A Cheeky Half

The Brief

The site started existence when our very own web designer Jeremy Jones decided that he wanted to find some new places to drink. Tired of visiting the same watering holes, he had an idea for a website which would act as a database of London’s pubs and bars, which visitors to the site could review and rate.

The Solution

When Jeremy Jones decided to build this site, he had two intentions for it. Not only would it act as a live test bed for his new skills in web design, but it would also be a great place for him and his friends to find new places to drink. The advantage being that as it is a live site, any problems can be identified and flaws ironed out.

The first version went live late in 2005. It was designed to look like a table in a bar, with the navigation linked to beer mats and scraps of paper. The second version was much cleaner in its design, and simpler to use. The search function was compacted and an RSS feed added to encourage repeat visits. At this point, Google Maps were also introduced to each pub’s profile. The site was also made far more search engine friendly, and soon this new version of the website was seeing far more hits than its predecessor.

Nearly three years since the first version of www.acheekyhalf.co.uk went live, Jeremy decided that it was time for the site to get another makeover. The third version is far more image-based, and really extends on the functionality of previous versions. The Google Maps function has been built upon and now nearby pubs are revealed on the map with one click of the mouse. Comment boxes no longer appear in pop-out windows, making it far more convenient to use, and JQuery has been introduced to allow the user to find what they are looking for as they are typing. This was added as there was so much misspelling going on.

A weather function has also been added. Linked into Yahoo!’s weather feed, an icon displays on the home page, indicating London’s weather. Certain pubs are then suggested as appropriate, for example if it’s sunny and warm then a list of pubs with outdoor areas will appear!

www.acheekyhalf.co.uk