@PolzerJan
Polzer.cz

Biography of
Jan Polzer

experience, knowledge, interests

I started my working career in the middle of 2001. And in fact, it was already then the activities that still feed me today. Training, programming and writing articles about IT. On the following lines you will find some brief information about my experience and knowledge.
Jan Polzer

2023

WebTop100 success

I’m staying at Lesensky.cz and creating websites. Winning WebTop100 in UX category.

2022

LESENSKY.CZ

I am becoming the Web Development Director at Lesensky.cz, an agency I have been working with for many years. We win the WebTop100 in the category Corporate Websites.

2021

LEMUR awards

2nd place in the Websites category in the Lemur Award

2020

First self-published book

After four books on Drupal published by Computer Press and Albatros Media, I am publishing 333 Tips and Tricks for Drupal 9 by my own imprint.

2019

Drupal CS Awards

3rd place in the Freelancer category at the Drupal CS Awards

2018

First time on WebTop100

2nd place on WebTop100 in the Marketing and IT agencies category

2015 – 2018

Verlag Dashöfer

Occasionally I write articles for the NaPočítači.cz website and prepare several hours of video tutorials from the world of computers.

2014

Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Implementer of partial tasks within the framework of Science EDU I and II activities within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Science Academy project - critical thinking and practical application of scientific and technical knowledge in real life.

2013

Success at SCIAP

  1. místo v rámci Soutěže popularizace vědy SCIAP v kategorii Internet

2011

Nottingham Trent University

Jan Polzer, BA (Hons). in Business Management.

2009 – 2017

GOPAS computer school lecturer

I train Drupal content management system and PHP framework Symfony.

2008

The first book about Drupal

I am putting my experience with Drupal into the first Czech book about it.

2008 – 2015

Extra Publishing

After leaving Computer Press, I published my articles in Extra PC and other magazines. I became editor-in-chief of ExtraWindows.cz. I am again in charge of CD/DVD supplements. And besides that, I completely program all the publisher’s websites.

2007 – 2008

Linux+ Magazine

For a while I’ll try my hand at preparing articles for a magazine from the world of Linux by a Polish publisher.

2004 – yet

Polzer.cz

I’ve been freelancing and gradually moving from desktop applications to web development. So far, I haven’t let go.

2003

First book

My first book, Programs for the Office, is coming out.

2001 – 2004

Z-WARE

Full of vigour, I joined the company, where I gradually became a trainer of the meal voucher software and later its developer. I develop my knowledge in Delphi.

2001 – 2008

Computer Press

On my first attempt I become the editor of my favourite magazine Computer. Gradually, my articles appear in many others, including the magazine Živě.cz. I am also responsible for the preparation of CD/DVD supplements.

2001

BeOS and PHP

I was living the events around the then BeOS operating system, localizing software and getting my first paid experience in the world of PHP. I help to create small e-shops.

Jan Polzer
programmer and web developer

First developer steps

My first experience with programming was on an 8-bit ATARI 800XE computer in Basic. At that time I was creating games and simple programs, just learning by trial and error.

With the move to PCs, I got into Pascal, from which I also passed the final exam. I created a simple shooter game for it. With the advent of Windows 95, Delphi 2 came into my hands and I upgraded basic Pascal to Object Pascal with a visual designer. I then capitalized on the experience in my first job developing internal applications and meal ticket software.

After starting my own business, I couldn’t afford the relatively expensive Delphi and didn’t want to use the illegal installation. I did a few experiments with Python and started learning C++. First I created applications with the wxWidgets library and various open source environments, then later I got the cheapest version of the, then still paid, Visual Studio from Microsoft.

I created several custom business applications in C++. Order management, various print report generators, an ATM database viewer, or a CD/DVD control program to accompany magazines. It was used by the two big publishers in my country. I also prepared a database generator of documents for these media.

Jan Polzer
Jan Polzer

From desktop to web development

I switched from C++ to C#. My most successful project from this period was a backup program. I also worked on creating installation applications with the Inno Setup generator.

At the turn of the millennium I experimented with web development and PHP. Around 2004 I returned to it, developed a few simple websites, and over the years I abandoned desktop application development altogether. My first major web project, a Computer magazine website built on Drupal, led me to create books on the system and other commissions.

Today, I occasionally develop something in Python, script BASH, play with mobile apps (Java on Android), and R here and there, but creating websites in PHP is the majority of my workday.

I’ve done hundreds of small sites and dozens of those things. I often say I’ve done projects up to XL size. I’ve managed to succeed with some projects at WebTop100, SCIAP 2013 or Drupal CS Awards 2019, but I’m proud of all of them without distinction. I appreciate that their owners invited me to collaborate with them.

Writing activities

I have always enjoyed passing on my knowledge of computers and the IT world. I didn’t just want to be the typical computer enthusiast neighbour who can help with a virus infected computer.
In the end, I went through a variety of print and online media.

  • Czech BeOS Centrum (2001) – articles and news from the world of the BeOS operating system
  • Computer Press (2001 - 2008) – articles for magazines Computer, Živě.cz, Personal Finance, How to use a computer, Catalogue of modern living, Modern office, Home Cinema Home Cinema and others. CD/DVD editor
  • Linux+ Magazine (2007 - 2008) – articles from the world of the Linux operating system
  • Extra Publishing (2008 - 2015) – articles for the magazines Extra PC, Nejlepší PC rady a návody (PC rady), Svět, Cnews.cz, ExtraWindows.cz (2008 - 2009 editor-in-chief) and ExtraHardware.cz
  • Verlag Dashöfer (2015 – 2018) – articles and video tutorials for the NaPočítači.cz website

Books I’ve written

Writing for magazines and web journals is very interesting, but I also wanted to try writing books that would help computer users in their work and take me a little further professionally.
Programs for the office GNU Emacs a Vim Drupal 5/6, detailed guide to creating and managing websites Digital photography in Corel Paint Shop Pro 333 tips and tricks for Drupal Drupal 7, detailed guide to creating and managing websites Drupal 8 – detailed guide to creating and managing websites 333 tips and tricks for Drupal 9
More at KnihyPolzer.cz

Awards and Certifications

2nd place in websitescategory, Lemur awards (2021)
3rd place in Freelancer category, Drupal CS Awards (2019)
3× in TOP3, WebTop100 competition (2018, 2022, 2023)
1st place, in the SCIAP Competition, Internet category (2013)
2× placed in Web Excellence Award (2024), as myself and with Lesensky.cz
Microsoft Office Specialist
Acquia Certified Developer & Site Builder
Google Analytics 4 Certified
Apple Certified Associate
Drupal Association member
HTML5 Coding Essentials and Best Practices
Advanced Techniques for Designing HTML5 Apps
Introduction to R Programming
Introduction to Linux
Mobile Development using Android
Technical SEO Certification
Statistics and R (Harvard University)
Jan Polzer

My interests

Work is my hobby. It’s not a cliché, it’s a fact. As time goes on, though, I find myself grateful for any relaxation without a screen. My free time is filled with:

  • books and history
  • travelling (mainly the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia)
  • sailing and boats in general

Massages by Jan Polzer

In 2016, I decided to supplement my education with a completely different field than software development and web design. I don’t want to depend only on technology, so I realized myself as a massage therapist. I am continuously trying to maintain and develop this acquired knowledge as well.