code:

   1: using System;

   2: using System.Collections.Generic;

   3: using System.Web;

   4: using System.Web.UI;

   5: using System.Web.UI.WebControls;

   6:  

   7: public partial class randomwinner : System.Web.UI.Page

   8: {

   9:     protected void btnSubmit_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

  10:     {

  11:         // Get Random Winner        

  12:         List<string> names = new List<string>();

  13:         names.AddRange( txtNames.Text.Split('\n') );

  14:  

  15:         // shuffle list 

  16:         names = MixList(names);

  17:  

  18:         // Now pick a random item from the shuffled list

  19:         int count = names.Count;        

  20:         Random RandomNumber = new Random();

  21:         int x = RandomNumber.Next(0, count-1);

  22:  

  23:         lblWinner.Text = "And the winner is: " + names[x];

  24:         lblWinner.Visible = true;

  25:     }

  26:  

  27:     private List<string> MixList(List<string> inputList)

  28:     {

  29:          List<string> randomList = new List<string>();

  30:          if (inputList.Count == 0)

  31:               return randomList;

  32:  

  33:          Random r = new Random();

  34:          int randomIndex = 0;

  35:          while (inputList.Count > 0)

  36:          {

  37:               randomIndex = r.Next(0, inputList.Count); //Choose a random object in the list

  38:               randomList.Add(inputList[randomIndex]); //add it to the new, random list<

  39:               inputList.RemoveAt(randomIndex); //remove to avoid duplicates

  40:          }

  41:  

  42:          //clean up

  43:          inputList.Clear();

  44:          inputList = null;

  45:          r = null;

  46:  

  47:          return randomList; //return the new random list

  48:     }

  49: }

The code is pretty basic. There’s not a lot of error checking in there, but since we were the ones using it, it worked well.

We have just launched a new Template Gallery to showcase all of our FREE LightningCMS template. There are 45 FREE templates to choose from. Click here to view the entire gallery.

Please welcome the two newest additions of the template gallery:

Efficiency – Deft

Efficiency – Reverie

As well as the Template Gallery, we have also added a new online signup form so you can get started with LightningCMS in 3 easy steps.

Our FREE LightningCMS sites feature:

• 3 Content Pages
• Blog (blog pages DO NOT count towards your 3 page limit).
• Calendar
• Photo Gallery
• Video
• and more…

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for your FREE site today!! This is not a trial, there are no hidden costs. Don’t believe us; view our pricing.

Click here to sign up for your free website today: http://www.lightninghammer.com/cms/signup

Back in my high school years I was an avid car enthusiast; especially when it came to fast cars and racing. Needless to say, I was extremely excited when I was approached by and old friend, Ben Howard, to hear out his idea for a new online automotive magazine. He wanted to do something none of the other magazines are doing; feature the cars that are not getting the attention they deserve. From July to August, Ben and I had several brainstorming sessions, and in early September it was time to get down to business.

I must have researched 50 different competitors trying to see what we could do to set GreasyBlocks.com apart from the rest. Ben showed us his idea for the logo design and a light bulb went off in our heads. The development team at LightningHammer knew exactly what to do. We kept everything behind closed doors; giving Ben just enough teasers to let him know we were creating something unlike any other automotive magazine on the market.

The day finally came to send Ben the screenshot of his new magazine. I was quite nervous not knowing what Ben’s reaction would be. I sent him the screenshot through instant messenger and eagerly awaited his reply.

After a few moments the reply came through: “OMGFG{!FLJSHWM]ZCXC!!!!!!!!”

I didn’t know what to think. Did he like it? Did he hate it? The fact was that he LOVED IT. It was so far beyond his expectations that he was momentarily speechless. We had succeeded at our goal. The next step was to take this picture and convert it to something that works on the web.

Being proficient in CSS techniques is a big plus when it comes to piecing together a website with this much design detail. We worked away putting all the pieces together before handing it over to Ben so he could begin writing. Social networking played a huge part in the marketing and anticipation of this site. Through facebook, flickr, and various automotive forums the anticipation of the site launch was through the roof.

The site launched at 11:00 PM EST on Monday, September 21st and it was an instant hit. Everyone that viewed the site raved about the design and applauded Ben’s determination. We expect to have a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Ben and GreasyBlocks.com. GreasyBlocks.com has something for every automotive enthusiast; imports, domestics, euros, you name it.

Some of the site features include:

• CMS (Content Management System)
• Flickr Integration
• Partner / Sponsorship / Advertising Management

Stop by the site at www.greasyblocks.com and let us know what you think.

Interested in the development process of this site? Stay tuned to our blog. We will have some “Making of” posts coming soon.

We are excited to announce the launch of FICivicCenter.org. The website is powered by LightningCMS and boasts several usability features. Through the FICivicCenter.org website, users can view the latest upcoming events, order tickets, view videos, and connect through social networks like facebook and twitter.

The dynamic website invites people of all ages to come out and see what the Fountain Inn Civic Center has to offer. See you there!

  LightningHammer is happy to announce our recent partnership with Idryonis Studios.

  Idryonis Studios, LLC is an independent production company specializing in cutting-edge interactive content for entertainment, education, and marketing. From spectacular motion graphics to engaging interactive games - if you need to see it, hear it, or feel it, Idryonis can handle the job. 

They have been involved with a few very cool high profile projects, one of the most recent can be seen here.  As we join forces to do new projects we’ll keep our news updated.

LightningHammer has recently started development on its SpeedyMap widget.  SpeedyMap will allow users to drop interactive map modules on their web pages using a small snippet of code, all managed at the LightningHammer SpeedyMap website.  A number of locations can be marked on the map, and searches can be made against those locations through the interface.  There will be a free version with limitations, and up to two annual-pay versions for a more robust feature set.  Stay tuned for more information about SpeedyMap!

LightningHammer is proud to introduce LightningCMS. LightningCMS makes website management a snap, whether you’re a web designer, business owner, or even a blogger. You can manage your own website without writing a single line of code. Choose one of our pre-built design templates and you can have your website in just a few minutes. Want a custom built design? We can do that for you as well.

Not Convinced? Check out all the features, pricing, and some video demonstrations.

We have established our base of operations at River Place in downtown Greenville. This wonderful location sits directly on the Reedy River and is walking distance from the Reedy River Falls. We are very excited to be residing at this great location. Look us up on Google Maps.