About Scott McCracken
Front-end developer from Vermont.
Building for the web got its hooks in me early. I remember the ✨magic✨ of cobbling together my first GeoCities site over a spotty dial-up connection and seeing it online. That feeling has stayed with me over the course of a 23-year career.
I'm happiest in the front of the front-end, working on the small details that have big impacts on the usability of an interface. However I’ve worked across the full stack long enough to know that great front-end work doesn't happen in isolation. Servers, databases, APIs — it all shapes the end product.
I am an advocate for the user and believe the web is for everyone. Sites should be self-explanatory, accessible by default, and a joy to use.
Work History
Software Engineer at Accessible Web Currently working on a small team of developers building tools and monitoring services to help others fix accessibility violations with their websites and applications. Accessibility is so important, but it can also be hard. My goal is to find a way to make it better.
Director of Web Development at CarComplaints.com Built content management for a network of car related sites. I don't even like cars! My goals were to expand reach and boost return visitors by managing custom email newsletters and building microsites aimed at turning car problems into solutions.
Web Development Instructor with Vermont HITEC Took a leap and built a course on-the-fly to teach Vermont residents with no prior experience how to build website templates to be used at Dealer.com. It was a grind but in the end each student passed and landed a job as a front-end developer.
Senior Front End Developer at Dealer.com Not everyone was on board when I suggested that we compliment our catalog of Flash-based templates with some pure HTML counterparts to see how they perform. I'll always go out on a limb for HTML and that decision really paid off here for the SEO and accessibility benefits.
Outside of Work
Off the clock, life in northern Vermont keeps things grounded — there's a veggie garden to tend, two rescue mutts to walk, and backyard birds to care for. I like to cook for my mostly vegetarian family and am working hard on perfecting a pot of beans.
Most of my days are spent staring at a screen so I try to balance that with skiing, hiking, or taking photographs. Someday I'll get around to woodworking.