I develop high performance, user-friendly, accessible websites powered by WordPress.
About Myself
At 13,500 feet I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane simply because I had never done it. I am the adventurous type, always up for learning something new... feet first... all in.
In 1999 I started my career as a graphic designer and took interest in web design and development that same year. Since then I have developed several hundred websites for clients big and small... each time learning something new along the way.
That's what I truly love about the industry... it changes from day to day... new tools, new methods, and new browser features becoming available. Every day presents a new challenge which keeps things exciting. I learn quickly and am always hungry to learn more... just ask my friend Lynda.com.
By day I'm a UX Design Engineer at Productive Dentist Academy and by night I design and develop websites for my company, Steam Hosting (Since 2006!). When I'm not developing websites you can usually find me working in my yard or researching home improvement videos on YouTube.
Experience & Skillset
With graphic design, web design and frontend/backend web development under my belt, I've been called a bit of a unicorn, someone with a well-rounded skillset that doesn't come along too often.
A BRIEF HISTORY
From 1997-1999 I went to Skagit Valley College for graphic design. During my second to last semester I saw a classmate making a website and a lightbulb went off in my head. That's what I wanted to do. I took a graphic design job with a local newspaper company and began teaching myself web development in my spare time. I craved it... just wanted to learn more all the time.
In 2006 I was introduced to WordPress. I started developing websites with WordPress when other developers I knew said it would never take off... it was "just a blogging platform". Well, hundreds of websites later and an industry powered by it now... I've proved them wrong and the rest is history. My main focus now is more development over design.
I develop fast, user-friendly, accessible websites and always push for the highest Core Web Vital scores I can get.
Software Knowledge
I can pretty much work anything Adobe. I've been using Photoshop since 1995. Throughout my day I jump between XD, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, and Lightroom. I code in Visual Studio [Code].
Web Development
- Custom WordPress Themes & Plugins
- Performance Optimization
- Accessibility Integration & Auditing
- Bootstrap (3-5)
- jQuery
- CSS3/SASS
Graphic Design
- Ad Layout
- Magazine Layout
- Photography
- Training Manuals
- Video Training
Personality
- Easy Going
- Highly Focused
- Self-Driven
- Patient
- Resourceful
- Quick Learning
Some of My Work
Resume
Work experience 1999-present
Productive Dentist Academy
Steam Hosting
BrandQuery
How It Works
Skagit Valley Publishing Company
What People Say About Me
"I have had several unsolicited very positive comments on the quality of my Garrison Engineering website. Thank you for being you and putting together such quality work."
"Thank you so much for all of the prompt and professional work you have provided to us on our website. You've always done such a great job and have done it so quickly! We really appreciate having you on our team!"
"Ken & his team are absolutely AMAZING at what they do! We couldn't be happier with the service or the end product! Highly recommend!!"
"Over the past few weeks I've so much appreciated Ken's efforts. He's super helpful, kind in explaining things, and always willing to help. It's people like Ken that make work fun and enjoyable."
"I just Love this guy. When first thinking about building a website I started to hyperventilate. Ken took all the stress away and actually taught me how to use the web as my best marketing tool. He took the scary out of the technology. He has been attentive to my needs all the way and has never made me feel stupid for asking the simplest questions. I have so enjoyed spending time with Ken on this project. I really feel that he has caught my personality in my website and I truly love it."
"Ken took all the stress away and actually taught me how to use the web as my best marketing tool. He has been attentive to my needs all the way and has never made me feel stupid for asking the simplest questions."
"Ken is a highly creative and personable individual. He brings many innovative ideas to his work and has exceptional knowledge of graphic design applications. He's an excellent listener too!"