Michigan Weed Maps

Energy has a strong relationship with Michigan Weedmaps (MWM) and has done a great deal of work for this non-profit organization. This site began as a simple flash website based on a free QIX template. MWM's owner had created a series of Google Maps to display where the medical marijuana dispensaries, headshops, supplies, etc, were located in the State of Michigan. The site provided a great deal of helpful information for its users, however it was quite difficult to operate.

Energy started its work with MWM by creating a search function for the maps within the QIX templates. Since the embedded Google Maps API does not allow for insertion of a search function, we had to use their "Fusion Tables" API and migrate the data to their proprietary database system. This worked very well, however, the customer continued to want to add features to the site and make further improvements that just could not be handled within the QIX interface.

It is at this point, we decided to create a complex site in Wordpress that would encompass all of the MWM's needs. The first step was to make the map entries editable by users and upgradable by the site administrators. We utilized Wordpress's user system to create additional entries for the map data, and then created an easy to use user and administrator interface so they could all be easily edited without intervention from the developers. This created the opportunity to allow paying advertisers the ability to enhance their listing, while allowing free advertisers a chance to have a presence on the site.

The site also scours the web for information that is relevant to the Michigan medical marijuana industry and displays related articles and snippets. This keeps the site constantly updated with new content and the latest information. Energy also built in a customized forum, e-store, customized photo contest, event calendar and more. The site has a great deal of features and flexibility. The site's owner is able to manipulate all of these features without intervention from Energy (although we do give him the occasional advice).

Our consultation and subsequent changes to the site have increased its traffic more than 10 times its original traffic.