Our rates are professional (but reasonable, especially in relation to New York, Boston and L.A. firms), and we make a point of writing good specifications. We make sure the client knows what they’re paying for and what is “Phase 2,” we hit deadlines and we come in on budget. We’re hoping our proposal recipients see through the lowball bids and the bidders who promise the world on an unreasonable schedule – not just because we’d love to work with them, but to save them money and grey hair in the long run.

We’re a small custom development house, with new custom Content Management Systems about half our current work, and half ongoing feature development for existing clients. We’re conveniently located right downtown in Amherst, overlooking the Common.

XHTML/CSS and recent web development experience is necessary. A design background, Ajax, Javascript and/or advanced CSS-fu are definite pluses. We’re looking for someone excited about the modern web, and the exact details of your résumé are less important than if you are “smart and get things done.”

Primary responsibilities will include:

• Dynamic front-end web development using XHTML and CSS.
• Updates, new features and maintenance for existing web applications, and new development to client specifications.
• Thoroughly testing code written by yourself, as well as others.

Necessary skills and attributes:

• Ability to write consistent, standards-compliant XHTML and CSS.
• Ability (and eagerness) to learn new skills on the job.
• Attention to detail and production schedules.

Compensation commensurate with experience, plus benefits. Please submit a resume and cover letter to jobs@commonmediainc.com. This is an on-site position only, no telecommuters, please.

ETA: We have all the applications we need at the moment, thank you. We’ll update this page if that changes.

YouthBuild Home Page

In conjunction with the fabulous design team at PopKitchen, we’re delighted to announce the debut of YouthBuild Providence’s brand new website!

It’s always fun to be on board from kick-off to launch, and this was no exception.

By way of example, let’s consider what happens when you search for “web development” near Amherst, MA. Google Maps shows results ordered by proximity to the center of town, and guess which web development company has an office closest to the center of Amherst?

When the Amherst College development offices move on-campus, there will be some closer-to-the-center addresses available, just in case you thought geography was irrelevant in today’s virtual world.

We’ve mentioned our work on FlyFi before; the designers, Corey McPherson Nash, recently sent out a press release highlighting their role in the project.

Another project we worked on over the winter recently went live when Running USA launched their new site. Running USA, a trade organization promoting the sport and industry of running, started down the site overhaul road nearly a year ago. We consulted with them over the summer, assisting them in identifying the major issues to be addressed by a new site, drafting the eventual RFP, and advocating implementation of particular technologies. As the project moved forward, we worked with the project managers (a company apparently so busy they don’t have a completed website yet) to turn their wireframes and comps into valid templates.

In both cases, our deliverables don’t look like much in a desktop folder: a few .html files and even fewer .css files. But being able to count on the templates to deliver (and across browsers – thanks, Litmus) isn’t measured in file counts.

I gave a presentation last week for the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Law Department Management Committee (there’s a mouthful!) entitled:

Web 2.0 for Contracts: Where to Go, What’s Free, What Costs Money

Anderman provides a list of sites he recommended in his presentation, including BaselineNDA, the application we built for Baseline Solutions Corporation. Here’s what Anderman had to say about BaselineNDA–with our emphasis added.

BaselineNDA (Pretty amazing application, with some limitations, it can read and mark up a confidentiality agreement for you)

Thanks, Jason! We think it’s pretty amazing, too, and we’re not even lawyers.

So what do we call this? “The CMI” is inelegant. “Poor man’s mocha” isn’t bad, but a little bland, and it really saves time more than money (though it does save money). Maybe “The Subprime Mocha”?

We’re now in the center of Amherst, at 34 Main Street #7. We’re still in folding chairs and spare tables for furniture, and we’re working on stuff to hang on the walls (and probably over that window in the door). But the DSL is coming, and now we have a place to work where there’s a reduced risk of cat-on-keyboard. You can see more photos of the office on Flickr.

If we were lawyers, we’d be painting our firm name on that window, but for now we’ll settle for a plate down by the street door. We expect CMI will celebrate its second birthday in this office. I’m guessing there’s room for five of us in there, so we’ll be there until we get bigger than that, or smaller than we are now.