Web Design Support Technician

The company:

Advantec Internet Services Ltd is a specialist web development and programming agency based near Southampton, Hampshire. We provide a range of web development, design, marketing and programming services to a variety of clients - from small local businesses up to multi-national corporations. Our typical projects can range from building a simple 10-page content-managed brochure website, to providing a large-scale, integrated online accounting system. We also provide extensive e-commerce services - including the design, build and marketing of online retail sites. We host and maintain a substantial number of existing client websites, which we operate under monthly support contracts.

The front-end aspects of all our sites are built using W3C-compliant XHTML and CSS. Some are standard, static brochure sites, others employ the use of our content management system. Our e-commerce websites use an e-commerce software system that includes content and layout management tools - and our advanced development projects use html front-end templates, which integrate with the dynamic aspects of these systems.

Purpose of the Role:

There are two distinct aspects to this role - the first being the maintenance and support of our existing client websites, the second being assistance with the design and development of new-build websites and applications. The vast majority of sites we build for clients are hosted on our own servers - and are maintained and updated on behalf of our clients. Once a site is completed, clients have access to our support ticketing system and dedicated technical support phone-line. They are encouraged to use the online support ticketing system as the primary means to request updates and changes to their sites.

The support technician will have primary responsibility for monitoring the support ticketing system and dealing with client requests. These can range from simple changes of text and images to additions of new pages, sections and content. They may also include requests for edits and additions of products on e-commerce websites, creation of email marketing templates - as well as reporting of faults and errors with websites and systems. Where requests or faults are beyond the scope of the Web Support Technician's technical expertise, they will be escalated to a senior colleague as appropriate.

Further to dealing with existing client site updates and support, the Web Support Technician will also assist in the design and build of new websites. Often, this will involve taking design files (usually in Photoshop or Illustrator format) and converting them in to standards-compliant XHTML and CSS templates. Depending on the type of project, it may also involve setting pages up as templates in a content management system, within an e-commerce system - or within the framework of a larger-scale development project. The role will also involve assisting senior design colleagues with the layout, formatting and insertion of content and design features in to new sites under construction.

The web Support Technician will also be responsible for administrating domain names - including registration of new domains, administration of DNS settings / transfers in and out - and the set up, administration and support of client email (POP3, forwarders and Exchange) accounts.

The Web Support Technician will be under the supervision of the Web Application Developer and Senior Web Design staff.

Experience Required:

The Web Support Technician will need to have had some experience designing and building websites using W3C standards-compliant XHTML and CSS - and will have a portfolio of live examples of websites previously built or worked upon. This may be the Web Support Technician's first job in the web design field - in which case, they will need to have some educational experience and qualifications relating to web design - specifically HTML and CSS. Alternatively, previous experience in a web design agency environment would be ideal - or within a working environment where they were responsible for the design and maintenance of live websites.

Skills and Expertise Required:

• A full, working knowledge of (X)HTML and CSS
• An understanding and ability to build web pages to W3C-compliant standards
• A working knowledge of JavaScript and JavaScript-related frameworks (e.g. JQuery)
• Experience using website content management systems
• An appreciation of current techniques for search engine optimisation best-practice
• A good working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver is essential
• A working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, Flash - and other graphics tools is desirable
• An understanding of the technicalities of web hosting - including competence with FTP software
• An understanding of domain name management, registration and DNS processes
• Familiarity with the Microsoft Office suite of software - particularly Microsoft Excel and Access
• A good general level of competence with IT software and hardware
• Knowledge of programming languages such as PHP and ASP would be desirable - but not essential
• Experience with database admin / management (MS SQL Server and MySQL) would also be desirable

Personal / Professional Characteristics Required:

This role will involve significant client interaction - both by email and telephone. The Web Support Technician is the primary point of telephone contact for the client technical support phone line - so a friendly and confident telephone manner is essential - as is the ability to present an appropriate image for the company to its clients via professional written, verbal and face-to-face communication. A willingness to learn and develop technical and design skills is important - as is perseverance with problem-solving. A commitment to a high standard of work, attention to detail and perfectionism - even in the face of some relatively mundane tasks - is also important. Our company ethos is one of striving to produce websites and systems that are better in every way - visually and functionally - than our competitors'  - and this needs to carry through in all of the work carried out by the Web Support Technician.

Salary and benefits:

Advantec is a relatively small business - and there are clear routes for career progression - in either the direction of technical web development or graphical design - including future supervisory roles. We promote flexible working - including opportunities to work from home and flexi-time hours. There are 25-days holiday per year. The salary is negotiable depending on experience, but is expected to be within the range of £16,000 to £18,000 per year. We operate a bonus scheme, whereby if company sales targets are achieved, an annual bonus of 5% of salary is awarded to staff each year.

To apply:

Send your CV with examples of live URLs demonstrating some recent projects to the Managing Director at andrew@advantec-internet.co.uk