Updated 22 November 2023

Hello. I have been a web developer since 1997 and have 18 years of PHP experience. I work freelance. If you are an individual, small business or agency needing some bespoke work then I may well be able to help you.

Specialisms:

  • Laravel – my favourite PHP framework, and Statamic - a wonderful content management system built on top of it.
  • also: Drupal plenty of experience versions 7 to 10 (I did the Acquia Drupal Site Builder certification in 2017).
  • WordPress site maintenance and plugin writing.

Generally now I only take on new work in Laravel / Statamic (I may be able to migrate your existing site)

Linux web servers:

installation and configuration, performance tuning, security, monitoring. Debian and Ubuntu specialist. I remotely manage servers for clients and can advise on configuration and data centre choice.

Front-end work:

HTML5, CSS (nowadays TailwindCSS) and responsive design, javascript (though I don't do SPAs), Blade/Antlers/Twig templating

Other key skills:

LEMP, Nginx, Database Administration (MySQL and MariaDB), TLS/SSL/LetsEncrypt, DNS, IPv6 basics, audio, transactional email, photo editing, Memcached/Redis. Familiar with various APIs including Facebook (Marketing API), Google Ads, Wikipedia, Twitter.

Tools I like:

Vim, macOS, PhpStorm, Git, Composer, Ansible, Laravel Valet, Sequel Ace, Linode, PostmarkApp, AWS, Adobe Lightroom, Multimarkdown, The Archive, Taskpaper, Toggl, Trello, OmniFocus.

Tools I don't like:

Docker. Things I liked before: FuelPHP, PyroCMS, Codeigniter.

Past and present clients include:

I care about:

fast, well-configured servers, pages that load quickly, efficient and clean database design, easy to use / simple to update websites that work well on mobile too, web standards and learning new skills, documenting code thoroughly for the benefit of whoever maintains it in future.

Pricing:

My hourly rate for new customers is £70 (or roughly £400 per day, given I measure and only charge for the actual time spent on your project). Estimates/quotes available for more structured projects. Feel free to ask about smaller jobs: the sooner you do, the greater likelihood I can fit them in.

Hosting:

Hosting is complex. Having full control of an inexpensive, high quality Linux server significantly speeds up development and allows me to use a number of best practices. I usually arrange hosting for my clients. This way I can precisely tune the performance of the website and the software running it, and your data will be secure and separated from other customers. I also organise backups and automated monitoring. Plus you have me as a single point of contact for faults so you do not need to deal with separate hosting companies or data centres. I configure web servers from scratch using automation, which saves time, and allows us to move hosting providers more easily if needed.

Writing:

(fr) Bienvenue!

Vous êtes un entreprise anglais et vous avez (ou besoin) un site web français? Je suis apprendre le français, puis-je vous aider?

Legal / Contractual things:

  • I make white-label sites, I don't require/request named credit.
  • I don't have any exit fees, other than unpaid charges or hosting.
  • I'll sign your NDA, but tell me a little about your project first.
  • Source code available for projects (typically a 'Git' repository), so you can hand the site and it's documented history to another developer.
  • I do not charge VAT.
  • Payment terms 7 days or by arrangement.

Please get in touch if you need any advice or would like to be added to my waiting list.