My site is mostly concerned with the aformentioned “Web Design, Development and Programming” plus a bunch of my random thoughts, rants and comments. I’ve been keeping track of these projects and articles on–line for years so if you are thinking of hiring me for some freelance work then please only look at the recent stuff and assume that the old stuff is of an equally high standard :–)
Enjoy the site and please don’t be afraid of the comment buttons (well unless you find something you dislike!).
Take a look at my Web Development Portfolio
Why Use a Freelancer?
There must be as many reasons for and against using a freelancer as there are freelancers. I think the most compelling reasons are to do with the kind of person you get as a freelancer. Somebody dedicated and full of energy, always pushing the boundaries of what can be done – and always bringing new experience to bare on your projects.
This is what being a freelancer is all about and probably why most freelancers got into it in the first place – if that’s not what you are getting from your freelancer they probably just need a gentle nudge to wake them up and get them excited about your next project.
And then reason two: cost. A freelancer can usually do a job much more efficiently, without the overheads of a full agency – and that is better for you, the client, and them!
Why Choose Me?
I think the most important thing for your project is to find the person with the right skills and the right attitude. I have a broad range of web, development and IT skills and I really enjoy learning and mastering new technologies as they emerge. With this I try to bring a real enthusiasm to every project I take on, to get the most out of it for both myself but, of course, primarily the client.
I try and work closely with you when you need me to, or closely with your designers, IT, consultants or whoever else might be involved in the project. It is my firm belief that good communication and team working is what creates really special results for your project. Doing things in isolation is rarely the best plan. Please, browse the site – or just drop me a message and lets see if we can get your next project started.
Web Design
I’ve been involved with design in one form or another throughout my entire career. Initially this was designing the interfaces for desktop applications and later web applications and web sites. I believe in creating dynamic and engaging websites designed for real people to use – a pretty site might win a few friends in the boardroom, but in your customers homes it is all about ease of use, simplicity and performance. That isn’t to say that I don’t work hard to make a site look as good as it can, a site definately needs to look attractive and professional – but the look of the site should never dictate the function.
Form follows function – that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.Frank Lloyd Wright, American Architect
Web Development
Web development is the technical wizardry that produces a fully working, functioning version of a design. It is a really broad term that is often used to encompasses the design, programming and deployment of a site.
These days I primarily consider myself a web developer. Unfortunately for the industry people use this term extremely losely to mean anything from an out-and-out designer producing images of websites, through HTML and CSS gurus who steer clear of any real code, to hardened code-warriors with no interest in design at all.
I like to think that I span all of these disciplines to some extent, but I consider my real strength to be brining it all together and using my experience to forge the best path to the end product. Programming is a tool, as is design – some projects lean more towards one than the other but in the end neither alone can produce a quality website.
Programming
From my teenage years playing around with BASIC on my Amstrad CPC programming has always been a passion of mine. Thankfully I didn’t develop too many bad habits before learning properly at University. It amazes me how prevelant computers and programming has become in our society and yet it is so completely misunderstood by the average man on the street. I think there are three fundamentally important things to becoming a good programmer.
- An understanding of boolean logic
- Good communication skills
- Lots of really hard work
And an honourable mention to black coffee – but I think that might only be fundamentally important to my programming.
I think what distringuishes the keen ametuer from the professional programmer is their ability to abstract core programming fundamentals away from the specific of the platform or language they are using. Once you can do that then switching language or platform becomes trivial and your CV starts to look a bit silly and contrived with lists of dozens of languages, so I won’t bore you with it here.