My first coding experience came as a young millennial experimenting with social media 1.0: Making basic HTML changes to my MySpace profile (remember scrolling text and garish colour combos?) whilst at college. I then participated in "e-Federations"; Sport based content roleplaying webpages utilising creative storytelling and HTML/CSS.

At college I found photography and journalism, and I experimented with blogging sites Tumblr and Livejournal. I would often build my own photography portfolio websites using drag and drop sites like Squarespace, Wordpress and Wix.

As a digital marketer, I learnt to appreciate how diving into coding would benefit my career. I began rebuilding my HTML and CSS knowledge, working on website/content management system projects. I then picked up a job with Dyson using Bold360ai software to build chatbots for Dyson's global regions.

Personal/freelance projects soon followed. After re-platforming the Atomic Signs website from a Thomson Local package to Wix to save the business money on yearly fees, I was approached by RDT Build and Tier One and built websites for them using WordPress and a theme builder called Envato.

Wanting more precision and customisation than drag and drop builders offered, I studied on three separate courses; Level 2 in ICT Open Systems and Enterprise by Code Nation, followed by the Professional Diploma of UX Design with the UX Design Institute, and finally, a Level 4 Web Development Bootcamp provided by Bath Spa Uni/Bath College.

During this period I secured my first full-time position as sole Front End Web Developer for Futurform Ltd. I was instrumental in overhauling their previous workwear e-Commerce website which had laid dormant for years, launching a new website in 3 months which hosted over 2000 products and processed 77 orders.

Sadly we were informed that the business no longer saw eCommerce as a viable business model in the current climate, so I am currently looking for work! Feel free to send me an email or take a look at my Portfolio section for proof of work. It would be great to hear from you!

Cheers,

Kane Rich