Gavin Brown, BSc

Web Dev

I have a Level 5 Diploma in Web Application Development and can code anything from simple landing pages to more complex full-stack applications. This means that I understand the front end, what you see in your browser, and the backend, what happens on the server.

I use a variety of technologies to do this, incl. HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Tailwind, Flask, Django, PostgreSQL, Heroku, AWS and many more. No job is too small or too large. If you want to reach out to me.

Send me a message via the contact form on this site or ring me using the contact details in the footer.

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Off The Shelf Solutions

Personally I am not a fan of Wordpress, it's a security nightmare and I believe that there are far better solutions available today. For a landing page site, such as this one, Github is a far better hosting option. Any site that I build will have correctly commented code, a full README file detailing the technologies used, a record of the build and details of any testing carried out during, or after, the build. This means that if the site needs additional coding, or maybe a rebuild/redesign a few years down the line, any web developer should be able to understand how best to carry this out. This is the same for my £99 build as it is for one costing several thousands of pounds.

Other technologies such as Squarespace, a favourite of mine for custom domains, or Shopify for e-commerce solutions means that today there is very often no need for hugely expensive builds as these prebuilt, customisable tech solutions can offer most people what they need for a small monthly outlay and I am more than happy to assist in setting these up for a small, very affordable fee.

I can also offer ongoing support for a monthly fee.

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Github

GitHub is a platform for version control and collaborative software development, launched in 2008 and acquired by Microsoft in 2018. It allows multiple developers to work on projects simultaneously using Git, a distributed version control system, by hosting repositories where code is stored, tracked, and managed, making it a hub for open-source and private projects alike. As of early 2025, GitHub boasts over 100 million users and hosts more than 420 million repositories, including major projects like Linux.

Beyond coding, GitHub fosters a global community where developers share knowledge, contribute to open-source software, and collaborate on innovative ideas. Its Copilot tool, powered by AI, assists with code suggestions, while features like GitHub Pages enable users to host websites directly from repositories. The platform also supports project management with tools like Discussions and Wikis, catering to both individual developers and large enterprises.

Github is a fantastic, secure platform for hosting code, making it easy to modify and deploy. Click the first link to read more about why Github should be your platform for version control. Click the second link to visit my profile. And of course this site is hosted on Github Pages using a custom Domain.

Why Github?
My Github Profile

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Gaming

I have had a lifelong love of gaming. Both analogue and digital. I have a selection of board games, comprising classics and lesser known, and have been instrumental in setting up board game clubs wherever I have worked. They are such a great social activity, and encourage both a friendly competitiveness, and also, depending on the game, cooperation. As a young child, an Uncle taught me how to play chess and I still play a game a week with a friend.

My first experience of video games was at an Aunt's house in the 70s playing Pong on the Atari 2600. This led to many happy hours addicted to trying to get the high score. Then I remember playing Galaxians, during my time at Grammar School, in the computer club. Playing that game on a ZX81, a computer with 1K of memory, no sound and blocky black & white graphics blew my mind, and was instrumental in creating my gaming life.

Over the years I have owned pretty much every major console release and have had my moments as a PC gamer as well. Currently I game on the PS5 and exclusively play Fortnite. I love the Battle Royale format. The competitiveness of starting with 100 players and battling until just 1 remains standing means every game is different, and the ever changing seasons of the game means the format never gets stale. Hopefully I have many years of gaming left in me.

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Projects

Away from coding websites I also love building projects and coding with the Raspberry Pi single board PC. Projects I have built so far include a handheld gaming system, a software defined radio and I am currently designing and building a tracked, autonomous robot. The coding is in Python so if you use Python in your website coding life you already know how to code for the Raspberry Pi.

What I love about the Pi is it's a hobbyist's delight and is so well supported that you can literally use it for anything. The only limit is your imagination.

I have repurposed an old gaming rig as a home server. I removed the RTX2060 graphics card as the server doesn't need any graphical oomph. The basic specs are, Intel 10400 CPU, 32GB 3200Mhz Ram, 6TB of storage (2 x 3TB in RAID1 config), 480GB Internal SSD and 128GB external SSD. The OS is Debian 12 as I am a big fan of Linux and would rather Linux than Windows.

I revitalised an old Venturer laptop, Intel Celeron N4000, 2GB RAM, 32GB eMMC storage and gave it a new lease of life. I removed Windows 11, replacing it with TinyOS, a version of Linux for low powered systems and it works better, well it works better than it did with Windows installed. It's never going to be a powerhouse but it's great to try out a new distro.

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AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force in coding and tech by 2025, streamlining development processes and enabling innovation at an unprecedented scale. Tools like GitHub Copilot and xAI's Grok 3 assist developers by generating code snippets, automating debugging, and even suggesting architectural improvements, drastically reducing the time to build applications. AI-driven testing frameworks can now predict bugs before they occur, while platforms like TensorFlow and PyTorch empower developers to integrate machine learning into apps with ease. This has democratized tech, allowing smaller teams to compete with industry giants by leveraging AI to handle complex tasks like natural language processing or computer vision, which previously required specialized expertise.

However, AI in tech also poses challenges that temper its promise. Over-reliance on AI tools can erode developers's core coding skills, creating a generation of programmers who struggle to troubleshoot without assistance. Security risks are another concern—AI-generated code can inadvertently introduce vulnerabilities, as seen in recent reports of exploits in AI-written scripts. Moreover, the ethical implications of AI in tech, such as biased algorithms or job displacement in roles like QA testing, are sparking debates. While AI accelerates innovation, it demands careful oversight to ensure it doesn't compromise quality or fairness in the tech ecosystem, balancing its potential with the need for human judgment.

You may have guessed but the above text was written by AI. I treat AI as another tool in my toolkit that enables me to code. I have used it on this site for text suggestions and to generate the images in the about section of this site. AI allows me to speed up aspects of what I do and this means that it can save you money. What the future brings, who knows, but we might as well enjoy the journey.

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