Parthian Systems

Web Development and Geographic Information Systems Services

Parthian Systems is a Web Development and Web Mapping business run by me - Stuart McMartin. I'm based in Bo'ness - Central Scotland. I focus on helping your businesses get online with a site that is built using quality tools and techniques. Where possible, I'd like to visit you first to have a greater understanding of your business and to gauge the level of technical skill available. A key component of the service I provide is onsite training and email/phone technical support in the use and editing of your website.

Great care is taken in the selection of the Tools and Techinques (see the other tabs for more details). Drag'n'Drop tools like Frontpage or Dreamweaver are not used. Your site will be carefully handbuilt.

Communication is key. The website is simply a tool to persuade your potential clients to get in touch via email or ideally on the telephone. And also to help maintain an ongoing relationship with your current clients by keeping them informed of your latest services or products.

Get in touch and find out more about me by visiting About - Contact. See my previous work here.

HTML and Site Design

• Your website will be generated using XHTML & CSS. This helps create standards compliant pages which are easier to re-style, update and maintain. This ensures your website is as futureproof as possible.
• Your site can be made more captivating by using Javascript, Animation Libraries and AJAX. The latter allows a page to become interactive, much like a normal desktop PC application.

Dynamic Data

• In order to make your site more Dynamic, which generally means to store and retrieve information from a Database or other locations on the Web, I use PHP and Python for Server Side programming; XML & JSON for data interchange and PostGreSQL and MySQL Databases for storage and queries.
• A Query is a question about the data in a database that returns a result; which may be some data such as your latest News or map locations of your events together with text and dates.

Your Site - Your Edits - Your Control

• To enable you to update your own website I can build your site using the MODx Web Framework. This is a Content Management System (CMS).
• For more complex Database Applications I use the Django Web Development Framework. A Web Framework facilitates the creation of complex Web Applications by helping to build high-performing, elegant Web Applications.

SEO and Social Media

• Search Engine Optimisation and Social Media. The final stage is to ensure people find your site. This requires careful use of text (keywords) and HTML constructs such as Headings, Titles etc. There may also be scope to use Facebook, YouTube etc to help publicise your product or service.

Virtual Visits

Woodland Explorer is a prototype system built to demonstrate a range of web mapping features. It allows the user to interact with a map of a local community. The aim is to encourage the user to explore their local environment in a virtual sense by using a linked network of photographs. Look at Mapping Services for more information

Mapping Services

• Development of Web Pages with specialism in mapping. Add Google Maps, Live Maps links to your web page.
• GIS Analysis and Development - e.g. ESRI, ArcObjects, MapServer, PostGIS Spatial Databases, GoogleMaps - VirtualEarth API, OpenLayers API etc.
• Is your location hard to find? Consider a custom built Virtual Tour. Your customers can actually see the landmarks that help identify that tricky hidden turning etc
• Cartographic Services. We can make a custom map of your location. Perhaps a local event needs a map of parking, toilets, First Aid etc.

News

Recently activities include :-

Images

• I use images provided by Fotolia.
  

Hosting and Email Services

• For UK Web Hosting I recommend Heart Internet.
• For Worldwide Hosting or heavyweight applications like Django - the US based host Webfaction may be more appropriate.

Links

Kinneil Estate - charity setup to protect the interests of Kinneil Estate
S1Boness Local information site
Central Scotland Forest Trust - working within Kinneil Estate