Profile: Paul Silver

Skills: ColdFusion, PHP, CSS/XHTML, Specification Writing, Search Engine Optimisation, Google Mini & Search Appliance

I have been freelancing since November 2003, writing code and carrying out search engine promotion work for a range of small and medium sized companies in Brighton, London and the Midlands. Prior to my freelance career I was a senior web developer for a Brighton based web company for two years, and before that a web developer for an international recruitment company and several smaller clients.

Development

My main languages are ColdFusion and PHP. I started with ColdFusion back in version 4.5 and have experience up to v8, and recently have been using the open source alternative Railo for some of my personal projects. Using CF I've built several recruitment sites, including a portal for law jobs.

I've been working with PHP since 2003 and have written a range of sites using it to do the back-end work, including several recruitment websites, a photo sharing site, gallery sites for artists, and a range of e-commerce sites.

I have done a lot of work with Google Search Appliances, first for the p2b project, helping implement a search engine for Brighton and Hove (sadly this has since lost funding), and then for a local education project (also lacking funding due to changes at the Government level), and for a range of smaller clients and agencies in Europe and America.

Search Engine Promotion

I work with David Rosam, an SEO copywriter, to provide clients with search engine optimisation (SEO). I handle the technical issues and linking, he handles the copywriting and any Adwords campaigns.

Together we have helped many clients get their websites a higher ranking in Google, and gain more customers from it. Typical projects include fixing any issues with the HTML behind a client's pages, helping them change their text to make it more appealing to humans as well as search engines, and gain extra links for their site.

Examples of my work

Brighton University redesign - I helped the University's web team roll out the redesigns by Nigel Gordijk across approx. 1,500 static pages which are usually administered using Dreamweaver. The roll out used both Dreamweaver and a set of customised PHP scripts which re-wrote chunks of HTML to make the new design possible.

Kingswood Law - I helped create an online calculator which works out when you can retire based on your earnings, investments and requirements. I converted their Excel-based calculator in to PHP & MySQL, with some additions and changes. You can try the calculator by signing up for free on their website.

I'm helping Tattoo Fashion promote their tattoo designs, a mutual client with fellow Farm member David Andrew who handles their design & HTML/CSS.

Jasper Goodall is an artist and illustrator. I made a bespoke CMS so he can update his site whenever he likes, and a shop area where he can sell his prints. Warning - some of the imagery on his site may be a little risque for some viewers.

MySportstream is a photo sharing and blogging site themed around sport. I created the back-end using PHP & MySQL, allowing photo uploading, re-sizing, and rotating, blogging and various administrative functions such as checking on reported users and managing advertising. I also carried out the front-end build in XHTML & CSS, based on designs by Nigel Gordijk. It's hosted by fellow Farm member Nathan Pope.

G2 Legal - I wrote the ColdFusion code behind this law recruitment site in 2001 and have helped them make various changes over the years, including having four complete re-designs.

SpiderTest is a utility I have written to show people any problems their web pages might have from the perspective of a search engine spider. If you give it the address of a web page, it will tell you anything on that page that needs fixing to allow it to be spidered easily.

Other activities

I'm the organiser of the Brighton Farm networking evenings, since mid-2003. I've also have given talks and been part of discussion panels on freelancing for the University of Sussex Enterprise Thursdays, and Wired Sussex Job Fairs (2009 and 2010).