First off, I’m very proficient at HTML/CSS, both of which I hand-code (very clean and no “divititus”). After the design process, coding the layout is one of my favorite parts of development.

My thoughts on HTML5

HTML5 isn’t ready, but we can use it now. Browsers that don’t support it (like IE6-8) can be made to behave using JavaScript. I love the semantics of the new tags, the simpler doctype and other shortened meta tags. This site is coded in HTML5.

What’s important to me about my code?

Two words: Web Standards. Proper semantics, fast load time, accessibility, and cross-browser capability. It’s important that HTML tags are closed, marked up in lowercase, and properly nested.

My thoughts on CSS are:

Less code is always better. I often use short-hand and I try to avoid inline styling. In a style sheet, if there’s an element that requires similar styling, I would just group the styles together rather than repeat the same code over and over again.

I use CSS and HTML validators, but they are not 100% important to me. When it comes to validators, they help find errors you would’ve missed, but, if you know the rules, it’s OK to break them sometimes. Also, some CSS3 pre-fixes just don’t validate.

I’m a former CSS hacker. I’ve learned that you can simply use conditional statements for Internet Explorer instead of using a hack. But I hate managing multiple style sheets. But now, thanks to Paul Irish, I can use one style sheet and still target IE conditionally at the same time.

Currently, I support IE7 and up (IE6 IF requested). But since IE6 is slowly dying (officially and thankfully by Microsoft themselves), I give minimal support to this browser.

I export all my graphics individually, optimizing them according to their best file format and size. In cases where a series of icons or image navigation is needed, I can put them in a sprite and show the different images via CSS background-position. The majority of my styles are put into one single file. This reduces HTTP requests, making the website faster.

Note: I am not a programmer. I cannot build apps.

What can I do with PHP and JavaScript/jQuery?

Before building websites in WordPress, I created my own PHP templates using the include() function so I’m familiar with PHP. I use JavaScript and the library jQuery for things like smooth scrolling, toggle boxes and other cool effects. I’m comfortable with scripts, but I cannot create them.

I get my scripts and snippets from a number of websites like: WordPress and Dynamic Drive. I reference my own cheat sheets I’ve developed, and I pick from a library of jQuery scripts I’ve saved over the years from different projects. My library is always updating as I find better scripts that do the same thing with less code.

I consider myself a WordPress developer. I can design and build a theme from scratch rather than modifying a pre-existing one. My WordPress knowledge includes:

Manual installation and set-up
The loop and custom loops
Custom field creation
Conditional statements
Custom template creation
Plug-in integration
Plug-in customization with CSS
SEO integration without a plugin

I try to keep plug-ins to a minimum making WordPress faster. Where there’s a plugin, there’s a simple alternative that can be placed in the functions.php file.

I used to hand-code contact forms with PHP (this was a lot of work and very time consuming), but I now use software to generate them like Machform, or Wufoo Forms. Once the form is set up, I’m able to customize it to fit my needs. This method is a lot faster and security is built in, whether it be Captcha and/or 128-SSL encryption.

I have some experience with mobile and responsive design. This site utilizes media querys to alter the layout depending on the width of the browser window (1280px to 1024px). Re-size the browser window to see them in action.