I have just launched The Rust Belt Ramblers website. Introducing the "Rust Belt Special" for musicians.
I should have posted this earlier, but Camp Del-Ja-Ri is back online!
You may have noticed that Camp Del-Ja-Ri's website is down. It should return shortly with a new domain.
I've been working on the Camp Del-Ja-Ri website for quite a while whenever I got a free moment, and I finally got it launched. This is a soft launch, so expect many updates.
Chicago Web Design Portfolio
In this section you will find work that I have done in the last couple of years and some terminology to explain these products. I am going to clarify these things for you so that you can get a better understanding of what I do and what I way be able to do for you.
Portfolio Categories:
What Technologies Do I Use?
I'm pretty well versed in a variety of technologies, but I basically stick to a select few that I am comfortable with and feel comfortable suggesting to my clients. Many companies will try to push you in one direction or another, but it's not really the technology that it's built with that makes it a great product, but rather how that technology is used and how well it is implemented.
XHTML and CSS
This is my strongest ability in my spectrum. I hand write all front-end code to ensure that it is valid and clean markup. This makes pages load faster, and makes your site accessible and search engine friendly.
Flash
I am a Flash programmer, however there are some problems with using Flash on your site. I try to avoid the use of Flash as much as possible for important functionality and content on your site. With that said, if your site requires Flash I have you covered.
PHP
I use a certain programming language called PHP. Yet again many companies will tell you that this not a good technology to program with, but it has become a pretty standard language for web development. I use it because I know it pretty well and I can usually find third party apps written in this language that will help to minimize the amount of programming that I have to personally do. I try to re-use my code as much as possible because in the end it will cost you less in development time.
PHP is also and open source language, meaning that it is free to use and pretty cheap to host. This is the primary reason why I learned the language. As a college student I was taught ColdFusion, but it was really expensive to host and develop, so I switched over to PHP.
If you like my designs but you need your site done in ASP.Net, fill out my contact form and I will get you set up with the consulting company that I work for (we are entirely a .Net shop). This does not mean that I think one technology is better than the other, I just have more development resources through my company.
Content Management
For the most part, I try to put all of my clients sites into a Content Management System (CMS). The reason I do this is to save me and you time and money in the long run. The beauty of a CMS is that you can edit content from anywhere. I personally have 4 computers, so it can be difficult syncing static files between all of those machines. Also, if you are more technically savvy, you can edit the content yourself through a web-based interface. This will ensure that your content is always up-to-date.
WordPress
WordPress is technically a blogging engine, but it offers pretty great flexibility and a rich community of developers building plugins for just about any piece of functionality you could ever think of. I love using this system because it is extremely user friendly easy to develop with. It also has an active development cycle, so your system will always be decently secure.
CMS Made Simple
I have not used this CMS very much, but I see great potential in it. To show you how much I believe in it, this site (my site) is built on it. It seems to be very flexible and easy to use. The development time is rapid and the templating system is a dream. Don't be surprised it I suggest this for your site.
Drupal
This is one of the most well-known CMS out there. It is very robust and scaleable. I don't use it very often because in many cases I would consider it overkill for what the site needs, but if we do need to go this route we always have the option.