My Skill Set

I am truly well-rounded in many aspects of web development. There have been times I wished I had done nothing but program so I was the best code-monkey around. But, my reality is so many things in web development interest me and I am always ready to jump in, learn, do and succeed.

• WEB TECHNOLOGIES:
  • PHP: Began programming with php in 2004 working with php and MySQL to develop database-driven sites. I have built numerous web applications using php. I currently use Codeigniter as my php framework of choice for new projects.
  • MySQL: Began using MySQL in 2004 in conjunction with php. I have built several normalized database designs to drive web sites. I am fluent in most MySQL queries.
  • CSS: Moved from table-based design to using cascading style sheets on my web projects in 2002. Studied the the 2.1 Specification diligently and became one of the fanatical web standards purists back in the day. I continue to stay abreast with the changes in CSS and build cross-browser compliant sites. I'm just a little more easy on those that don't then I used to be.
  • HTML: Standards based mark-up. Began learning to hand-write markup in 2001. Never been a WYSIWYG guy although I do fire-up Dreamweaver to crank out a quick data table using design-mode. IDE of choice right now is NetBeans.
  • jQuery: The javascript language has never been a strong point. I have used smatterings of jQuery over the last few years. I have used it more in the mid to latter part of 2011 than ever. It is coming easier these days.
• DESIGN:
  • Fireworks: I am fluent with Fireworks CS5 and have been using Fireworks since Macromedia's Fireworks 4 in 2001. I own Photoshop but am not fluent with it.
• OPEN SOURCE:
  • Codeigniter: Developed several sites using this MVC framework.
  • CakePHP: The first MVC framework I was introduced to. I found Codeigniter's learning curve easier and have stuck with it. Now that a few years have passed I'd like to return to Cake or try Zend.
  • Magento: Cut my teeth on Magento by diving in and developing three custom theme sites with additional functionality scripted in to handle vehicle-specific products.
  • Pinnacle Cart: Used this cart on one site. Created custom theme and search for vehicle specific car spoiler applications.
  • WordPress: I have used Wordpress since version 1.2 (Mingus) was released in May 2004. Very comfortable developing custom themes. I am a big fan of the Genesis framework and have been learning more core Wordpress functionality with it.
  • Joomla: I worked for six months at Cowboy Publishing in Fort Worth and each of their sites use Joomla. I tapped in to sections of it with custom scripts for various projects.
• MARKETING:
  • Google Analytics: I have used Google Analytics since it was first released. Love the insight it provides. I have a good handle on key performance indicators for my projects. Still, the package offers so much I have a lot to learn.
  • Google Webmaster Tools: I'm a proponent of Google Webmaster Tools and the additional advantages it offers to provide site performance information. I've discovered many 'uh-oh' site issues that would normally not be on the radar if I had not had it installed.
  • Google Adwords: Perry Marshall's Ultimate Guide To Google Adwords was empowering! I handled the PPC for one of our e-commerce sites and this book helped me cut in half our Adwords spend with dramatically improved results. I love PPC but don't get to do it often enough.
  • Search Engine Optimization: Onsite SEO content and best-practices in markup. Link building. Article writing. Content generation.
  • Email Marketing: I designed HTML email templates and also managed many campaigns through Constant Contact and Mail Chimp.
• OTHER:
  • Channel Advisor:
  • Amazon Seller Central
  • eBay:
  • Server Administration: