TJ Kelly

North Andover Web Design

I admit it: I want to be the North Andover web designer. I want to be the go-to web marketing specialist for all NA local businesses. I grew up in this town and I hope to raise my children here and retire here. I love this town.

So it’s both selfishly and selflessly that I take aim at becoming the go-to web developer in North Andover: it would obviously benefit my business to gain so many local clients. But it would also benefit my fellow NA residents, helping the local business community thrive.

North Andover Websites

These local companies and organizations were gracious enough to trust me with their web development needs. Each of them had unique requirements and challenges. Most of them use WordPress. And all of them are part of a great town and community.

I’m grateful to my NA neighbors for choosing me to help design, develop, and promote their websites. In that spirit, here are some of the North Andover business websites I’ve worked on, either independently, as a sub-contractor through another vendor, of as an employee of one of my old companies.

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North Andover SEO client: Merrimack College

A private college founded in 1947, Merrimack brings to North Andover 2,500+ students from 20+ states and 19 countries. The college works closely with churches, schools, and businesses in the Merrimack Valley area to provide real-world experience for its students.

North Andover Web Design portfolio: Merrimack College, by TJ Kelly.

I starting doing SEO work for Merrimack in 2014, helping them compete against other colleges nearby. I’ve also done some UX/design consulting, helping to improve the look, feel, and function of their Graduate Programs and Undergraduate Admissions sections.

Merrimack’s website runs on a content management system called LiveWhale, developed by WhiteWhale in California. WhiteWhale caters specifically to educational institutions and their CMS has been a pleasure to use. Merrimack’s technology/web team handles day-to-day upkeep of its large website. I’m proud to call Merrimack College one of my SEO and web development clients.

Merrimack College
315 Turnpike Street
North Andover, MA 01845

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North Andover web development client: UIE

User Interface Engineering is arguably the world’s foremost authority on user experience research. And they do it all from humble little North Andover, MA. They’ve been hired by NASA, people. They are the real deal. But their most valuable contribution to the UX field is their education and training efforts.

North Andover Web Design portfolio: User Interface Engineering, by TJ Kelly.

I am honored to have been hired by UIE. They are a dream client and I display their projects in my portfolio proudly. It’s truly awe-inspiring to walk into their office and be surrounded by industry giants like Jared Spool.

I’ve consulted and done design and development work for UIE on two projects: their UX Advantage conference and their All You Can Learn education suite.

UX Advantage is a conference for executives and managers who need to understand the principles of user experience and its importance in the business world. The website is a standard conference registration website, but there’s a catch: UIE sets the UX industry standard. Therefore their work (read: my work) is scrutinized more than almost anyone else on the web. No pressure.

The All You Can Learn education sub-site is a subscription-based library of video resources for UX designers and researchers learning or mastering the craft. In spring of 2015, UIE brought me in to extend and enhance a small piece of the AYCL library. I learned more in UIE’s brief design/development process than I did in most previous projects combined. Working for UIE is a dream come true.

User Interface Engineering
510 Turnpike Street, #102
North Andover, MA 01845

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North Andover Web Design portfolio: Homegrown Lacrosse, by TJ Kelly.

North Andover SEO client: Homegrown Lacrosse

I consulted with a North Andover SEO client in 2012 and 2013 during my time with McDougall Interactive, a Danvers SEO agency. I was McDIA’s Director of User Experience for about a year. In that year, I handled Homegrown and many other clients’ UX. My main concern for Homegrown and other search engine optimization clients was to ensure the user experience was consistent and positive throughout all the SEO and conversion rate optimization efforts.

Homegrown Lacrosse
400 Osgood Street
North Andover, MA 01845

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North Andover Web Design portfolio: Pollygone Travel, by TJ Kelly.

North Andover WordPress client: Pollygone Travel

In 2012, Polly Pyle of Pollygone Travel became one of my North Andover Web Development clients. I helped Polly set up her website using all the basics: DreamHost, WordPress, and the twentyeleven stock theme. Polly’s travel business has been successful for many years and it was built before travel websites were everywhere. Polly deserves lots of credit for maintaining an offline business for as long as she did!

Pollygone Travel
Johnson Street
North Andover, MA 01845

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North Andover Web Design portfolio: NA Music Association, by TJ Kelly.

WordPress: North Andover Music Association

NAMA is a non-profit, parent-run organization providing support for the music programs, staff and students throughout the town’s public school system. As a life-long resident and eternal band geek, my ties to NAMA go back almost two decades. I started as a student in 1997 and returned as a staff member in 2007. Naturally, that meant I had to build them a website. Duh.

The group’s primary use for their website is to distribute information to students and parents. Much of that information is event-based, so the website includes a plugin which syncs with their Google Calendar. I host the website and modified a premium theme to fit the group’s needs. The only thing I don’t do is publish content!

NA Music Association
430 Osgood Street
North Andover, MA 01845

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North Andover Web Design portfolio: NA Percussion, by TJ Kelly.

Web Development: North Andover Percussion

This website is an offshoot of NAMA above. The percussion section is a small subset of students already participating in a NAMA ensemble. This group also happens to be my primary focus as an instructor. It wasn’t long before I realized this sub-group needed its own website for percussion-specific announcements and recruitment.

Like the NAMA site, the percussion website runs on WordPress. (Duh, again.) But it also includes some custom functionality not found elsewhere. During the fall competitive season, the music staff deliver assignments and material to the students on a regular basis. I use WordPress’ native Media Library to upload and store this material. But I wanted to improve on its delivery of that material.

The website features a Documents section wherein all PDF files are queried from the database and displayed alphabetically. In some cases, upload date is important; in others not. Therefore the Documents page also contains a manually-curated list of items most important or relevant at a given time. This sort of database dump is a feature I wish were easier in WordPress.

NA Percussion
430 Osgood Street
North Andover, MA 01845

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Next generation: Mxt Media

I’ve expanded! Since this blog post was first written, I’ve hired a team of 9 experts to better serve my (our) clients and their projects.

We go by the name Mxt Media, and our first project is to tackle Central MA SEO. Check us out, won’t you?

I’d really appreciate your feedback. Please let me/us know what you think!

Thank you!

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