I-Framework

De Molder & Partners (Thinso)
2005-2006

After my internship at Microsoft, I joined De Molder & Partners (DM&P), also known as Thinso, in 2005 as a web application developer. There I developed the I-Framework, DM&P’s own framework for building websites in ASP.NET with SQL Server, and in 2006 I helped build eight sites on it, until I moved to Financial Architects later that year. Along the way I introduced Subversion at DM&P, so the team’s code went into version control.

Bezig Brugge. The biggest of them was Bezig Brugge, an online meeting place for all economic activity in Bruges: every shop, bar, restaurant and company in the city in one index. Its search engine was the heart of the site, finding businesses by name, sector and subsector. Every merchant got a free listing with address, phone and fax; for a small fee, they could add their website, e-mail, a description, pictures, a contact person, opening hours, brands, products, activities and promotions. A calendar listed what was going on in the city, from concerts to ice skating and street animation, merchants could promote their own activities, and there was a job database for the shops. Sponsors could reach Bruges shoppers through banners, and a weekly newsletter told subscribers about upcoming events and promotions.

Bezig Brugge Handelskringen. An extension of Bezig Brugge where the city’s shopkeepers’ associations presented themselves, each in its own layout. They managed their own activities, events, members and photos, and every member was linked to its listing on Bezig Brugge.

Ring Shopping Kortrijk Noord. The public site of a shopping centre in Kortrijk: an overview of every shop in the complex, with their jobs, events and promotions. Each shop managed its own information, so visitors could search the whole centre by product, brand and store.

More sites on the same framework. Brugse Boekhandel, a bookshop whose staff ran the whole site themselves through the CMS, with a large catalogue of fantasy, children’s and hobby books to order online. De Hoop Terneuzen, a group of about 50 companies in Belgium and the Netherlands, presenting their products and services. ’t Boerenlandschap, an association of residents and farmers that started out maintaining the hedges in the countryside. DBS Bekisting, showing its formwork products and projects, and Oostendorp Fashion, presenting and managing its own ladies’ and men’s collections.

Technologies: ASP.NET, SQL Server, I-Framework, CMS, Subversion, HTML, CSS, JavaScript.