About Web Smart Sierra

WebSmartSierra is a small company staffed currently only by its owner – me, Judy Barlow.  I consult with a wide variety of small business owners and non-profits about building and/or maintaining existing websites.  I also do a considerable amount of tutoring on current applications like Quicken, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Quickbooks, as well as helping people with general Windows and Mac setup and maintenance.

I have been in the computer business for over forty years.  I moved to the Nevada County area several years ago, and also moved from large system design consulting into website design and building.  I’ve found that the skills I developed as a consultant have served me well in determining and fulfilling the requirements of clients wanting to build custom websites.  I have steadily built the new skills necessary to stay abreast of current developments in web design and coding techniques.

Many small businesses and non-profits in the area have a need for the services I can offer, especially at my reasonable rates.  These companies are most comfortable with a webmaster with whom they can meet face-to-face and who can help them learn what it takes to create and maintain their own websites.  I try very hard to speak English instead of Nerd, so laughingly call myself the “genial geek”.  See my So You Want A Website page for a non-geek explanation of what needs to be considered before building a website.

• My full large system resume is available on request.  It includes information on the various systems I was involved with over the years. Web Design does not fit the same paradigm, so the most recent part of my history is simply demonstrated on the various sites listed under the See My Sites.  Only those companies whose websites I currently maintain or are under construction have links to active websites in that section. The rest are static pictures of the sites as they existed after design. A few websites are not present at all, as they were abandoned by the clients because of the work involved on their part.  Again, see my So You Want A Website page to get an inkling of whether that might happen to you!
• I have experience with most databases used by website engines, using PHP, CGI, MySql, etc.  If I haven’t done it yet, it likely isn’t used much (yet).
• I have solid skills in HTML and XHTML,Visual Basic .net, XML.
• I have designed/built on several platforms, including native HTML websites, Joomla (1.6), and WordPress.  I currently recommend the latter for clients who want a set of well-established and well-maintained supporting software and/or wish to maintain their own websites on an ongoing basis, with little or no reliance on me.
• I can use just about any web design tool available and am quite proficient at most Adobe tools, including Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and Flash.