This project for CashCo was more than just another business website. The CashCo owner wanted something more personal that would carry on the “friends and family” feel of their 11 Oregon stores, while still having modern appearances and features.

We achieved this by starting with WordPress and expanding it with a few plugins and theme features to bring it all together. In addition to the standard pages any business requires, we also needed to showcase their locations, provide an online loan application and allow various forms of contact for customers, depending on their needs.

This was more than just a new build — it would be replacing their existing site which had a lot of useful information for existing and potential customers, so we had to make sure everything migrated properly as well.

Even the simplest things were modernized, such as the menu system with dropdowns that activated when the mouse hovers over the parent menu item. This allows visitors to navigate directly to a specific page without the confusion of finding their way through a navigation maze.

Cashco also wanted to showcase the Customer Comments (testimonials) that they constantly receive from satisfied customers. These comments are provided by customers on a form provided in Cashco’s physical locations, after which they are scanned and added to the website. We created a gallery of these comments, displayed in a two-column grid. When one of the grid thumbnails is clicked, it is opened in a non-disruptive viewing window (known as a “modal” window) within the site, which provided controls for scrolling forward or backward. There is also a slideshow feature within the viewing window.

In order to allow visitors an easy way to find their nearest Cashco location, a Google “mashup” was created that shows all of the individual locations. Clicking on a map icon presents a standard Google popup window with full details of that location.

Each location also has its own page, which provides detailed information, including address, phone number and other contact information. Eventually, Cashco will be adding store front pictures to make their stores instantly identifiable for their customers.

The biggest feature Cashco wanted to implement was an online loan application form. Prior to the new website, they offered downloadable Adobe PDF application forms. However, an online application process would be much more convenient for customers, so it was added to the scope of work for this project.

The online application includes a progress bar and indicates what step the applicant is currently on. Each step is presented to the customer on its own page, rather than one very long form. The pagination feature makes the application less daunting.

Cashco also wanted a way to reach out to customers and allow them to ask questions relevant to certain pages that they visit. For instance, on the Customer Comments page, they wanted to have a custom form that allowed customers to submit their own comments.

On the Frequently Asked Questions page, they wanted a form where visitors could ask any questions not already provided. This allows Cashco to know exactly what their customers have an interest in or what they need answers to, so they can address them and help future visitors as well.

In addition to the main points presented above, the site also includes links to helpful financial information, a career section with current job openings, a contact form and much more.

It was a great pleasure working with everyone at Cashco. They indeed are one big, happy family, just like they advertise.