Why reinvent the wheel

My web coding skills include
HTML5 • CSS3 • PHP • jQuery • Javascript

I learn what I need for that particular design project.

That's how I've taught myself web coding. I'm not college trained, but I am smart about it. Once I've figured out the basic outline of a website, it's features, user flow, interface and other logistical concerns, I make a list of the types of functions I'll need.

Then I go hunting. First in my local files, since I've saved all the code used in previous projects. Many times I already have the scripts I need. If not, I search for public domain scripts out there in the interwebz. And there are LOTS of them. It's much easier for me to edit a script that does close to what I need than it is to write it from scratch. Why reinvent the wheel?

Once I've got what I need, I start editing. This is my favorite part, because as I'm doing this I'm also learning more skills that will help me in the next project.


When a site is written in PHP, my favorite scripting language, it becomes much more flexible than if it were just written in HTML. On my performer website www.MisterGreggy.com I feature a contact form on almost every page. If this were typed into each page, updates and edits would take forever. Instead, I have a single file with all the code for the form on the server. The webpage looks for that file and if it's present the file is read by the main script and automatically inserted into the page. That way any updates to the form only have to be made once and it propagates throughout the entire site. I've even got it coded so that the form checks to see which page is loading it and hides or shows various sections based on that information.

Other sections of the website are handled the same way, loaded in when needed. This helps make the whole site easier to maintain, and also gives me the ability to set it up as a Content Management System (CMS) for the client. That means they will be able to make changes themselves to particular sections of the site without breaking the other parts or messing up the flow and layout.

Modular is good.