Philosophy and Business
Hi, I'm Emily (Sharp) Goucher. I have been making web pages in some form or other since 2001. I am well-versed in HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, and Wordpress software.
My visual designs for web sites tend to be clean, simple, and professional. My philosophy is that the content on the page, specifically text, is the most important thing, and that graphics, images, colors, and stylistic choices should emphasize that, not distract from it.
I develop web sites to be accessible to all. There are certain choices that can be made, often behind the scenes, to enhance the web site experience for visitors (or their web browsers) who have differing abilities. My sites are always as accessible as possible to those with visual impairments, color blindness, or access to the web only through a slow internet connection or on a mobile phone. Current standards set out by the W3C also dictate how I code web sites. Standards-complaint, valid coding assures that the sites will look the same across different web browsers, provide the most consistent visitor experience, and assure the site's longevity. My complaince with these standards and attention to detail set me apart as a web designer and developer.
My special areas of interest and expertise include integration with Wordpress as a content management system and working with clients to increase their understanding of and comfort with web technology. Many of my current clients are small businesses or nonprofits in education, the arts, or psychoanalysis, but my skills are applicable to a wide range of industries and needs.
History and Experience
I founded Digital Emily to serve as a home for all of the work I began picking up in my spare time. Thanks to some wonderful referrals, mostly through Sarah Lawrence connections, I have been able to grow this small business designing and coding websites, a passion of mine. In early 2015 I started a new branch of this business, Digital Emily Hosting, providing affordable and well-supported web hosting for my clients.
I currently work as Web Services Advocate for Information Technology Services at Sarah Lawrence College. In this role I provide training, support, and documentation for our off-the-shelf and custom web applications including our campus portal and learning management system. In my various roles, I have been working full time at Sarah Lawrence College for a total of 19 years and 11 months.
Previously I held the title of Project Manager for Web Support In Sarah Lawerence College's Academic Computing Department. There, I worked with students and faculty on Academic-based web projects and technology. My duties included designing and implementing web pages for faculty members, teaching workshops on Dreamweaver and other web authoring software, consulting one-on-one with faculty about their web needs, managing a small team of student web assistants, sitting on a committee charged with web planning, and, most recently, rolling out training for the campus' learning management system.
Before that, I served as Computer Support Specialist (also at Sarah Lawrence College), assisting faculty, students and staff with technical support issues. I specialized in supporting web software, and began to explore how faculty websites might be better managed, a process which continues in my current position.
Before graduating with a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in 2004, I worked for two and a half years in SLC's Office of Communications as Web Assistant. In that position I mostly did content updating and page creation on the school's main, public website. This gave me exposure to PHP, experience with Dreamweaver, and refined my HTML and CSS skills. In 2004 I also worked as division assistant for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics, maintaining their complex web site.
At Sarah Lawrence I studied computer science, including database design, HTML, computer architecture, and compilers.
Resume
Coming soon.