Web design, clean & simple

I started messing with html code almost 20 years ago. I’ve worked with “wysiwyg” webpage apps like Dreamweaver, and online tools like WordPress and Blogger. But my favourite way to craft a website — by far — is to code it from scratch, using HTML and CSS.

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Designing the code myself allows a site to be properly customized for mobile devices, which is essential in these modern times of mobile browsing. In my experience, responsive design is never quite satisfactory when done with tools like WordPress. They always leave at least one or two (ranges of) screen sizes unresponsive, and they end up looking wonky - like with the navigation at the bottom of the page or something. I feel much more comfortable when I control this myself.

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Design by code inherently provides a measure of creative control and customization that popular wysiwyg editors simply can’t do: typography and layout; image placement and orientation; structure and navigation.

Off the shelf editors also insert bloat into your website code that makes your page files larger, as well as more difficult to parse through if you ever do want to attempt some under the hood editing.

Designing by code is fun. I keep it minimalistic, clean and direct. Fancy moving parts are usually more distracting, slow or even downright annoying than they are useful, IMHO.

Simple, clean, unique and personal design is what you’ll find from me when I create your website from fresh code.

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Wordpress is pretty amazing. There's a theme, a plugin and a widget for everything. Plus, it's the go-to platform for people who want to update their own page content. It thrills me to build WordPress sites for others, and then let them take the wheel when it's done. But sometimes it's better if I stay involved in your on-going content management. Up to you. We can figure that out together...

Already have a WordPress site? Need help applying a more disciplined design approach to your pages and layout, or some under-the-hood editing? I can help with that too. Whether you need a one-time overhaul, or ongoing content maintenance — I can freshen it up, and keep it that way.