From Passionate Web Design to Secure and Reliable Technology in a Flash

About Me - Matthew Bonner

From pioneering web services to developing software, I have helped businesses and charities succeed online.

The Early Life

My taste in design was born at school when I made my first website in Microsoft Publisher. The creative flair quickly excelled into effective and accessible websites.

At the age of 16 I managed the Intranet of my local technology centre in Middlesbrough. I created the foundations of what became a massive storage centre for the latest digital art and video media in the North East.

The bridge between school and college was spent learning how to produce vivid websites that were functional yet user friendly. Encouraged by my mother's disability, I adapted to the changing times.

As a student at Stockton Riverside College, I gained recognition for my hard work and achievements. Half way through my first year I was offered the job as Treasurer of the Student Union. Using my skills I helped create a reliable and secure computer network within the college.

In my second year I spent a lot of time out of college gaining work experience. I travelled to New York to see how their transport system depended on computer technology and how the technology was evolving. Later in the year I spent time working with the web designers of the Channel Four Television Corporation.

Career Ladder

With my experience in hand, I was asked to participate in a scheme to develop websites for local sports clubs and charities in partnership with Stockton Borough Council. This was the start of the Ape Framework which in its early age was nothing more than a WYSIWYG editor.

When the scheme finished I was told about an opportunity at B2B Software Solutions. The time I spent at B2B enabled me to perfect the Ape Framework into a rapid website building framework that was flexible and easy to extend.

In June I was approached by a company called Signpost who asked me to integrate the video streaming technology into a business directory. The directory was a huge success and lead to a buyout by Yahoo! Inc. After the completion of that project I spent my time at Signpost programming critical infrastructures which, to this day, power some of the most secure and reliable websites on the web.

I left Signpost late 2007 to go and work for a company called David Stanley Redfern, who deal in the overseas property market. The technology I have produced for them ties in with big name websites such as Rightmove. A system has been set up to automatically send Rightmove, and many other property portals, any changes that happen to David Stanley Redfern Ltd's property portfolio.

With connections to Reapit, a well known software provider for estate agents in the UK, my position in the housing market is stronger than ever. As a result of this, I have taken the opportunity to buy land in the UK and around the world.

Future Expectations

In the future I am looking at teaching which I have already started learning the basics for. I am hoping to pass on my skills and help develop students who have a logical and creative approach to creating innovative websites.

Additionally, I would like to start writing programs in C which will give me a better understanding of how to control computers and make them do what I want them to do opposed to what is available to me. I eventually want to go to university and study computing but this is a long way off and plans are sketchy.