Experience, Skills and Philosophy

For the better part of the past ten years, I've been working to simplify and enhance the work of businesses, individuals and volunteer groups. In addition to my work as a programmer, I have served as a liaison between non-technical volunteers and very technical IT departments and provided face-to-face, teleconference and Web-based training for new and existing systems.

Design

I feel strongly that a site interface should be clean, accessible and engaging. Priority must be given to interpreting information for consumption by non-technical end-users. Examples of my design work are available on the homepage.

Search Engine Optimization

I use development practices that have proven to increase visibility to search engines and increase the usability of a site. Visual design does not need to be sacrificed nor does a site need to be loaded with awkwardly placed keywords. Low-cost, non-deceptive modifications can be used to increase search engine rankings, and provide a better return.

Content Management

It's a given that the owner of a Website should be able to manage their own content without a dedicated Webmaster or a substantial licensing fee.

Having worked with many proprietary/closed-source content management systems, I prefer open-source tools like Drupal and WordPress.

Email Marketing

I've developed a few custom bulk-email applications and have implemented third-party solutions such as Campaign Monitor/MailBuild and low-cost PHPList. Emailer applications almost always need to interact with an existing set of client data, which I've handled through Web service APIs and direct adaption of/interaction with various types of databases.

Open Source

I favor free and open source software. The availability of source code for these projects fosters peer review and contributes to the development of efficient and secure code. It also contributes to a better society.

Specifically

  • PHP
  • SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL)
  • HTML/XHTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • XML, XSLT
  • Witango
  • UML
  • ERD
  • Object Oriented Programming
  • REST
  • Drupal (theming and customization)
  • WordPress (theming and customization)
  • GNU/Linux OS (server and desktop)
  • Apache Administration
  • X-Cart
  • PHPList
  • MailBuild / CampaignMonitor
  • RedDot
  • Mac OS
  • Windows OS
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Apple Logic Audio
  • Microsoft Office
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Digital Security

Going Forward

At the moment, I'm excited to be learning Python (along with Python-based systems like Django) and the jQuery JavaScript library.

Also

I spend my time out of the office making peculiar music, taking pictures and reading books about code and philosophy. I live in Batavia, Illinois with my amazing wife Leah and our dogs Stanley and Zoe.

I'd love to hear from you. Visit the contact form to send me an email.

-- Andy