Frequently Asked Questions

What are your rates?

I charge an hourly rate for design and development however for larger projects that are scoped and documented I can negotiate a flate rate. Contact me for more information or to arrange a consultation.

Will you design me some mockups so I can consider hiring you?

Providing speculative work isn't something I do for two reasons. First, it undermines the planning process and ignores the unique needs of the client. This results in sub-standard work that almost guarantees an unsuccessful user experience. Secondly, it requires hours of work with no guarantee of compensation. I'm happy to discuss your needs and take the first steps in building the solution you require and offer samples of my work to allow you to determine whether I'm the right fit for your project.

Can you show me how to create and manage my own blog?

Absolutely. I can build it for you and let you run with it from there or can train you on how to use a free blogging service.

Can you design an Intranet portal for my company?

Yes. I have experience with Intranet design at the corporate level.

Do you do Flash development?

Yes. This includes video/audio, presentations and interactive sites.

What languages do you program web sites in?

My front-end development skills include XHTML, HTML5, CSS(3) and Javascript. My server-side skills include PHP/MySQL, AJAX, XML and XSL.

Do you program in Classic ASP or ASP.NET?

I know enough Classic ASP to get by but I don't do any .NET development. I'm a PHP guy.

How long have you been a web designer?

As of 2010, close to eleven years.

How do I use your templates?

Use of my templates requires at least an intermediate level of knowledge of standards-based front-end development and, with some of the templates, back-end coding as well. I offer the templates for emerging to advanced web designers to experiment with.

How do I get help with using your templates?

I don't currently offer support for the templates due to needing to focus my attention on my day job and freelancing clients.

Can I use one of your templates for my commerical web site?

Yes. I don't ask anything in return...although a link back to my site would be appreciated.

Why does your site look broken on Internet Explorer 6?

I don't support Internet Explorer 6 because my users view my site using predominantly Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer 8. That and Internet Explorer 6 is a horror of a browser, requiring additional horus of development just to make web content work (to make a perfectly built web site work in Internet Explorer 6 you usually need to 'break' it).

Why do you use so much CSS3 when Internet Explorer doesn't support it? Isn't that an inconsistent user experience?

Almost all of my users are on Firefox and Chrome and while Internet Explorer doesn't currently support CSS3, hopefully version 9 will and until then I'm satified with IE7 & 8 users not seeing the rounded corners in my site's user interface. It doesn't make the content any less accessible and the overall user experience remains the same.

I'm a web designer and would like to have my site added to your community. How do I do that?

Just drop me a line and give me your details.

What CMS runs your web site?

I almost built my UI for the Wordpress CMS but in the end decided on using my own solution, mostly to allow me to have as much control over the code as possible. I may still convert to Wordpress or Drupal one of these days. Who knows.