Carl Miner, Branding Parlor says You’re the most awesome dude in the world. I hope you know how fortunate we feel to work with somebody so great at what they do.
Roughly speaking, you can break my expertise down
into three major services:
1. Web Development
Okay, that’s a pretty nebulous term. Here’s what it actually involves. You have a design for a site or an application — it could be a mockup, it could be a set of existing pages, or it could be just an idea you have. I take it, and code it into accessible, cross-platform, and search engine friendly HTML. Then, if you need to edit stuff later, I put it into a Content Management System.
In short:
- Valid HTML5, CSS, & JavaScript
- Ruby on Rails
- Blogs & Content Management Systems
- Custom WordPress themes & development
For example:
I did the front-end development for doGoodr.org (the flagship product of the Environmental Media Fund, Inc, who I also serve in a technical advisory role). I coded all the pages from the design mockups into functioning XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and worked with a team of two other developers on the back-end Ruby on Rails application.
If that sounds like the kind of thing you might need, why not get in touch for a free email consultation?
2. System Administration
Even once you’ve got a great web site or app, your work is only half done. You need to get it running on your server… which needs to be reliable and set up correctly to begin with, so you won’t have headaches down the line. I build web environments using virtual dedicated servers, so you get not only stability at a great price… but also the ability to scale up if you need to (like if your site gets way more popular than you expected and it’s hammered by a lot of traffic). The configurations I use match the top shared hosting companies — but with way better service.
I focus primarily on Debian or Ubuntu Linux, running Ruby on Rails or PHP applications — but I’m proficient with any flavor of Linux, so it’s no problem if you want to run something different. I’ll also keep things ticking over with ongoing maintenance, monitoring, and backups.
In short:
- Web application deployment (to get your site running smoothly)
- Multi-server environments (for safety and redundancy)
- Development and staging servers (for easy ongoing development)
- Regular maintenance and updates (to prevent problems)
- Nightly off-site backups (for easy disaster recovery and your peace of mind)
If you’re doing ongoing development or testing, I can build you separate staging environments which match your production setup. These of course include all the tools you need to support your work: version control systems with web-based browsing of your code history… project management and collaboration software… issue tracking… workflow and process management tools — it’s all covered. Plus, I can help you get (or stay) up to date with best practices for developing and deploying your web sites and applications.
For example:
For Lolligift I installed and configured a multiple-server environment using Apache and mongrel_cluster to run their Ruby on Rails application. Then I configured a development server to match, and set up a multi-stage deployment process for them using Capistrano. I also configured MySQL replication for the production site and a Subversion repository for their staging environment.
Do you need complicated stuff like that? Get in touch for a free email consultation.
3. Consulting
You have to make a lot of decisions when you’re building a new web site or service. There’s software and languages to evaluate, best practices to familiarize yourself with, and probably a bunch of new technologies to learn. There are also the usual project management headaches, plus arcane issues like search engine optimization and email deliverability.
Whether you just want help on a particular project, or you’d like a longer-term advisor, it can be real handy having an expert who can guide you through your options. If you don’t want to spend hours on Google, I can get you the information you need quickly, and help you to choose the technologies best suited to your project or business.
In short:
- Web standards, usability & accessibility, and best practices
- Development frameworks
- Content management systems
- Search engine optimization
- Email deliverability
- Project management
For example:
Anna at In Circle Pets needed to evaluate a lot of technologies pre-launch. I helped to guide her through her options, and also to interview developers. Once the site was built, she wanted to improve its usability, search engine optimization, and marketing — so I gave her a hand with that as well. And to keep things running smoothly, I still advise her regularly on the technologies that In Circle Pets is using — from the server to the application code and user interface.
Could you use some guidance with your technology? Get in touch for a free email consultation.
