What's Your Idea?

Iluminada Design is a Santa Cruz web design studio specializing in custom web design, eCommerce solutions, logo/identity design and opensource web application development.

We believe elegant design and utilitarian function are one in the same. A good website looks as good as it works. Period. All the websites we build focus on a top-to-bottom total integration of form and function. When it comes to your business’ web presence, elegance of both function & style is everything.

Since 1999, we have taken pride in developing high-quality websites, shopping carts, logos, content management systems, print marketing materials and online communities for reasonable rates, while establishing strong, lasting, mutually beneficial, trust-based relationships with our clients and development team. While we specialize in eCommerce, we work with a variety of opensource software like Drupal, WordPress and Opencart for small businesses, as well as building custom web applications in the CakePHP framework for Fortune 500 companies.

We're a local company with a national (and international) reach, serving businesses in Santa Cruz, the Silicon Valley and several states in the US.

Iluminada Design has an extensive web design portfolio ranging from high-end eCommerce websites to basic informational sites... with everything in-between.

Some featured projects include:

»View our full portfolio

After 2.5 years with the original site we built for this great nonprofit group, we decided to go back to the drawing board for the 2nd Generation of the Think Local First website. We began their web presence in 2008 with a fully custom CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to handle the organization's extensive member business directory. Then, in 2010/2011 we rolled out the version 2.0 site with a new look and vastly expanded content backed by a robust WordPress Content Management System.

The new Think Local First website has an expanded CRM, which we custom-built in the CakePHP framework, that allows for online membership payment and renewals, email correspondence with the members, coupons with barcodes and an easy way for members to make announcements to the world... along with easy searching of the member database. The WordPress end of the site features a video blog, multiple-author blog, and much tighter integration with Think Local First's Facebook and Twitter social media presence.

This website is a classic example of how we can remain a part of an organization's "team" over time and continually evolve our skills and tools in order to help a client grow into their success.

»Check out the site

We sincerely believe that we are the very best option in the Santa Cruz area -- and one of the best nationally -- for any small to midsize business in need of a website and/or online shopping solution. Big words, we know... but you don't have to take our word for it:

"I can't thank you enough for the great site. It's awesome looking and like I said earlier this Shopify stuff is so easy a cave man could do it."
--Colin Herrick, Buell Wetsuits

"We needed a web designer who was straight forward, honest and able to listen to our unique needs. We found those qualities and more in John Benedetti and Iluminada Design."
--Devon Dabbs and Lori Butterworth, Children's Hospice

"Iluminada is the best thing that's happened to my business."
--Cathy Erwin, Walkabout Harnesses

"You folks do an awesome job and I always appreciate your human touch..."
-- Eric Gil and Team Sockmith (Sockshop and Shoe Company)

» More Praise

Apps? We got apps.

When given the choice, we like to work with opensource web applications. That means the app was built by a core group who released the source code to the world so that the community at large can help them improve it. It also means that the app is portable-- when you use it, you are not tied for life to any one web design firm... even though you might want to be, once you see how nicely we've designed and built your site. By working with a ready-made opensource app, you save money by leveraging years of development work that has already been done by the opensource community. The app is free, you just pay us to customize it.

But, there are times when a custom application is needed to suit a client's needs. In those cases, we build an app for you. We use the CakePHP framework for this, which is a rapid, scalable, secure and robust framework for application development.

We typically work with the following web applications: WordPress, Drupal, OpenCart, Magento Commerce and Shopify.