Web Devevelopment & Web Design

My Web development background

My web development experience began early in 2001 not with websites, but rather building Web App’s to control a PC based alternative to expensive hi-fi based multi-room audio systems. Replacing fixed “wall pads” with PDA’s, our original Symbian interfaces were upgraded to browser based App’s to offer more device flexibility.
A year later I would move into mainstream web, when working on a collaborative project I took over the ailing website site of a collaborative project. Getting it back on track and schedule. After that success I would manage further projects including the re-design of Clive Christians Global Site in 2003, changing it from Flash to hard code HTML.

An early adopter of content management systems such as PHP/WordPress that began to use more CSS customisation, began to move more to the management and design side.

My time as a Web Designer

As mentioned above, the introduction of WordPress in 2003 and use of customised CCS scripting saw me move into a role overseeing projects and guiding the design process. This I undertook using my early experience of authoring paper marketing and creating submissions for client brochures and magazines. I see both as quite familiar.

Our work was always bespoke, very innovative with designs that fitted our clients needs and that of their audience. Although delivering many successful sites, web design was more of a tool for and sideline to other potentially larger development projects until 2011. When an interest in JSON and my need for a few confidential websites, saw me designing my own sites.

Since then I have undertaken a number of rewarding projects both in a supervisory and hands on web design role. That feature successful marketing of the product/services, simple navigation and fast loading times for mobile devices.

Web Apps, Apps and the evolution of EMM

My involvement with Apps began when I was tasked with designing a 4 Zone Multi-Room Solution without a £8500+ price tag in 2002. Although able to replace both the CD carousel & dedicated multi-room amplifier typically used at the time with a PC Media Server. Without the AMP, it was going to be hard to interface to the “Wall Pad” Control available at the time. The answer was to control the MP3 players directly, adding a “little flash” we would utilise WiFi enabled PDA’s. Adding more flexibility later by adapting the interface to run within a browser. 

I was to continue developing browser based Application Control within Smart Home and Commercial automation solutions until 2007, only to pick up where I left off in 2011 with EMM. Working with a group of developers to promote a little known but effective Business Solutions Platform, the Enterprise Mobility Module delivers better than Enterprise level computing to mobile and traditional IT via browser technology. Now fully incorporated into that platform I continue to promote this platform in the SME Sector.

Notable Projects - Clive Christian Global site 2003

Although no longer an active site or seemingly available on the “way back machine”. GeoTech was to be a great success but a failure for us. Incorporating WordPress, an advanced PDF library and a custom online document management system archiving client surveys, drawings and reports.

Developed at a discount and as a demonstrator to show our abilities, the second hit on the website resulted in our client gaining a large contracts for the 2012 London Olympics and subsequent Manchester M1 development.

Having achieved it’s goal, the Client cut funding to the site, seeing many of it’s unique features un-recognised.

Notable projects - GEOTech Plus 2007

Although no longer an active site or seemingly available on the “way back machine”. GeoTech was to be a great success but a failure for us. Incorporating WordPress, an advanced PDF library and a custom online document management system archiving client surveys, drawings and reports.

Developed at a discount and as a demonstrator to show our abilities, the second hit on the website resulted in our client gaining a large contracts for the 2012 London Olympics and subsequent Manchester M1 development.

Having achieved it’s goal, the Client cut funding to the site, seeing many of it’s unique features un-recognised.

Notable projects - Nantwich Windows 2017

Learning WordPress, this was to be my first attempt at creating an entire website start to finish rather than just managing implementation, the design process and deployment.

The job was a rebuild of one of my original sites from 2009. Other than maintenance and a little SOE that has kept the site at the top of local searches for Double Glazing and Glass, a particularly competitive market. A testament to the rigidity of the original coding.

I was eager to give the site a fresh look, make it work without scrolling and redesign it principally for tablet computing. The most successful addition to the site however was a contact form, that produced 2 inquiries in the first 23 hours.

Close Menu