Today the web has gone beyond the browser and now content is syndicated through XML-based technologies, re-purposed for desktop and mobile applications and AJAX and web service-driven functionalities are commonplace.

With the emergence of the social web (or for want of a better phrase, Web 2.0), individuals are able, more than ever to connect with each other to form communities sharing common interests, regardless of location, class or race. The control over the dissemination of information has been put in the hands of the people and now anyone can publish anything (text, photos, video) and reach a global audience within seconds.

As the complexity of web applications increases, writing well-structured code is more important than ever. This is as much an art as it is a science. Since the beginning (for me at least, back in 1999) I have followed the standards-based approach to front end web development through the layered production of XHTML, CSS and JavaScript. This is bound up in the framework of accessibility and scalability to ensure your website or application is accessible and extensible now, and in the future.

Along with these front end technologies I use PHP and MySQL to power the back end to create dynamically-driven websites and applications.

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If you would like you know more about web development then please get in contact.

So after a few week’s of blood, sweat and tears I have finally got the 8th incarnation of my website: www.hungrybrowser.co.uk live. This time around it wasn’t so much a case of going for a new look and feel but more an exercise in content consolidation. Before I redeveloped this site I had a site for photos, one for work and one for blogging. I’ve managed to now get everything in one place, choosing WordPress as my publishing platform (although I had to do a lot of hacking the templates to get them to where I wanted).

As a side point I thought it might be interesting to have a look at some of the old versions of HB, so I’ve dusted down the source code and taken a few screen shots of the site as it has evolved over the past 7 years from 2001 to the present day.

Onlineweddings allows you to share your images of your special day with everyone all over the world and let them obtain prints at the touch of a button.

The site was built using web standards and accessibility was at the forefront of the development process. An overview of the site’s functionality and technologies are shown below.

• Flexible XHTML/CSS layout
• Accessible site design
• Custom-built CMS to control photographers section of site

I was commissioned to design and build the homepage for Photosia.net, a photographic business. I was responsible for graphic design and coding of the XHTML/CSS front-end.

Punkt is a cross-disciplinary design consultancy headed up by Giles Dunn. Punkt wanted to simplify their flash-driven website, moving it to a content-managed site.

I developed a WordPress-driven website, with Punkt providing the art direction. I re-skinned the default WordPress installation and customised the PHP back-end to provide the functionality that Punkt required. The site allows Punkt to update the content of the website, without having to get anyone else involved, keeping the site fresh and slashing site maintenance costs.