Profile

Wilson James

James Wilson

PHP / MySQL Web Developer

Name:James Wilson
Date of birth:August 1982
Address:Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Website:www.biggerstronger.co.uk
I’m a web developer based in Middlesbrough, North East England. I specialise in coding PHP / MySQL based web sites.

Resume

Employment

Colewood Internet

Senior PHP / MySQL Web Developer

My main responsibility at Colewood is to act as a technical lead on a number of technical projects. This includes aiding in the planning of projects and creating specifications for clients and fellow developers. One of my main roles is also to mentor and advise junior developers on the team.

 

Since starting at Colewood I have implemented a number of development processes. Upon my arrival I was quick to establish the need for code repositories, and now all applications are stored within Git repositories. This included the setup of a continuos integration server (TeamCity) which ensures that all of our code is documented, a similar style and standard and that no syntax errors or code which may fail unit tests is deployed onto the server. This reduces the risk of erroneous code or errors being deployed into a production environment.

 

Recently my focus has been developing internal tools for various parts of the company to increase productivity and reduce the amount of time being used to do menial tasks hence speed up processes within the company.

Feb 2013 - Jun 2013

Freelance

Web Developer

After my departure from Visualsoft I chose to take 2 months off over the Christmas period to relax and see family and friends.

 

Although I missed some of the responsibility of working on large system(s) this time was valuable as it allowed me to evaluate new / different technologies to the ones I had been using previously. My work within other local agencies allowed me to evaluate how other teams / companies worked and operated and what the positives and negatives of these different working arrangements were.

 

Although I enjoyed my time as a freelance developer after several months I yearned to be part of a permanent team and missed the responsibilities of working on a product / application where I could continue to have an impact.

Sep 2011 - Nov 2012

Visualsoft UK

Technical Team Leader

After several months in my senior developer role at Visualsoft UK, I was promoted to being a technical team leader and managed a team of 4 – 5 developers.

 

In this role I regularly communicated with clients on support issues, as well as creating specifications and quoting for new development they may require. I also helped to mentor junior developers and advise them on the best ways to develop new features and/or fix bugs.

 

I also reported directly to the technical director on an almost daily basis, and would prepare a weekly report for all directors outlining what I felt were technical issues regarding the e-commerce platform and staff issues we may have. Part of my role was also to regularly review my teams performance both on an individual level and as a whole.

May 2011 - Sep 2011

Visualsoft UK

Senior PHP / MySQL Web Developer

Visualsoft UK is one of the largest e-commerce providers in the UK. Their custom e-commerce platform is developed on the PHP and MySQL and at this time powered around 600 websites. My role involved me developing features, and fixing bugs on this platform.

 

My role was to be a senior developer as part of one of two development teams of around 10 developers. My duties included:

 

  • Developing new features on Visualsoft’s bespoke e-commerce platform.
  • Fixing bugs on Visualsoft’s bespoke e-commerce platform.
  • Helping and mentoring junior developers.

 

In this role I learned the Kohana PHP framework, and gained valuable experience working in a large team of developers. I also learned a lot about version control systems and development processes.

Jul 2007 - Mar 2011

House of Type

Web Developer

My role at House of Type involved me working in small agile team of web developers and designers working with a wide range of clients, from small businesses to large organisations. It also required me to identify my client’s requirements and deliver new or updated web applications which meets those requirements.

 

In this role, I developed and customised applications using the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack. This ranges from deploying and customising e-commerce websites based on the popular open-source system called Magento, and developing websites and blogs based on WordPress, to developing bespoke back-office and public facing systems.

 

This role involved me managing several different projects simultaneously, juggling client’s needs and timescales along with mine. In this role I learned how to effectively communicate and deal with clients, and assess their needs and requirements.

Mar 2006 - Jul 2007

Visualsoft UK

PHP / MySQL Web Developer

In my position at Visualsoft my duties included:

 

  • Developing transactional websites and web-based applications using PHP / MYSQL
  • Researching and developing search engine optimisation techniques, and implementing them.
  • Integration of existing back-office systems with websites (e.g. stock control systems).
  • Analysing website statistics to improve traffic flow and increase the number of users performing actions on the website.

In my position at Visualsoft I was able to increase my experience of PHP and MySQL and have gained experience in quoting and pricing projects.

Dec 2005 - Mar 2006

Exaura

PHP Developer

My primary role at Exaura ltd was as a PHP developer, however rather than developing websites my main role was developing PHP based web services.

 

  • Developing PHP websites which communicated to .NET based web services
  • Researching and developing web service security methods
  • Integration of Sage financial applications to PHP based web applications
  • Assisted in the project planning process

At Exaura I was able to improve my project planning skills, as well my ability to deal with clients and “sell” ideas and solutions to them. This allowed me to take the first steps of learning to communicate to clients and learn to plan projects.

Aug 2005 - Dec 2005

Visualsoft UK

PHP / MySQL Web Developer

At Visualsoft UK I worked as part of a team of web developers creating e-commerce websites using a custom-built e-commerce platform developed within the company. My work involved writing PHP, HTML and CSS to develop new features or make functionality, or design changes which clients required.

Jul 2001 - Aug 2005

Hyder Business Services

Publications Assistant (Part-Time)

At Hyder Business Services I was employed within the communications unit of Middlesbrough Council. This unit was responsible for the PR and Corporate Communications for Middlesbrough council.

 

  • Add, Edit and Delete content from the Middlesbrough Council Website
  • Part of the website planning team which was directly responsible for planning organisational and procedural changes in the way that the website was updated and managed
  • Liaising with other departments to plan and manage updates to their areas of the website.
  • Served in a minor support-role to assist other departments use the Content Management System.

As part of the website planning team I had a greater responsibility in updating areas of the website to aid the corporate communications strategy and update press releases on the website. However, I also served in a support role to colleagues within other departments who may have been experiencing problems, or were unfamiliar or in- experienced in using a content management system.

Education

Sep 2003 - Jul 2005

University of Teesside

BSc (Hons) Computer Studies

At the University of Teesside while studying for my BSc, I was given the opportunity to research, plan and implement a project. At this point of time, I was working within local government and we were faced with challenges in implementing the new e-goverment agenda which central government was encouraging all local authorities to adhere to.

 

After analysing the needs of local government and speaking to some of my colleagues I created a prototype content management system aimed at the needs of local government based on my experience updating / managing a local government website and what I learned researching appropriate standards and frameworks. At the end of my project I had a fully implemented project plan with a prototype content management system that adhered to most of the e-government standards for local government websites.

Sep 2001 - Jul 2003

University of Teesside

HND Multimedia

During studying my HND in Multimedia, I learned a lot about designing user interfaces and compelling multimedia applications in both Macromedia / Adobe Flash and Macromedia Director.

 

I also learned some video editing techniques and how to use graphics packages such as Adobe Photoshop.

Testimonials

Sarah Anderson

2011 Apr
Manager, Andersons of Durham

I have worked with James on my website for two year’s and together we’ve come up with new idea’s and ways to make the whole system better. There’s nothing James wouldn’t take on, no matter how bizarre my idea’s have been! He constantly works at looking at different and new ways to uplift our company, from an e-commerce point of view. James is also a very easy character to get along with, very personable which makes life easier from my point of view. Would highly recommend James to any company.

Louise McAlpine

2011 Apr
Managing Director, KT Tape UK & Innov8 Disposal

When I first met James I was astounded by his creativity, I had been to see may other web developers and James was by far the best. His ideas and concepts are brilliant, he introduced me to ideas and thoughts that I didn’t even know were possible to do on a website.

 

I would recommend James to everyone I know, he gets a job done quickly and without any problems. His vision for projects is enthusiastic and it shows in his work

Contacts

Contact info
AddressMiddlesbrough, United Kingdom
Websitewww.biggerstronger.co.uk

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