Greetings

Hi, my name is Nick Jennings, and I'm a freelance web developer currently based in Prague, Czech Republic - although originally from San Francisco, CA.

Who Are My Clients?

My clients are web companies, small businesses, or other freelancers in need of someone who can not only develop to spec, fix bugs, or add functionality, but also comes to the table with depth of knowledge and a proactiveness to make improvements and suggestions which help companies overcome technical hurdles.

What I Do

I build modern, interactive and standards-compliant websites, provide technical consulting, planning and insight. I specialize in web application development, scalability, systems administration (LAMP), and project management. I write clean, cross-browser compatible, SEO friendly and standards compliant XHTML and CSS.

Quality Work Guaranteed

Each website is thoroughly tested to ensure the smoothest possible launch. A website will always display correctly and consistently in all major browsers (which are Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3, Safari, Chrome and Opera). Additional browsers can be supported on request.

A tool to meet any need

Design

I collaborate with designers and graphics artists to help ensure that any aspect of a project has the complete attention of a skilled professional. Come to me with ideas and a loose vision of what you'd like to acheive, and I can come back to you with design mockups, elaborate on your ideas, and help to bring your vision to reality.

Consultation

Sometimes you don't know where to begin, and in order to get your project off the ground you need someone that has the right experience to advise you. I can offer myself in a purely consultative role, helping to shape early ideas, avoid pitfalls and common gotchas, and provide advice on existing and newly emerging technologies. Help in these areas can get your project pointed in the right direction so you can hit the ground running.

Web Development

I am experienced in building websites with the following technologies: PHP, Perl and Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, XML and Content Management Systems (CMS). Daily use of methodologies such as Object Oriented Programming (OOP) and MVC concepts and frameworks (CodeIgniter, symfony, web2py, etc.). Other common projects include ecommerce functionality, social networking integration, portfolio and interactive sites.

Project Management

When the scope of a project exceeds that of a single developer, you need someone who can keep the larger vision on-track. Many problems can arise during the course of a development project, including differences in coding style, which technologies to use, documentation and consistency throughout the project lifespan. I can provide a single point of contact for you, and ensure a quality product that is complete and cohesive. This includes making important technical decisions, such as software architecure, server and network topology, software stack, development language and framework, as well as maintenance topics such as failover, backups, disaster recovery and much more.

Systems Administration

Need a hired gun to help tackle some server issues? Or perhaps an on-call tech to respond in the event of system failure. I have been managing both Linux and FreeBSD servers for over 10 years. From hardware requirements, setup, and deployment, to ongoing maintence or emergency response - I'm able to provide whatever services you need.

A Brief Client Summary

Although a large amount of my professional experience has been working in-house for companies as a regular employee, here are some examples and links to companies that I've done contract work for, projects both large and small. Upon request I can also provide you with my resume which lists professional work experience as an employee.

Mirus + Partners

Mirus + Partners is an internet startup focusing on semantic web technologies.

I implemented all aspects of the website based on the client design. Heavy use of AJAX to prevent page reloads and provide a fluid user experience.

Roles: Development

Technologies: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (jQuery, AJAX), PHP (CodeIgniter)

The Tower of Dudes - Music Site

The Tower of Dudes are an international cow-punk band currently residing in Prague.

I designed and implemented a website for this band that wanted the consistency of a flash site, without the drawbacks (expensive and time-consuming to update/change). The result is a site which uses AJAX calls to fill the content area of the site, based on menu navigation clicks, while never requiring a page reload - allowing for music to play continuously. Keeping a consistent, and non-invasive user interface without the need for pop-ups or frames.

Roles: Design, Development, Project Management, Administration

Technologies: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (jQuery, AJAX), PHP (CodeIgntier)

Creative Motion Design

Creative Motion Design is a web template design company that offers portfolio sites to photographers.

Planned and implemented technical improvements to transition the fast-growing company to a more stable infrastructure from which they could continue to grow. Tasks included a new server architecture that allowed for future scalability as load increased. Standardized software infrastructure, so that future development could continue at a faster pace. In addition to my own development work, I also provided project management for a team of developers, as we implemented new applications, and bugfixed existing code. Provided front-end website build, QA, and consultation.

Roles: Systems Architecture, Development, Project Management, Administration

Technologies: LAMP Administration, PHP (CodeIgniter), JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Wordpress, Perl, BASH

Mortal Coil Media

Mortal Coil Media is a production company with a focus on factual documentaries and photojournalism specializing in telling stories from the margins.

We helped to get the companies first website "on its feet", so to speak. We built the site to a design specification, and provided feedback and guidance on usability and aspects of functionality.

Roles: Development, Consultation, Administration

Technologies: Joomla!, PHP, HTML, CSS

ProvokatoR - IMG

ProvokatoR is a community produced magazine reflecting the global village proportions of urban areas with a focus on Prague, Berlin and eventually Budapest. The focus is on Music, Art, Culture, Social and Political commentary, Literature, Film, Photography and all forms of new media.

The website was already established, however there was no-one around to provide ongoing support. We provided assistance with back-end website maintenance and growth, including the addition of new feature development, general consulting about various web or technology related issues, and on-call website administration.

Roles: Development, Consultation, Administration

Technologies: Joomla!, PHP, HTML,CSS

Adopt A Special Kid (AASK)

AASK - is a non-profit organization in the San Francisco Bay Area whose mission is providing adoption placement assistance for special needs kids.

The company was having difficulties adapting to their internal growth as they hired more and more people. Their employees were not networked together, and they had no central means of sharing information. To help address their growing pains, we designed and implemented the companies intranet, including network, interanet website (complete with user management, fine-grained permissions, news updates) and a file server for shared access to company documents.

Roles: Project Management, Development, Administration

Technologies: LAMP (Perl), Samba, HTML, CSS

get in touch with me

Here are a few of the ways you can reach me. Although email is generally the most reliable, I can usually be reached on instant messenger or skype as well.

Feel free to contact me for any reason. I'm more than happy to discuss your project ideas and come up with a personalized quote, based on our talks, that is unique to your needs. I look forward to hearing from you!

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