Expertise

UX Design

I’ve been a web designer since 2000 and I apply best practices in User Experience design including:

Design Style

My design style is minimalist and I enjoy designing clean, un-cluttered interfaces, stripping out unnecessary elements, making it easier for the user to find the content they require.

I like to use a limited palette of contrasting colours, white space, impactful typography and high quality photography and illustrations.

User Research

Understanding the user and their needs will help prioritise content on a page. Analytical data will show the most popular pages. This will inform the information architecture of the website.

Information Architecture

Google Analytical data will determine the most popular content which should be prioritised in the content hierarchy. A sitemap will visualise the content hierarchy of the website.

Content Formatting

Content should be easy to scan and formatted using:

• Clear, concise text, written in the correct tone for your audience
• Short sentences and paragraphs
• Use of descriptive sub-headers to break up content
• Use of bullet points when applicable

Wireframes

Sketches, low-res wireframes and user journeys are created to show basic layouts of the positioning of elements on the page.

User Testing

A group of users should test the website during design and development at the following stages:

• wireframes/user journey creation
• hi-res interface design
• HTML prototypes
• additional functionality
• pre-launch

UI Design

I have a good understanding of UI design principles and apply them to create interfaces that are easy to navigate, are consistent and reduce cognitive load.

Setting up strict design rules for all elements and applying them consistently will create ordered, tidy interfaces.

Colour

If the website colours are not defined in the brand guidelines, they can be sampled from the logo or existing artwork.

I like to use a limited colour palette and use contrasting colours to highlight buttons and other interactive elements.

Typography

I like to use a limited and consistent font selection for a website, using different sizes and weights to create a hierarchy. Using limited font families can help improve page load speed.

Photography

If photographs are used on the website they should be professional. If none are available, they can be sourced from free online image galleries. 

Software

I’ve over 20 years experience using the Adobe suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and InDesign). More recently I’ve used Sketch and Figma.

Front-end Development

I started learning front-end development about 13 years ago and enjoy the process of building responsive webpages and animating my designs.

• I am expert level HTML and CSS and proficient in JavaScript, PHP and WordPress Development
• I have experience in web animation, using advanced CSS, JavaScript and GSAP to animate page elements.
• I use MAMP for local development of dynamic websites and PHP MyAdmin to import and export MySQL databases.
• I have experience in managing servers, hosting websites and email with cPanel
• I am skilled in building complex user interfaces, integrating APIs, and optimising performance, SEO and accessibility.
• I am also experienced in version control using Git, and testing using Chrome Developer Tools.

WordPress Development

I have over 10 years experience as a WordPress developer.

• I have experience in creating custom themes and plugins, building websites from scratch and customizing existing WordPress sites and plugins.
• I use WordPress-specific technologies such as custom post types and Advanced Custom Fields.
• I have a good understanding of WordPress architecture and security, and I am skilled in optimizing WordPress sites for speed and performance.
• I am experienced at troubleshooting, debugging, and testing, using tools such as debugging plugins and server error logs.
• I have experience in managing and maintaining WordPress sites, including performing updates, backups, and security checks.
• I provide training for clients in website content management in the form of step by step guides and videos.