Today we launched an improved and modestly redesigned website for Westcave Preserve, a natural oasis 40 miles west of Austin.

The virtual globe and night sky viewer, Google Earth, now includes StarDate information that you can access as you browse among the stars, constellations, and deep sky objects. If you already have the free software installed, look for the StarDate icon in the Current Sky Events layer while viewing in Sky mode. Or visit Google Earth to download the application.

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment will scan the night sky for evidence of the mysterious cosmological component that makes up most of the Universe. The companion website features video interviews with the key astronomers leading the investigation, informative podcasts and downloadable audio, and interactive timelines and diagrams to help explain the quest to understand this hidden aspect of nature.

Austin Metro For Sale by Owner is a new website for Central Texas’s do-it-yourself home buyers and sellers. The full-featured online classified site, which runs on the perl scripting engine over a MySQL database, launched in March 2008. Search property for sale or property wanted listings, or register before September 30, 2008, and receive two 90-day listings for free.

Two websites I launched recently – for the Texas District & County Attorneys Association and the UT Dental Branch Alumni Association – are built on Drupal, a powerful web-based content and membership management system.

“The new website looks fabulous and we are all enjoying the MUCH simpler admin tools. We all think there have been remarkably few glitches or hitches to work out, and that is completely thanks to Doug’s great work.” — Diane Beckham (Texas District & County Attorneys Association)

Bo Brooks Restaurant, a Baltimore crab house and city favorite since 1964, required a new site with livelier graphics and photography, a focus on its growing catering business and special events, and improved search engine visibility. The redesigned site, which launched in August 2007, also features a diner feedback form, a job applicant form, and an integrated sign-up form for an email newsletter managed by Vertical Response.

Out of the Classroom! is a production of the Informal Science Teachers Association of Texas aimed at giving information about field trips and great resources for Austin-area middle school teachers. Says of project manager Christy Youker: “The site is looking incredible. I have had great feedback. Everyone has been really impressed! A lot of that is due to you.”

Kentucky-based benefits consulting firm gets a new website to help manage relations with existing clients and attract new ones.

Check out the before and after…