Compac Filtration/ Spray ‘N Play
Client Business
Com-Pac Filtration is based in Jacksonville, Florida. They manufacture and distribute filtration and pumping systems for pools and water play structures. They also manufacture play structures, play features and water slides. For contractors, architects and engineers, this means a single point of contact, and a single warrantee, for the key pieces of a water structure project. Like Extensitech, Com-Pac primarily customizes products and services to a customer’s unique needs, but also like us, they have many existing examples of work that can serve as a starting point, or inspiration, for new projects.
Business Challenge
Com-Pac needed a website to showcase their products. A website had already been partially constructed, but the project had stalled, and the emerging website couldn’t promise the flexibility and simplicity that Com-Pac wanted. Com-Pac needed to be able to add new products, photographs and plans to the website without the help of a web developer. Com-Pac is constantly innovating, and creating unique new products, and they need to show those new products to the public quickly and easily. Com-Pac had a simple FileMaker solution for tracking work orders, and knew that FileMaker had other capabilities, including web compatibility, that might be used to solve their business challenge.
Solution Provided
Extensitech first created a simple FileMaker database, in which Com-Pac could enter and categorize their products. Next, we modified our existing attachments module (see xAttachments on our downloads page) so that pictures and other files attached to product records would actually be uploaded to an ftp site. We then created a few simple XSLT stylesheets that would create web pages for the home page, category page and product page “on the fly”, based on data and files in the FileMaker database. In the end, Com-Pac also decided to have Extensitech host the database and the site, and also their existing FileMaker database.
The results of the project can be seen by clicking on the Compac link at the top of this page. The site consists of three XSLT stylesheets (home, subcategories, products and contacts), all pulling data from a simple content management FileMaker database. To add a “page” to the site, a user simply adds a Product record to the database, selects photos and/or plans to upload, and the results are immediately visible on the site. Com-Pac can now manage and expand their website, and show off new, innovative products, without the help of a web developer.
