More than a developer

I am a freelance full-stack web developer, with particular experience in Django & AngularJS. I build beautiful websites, user-centric web apps and solutions to problems big and small.

Developer

Building things is what excites me, not code per se. I know how to leverage a varied set of languages, tools and frameworks to get a job done quickly, to high standards.

Designer

Although I would describe myself as a developer I am also very comfortable designing sites. Understanding every detail of how a site works helps me design better and vice versa.

Engineer

My background is in Computer and Information Engineering. Understanding complex datasets and structuring data and finding smart solutions to complex problems is what drives me.

Founder

I've experience working with startups as well as founding my own businesses, including Journo Portfolio. I can think like a business person to help you solve business problems.

Rules over Chaos

Four key principles guide most of my decisions when working on a project and can be summed up as: test things and iterate, make things fast, make them easy to use and focus on content.

Data over Instinct

You can guess how users will interact with your site, but only data will validate it. I like to take an iterative approach to learn from real world usage and continuously optimise. Lots of small optimisations lead to a big gain.

Speed over Function

There is no excuse for loading screens or slow sites in modern web development. Performance should be considered from the very beginning of any project and massively influences how users percieve your site.

Usability over Design

Good design isn't just the latest trend. How intuitive a site is to navigate and how the user expects the UI to behave is at the core of what good design is. Sadly this isn't always what looks the prettiest but data can validate it.

Semantics over SEO

Adding some meta-tags might seem like good ‘SEO’ but well structured and semantic content is a much harder, far more important key to ranking well. Expressing semantic meaning in code is vital.

Case Study

Journo Portfolio

Over the last few years I've grown this small side-project into a business with thousands of paying subscribers.

View Case Study

Case Study

Devoted Films

One of my favourite client projects, the Deveoted Films site demonstrates how good use of technology can add great value to a business.

View Case Study

I will never get bored of someone the other side of the world getting in touch to explain how an app or website I built helped them get a job, or inspired them in some way.

Technology agnostic

I understand the fundamentals of the web, working in a different language or framework isn't a problem. I recommend solutions that are best for your project and business, not just what I happen to have used before.

Python/Django
PHP/Symfony
Apache
PostgreSQL

REST APIs
Amazon AWS
Nginx
Google Cloud

Backbone JS
AngularJS
MongoDB
Javascript/JQuery

JS/Node
React
Python/Flask
MySQL

Hosting and services

I offer a bundle of technologies and services normally only used at enterprise level in what is one of the best hosting packages available. Anywhere.

Digital Ocean

Incredibly flexible hosting which can scale up or down in minutes.

Site Monitoring

Alerts to an issue within one minute of your site being affected.

Content Delivery

Accelerated, optimised delivery of assets around the world, maximising the speed of your site.

Secure, Backed-up Storage

Amazon S3 Storage to efficiently store, manage and backup content.

Design Resources

Access to a wide range of hosted design assets, from fonts to icons.

Error Monitoring

Errors that only large companies would normally monitor, tracked and fixed.

Josh Lewis