My Profile
Summary
- I’m Richard — a Web Developer and Digital Designer.
- I've been designing and developing for 8 years.
- I work for a Staffordshire based creative agency, leading all things digital.
- 20+ WordPress projects
Experienced Web Developer specialising in WordPress development with a strong focus on performance optimisation and user experience. Proven track record of delivering scalable, maintainable solutions for businesses across various industries. Passionate about clean code and staying current with emerging web technologies.
I'm currently using this stack right now
- Bricks Builder
- Advance Custom Fields Pro (ACF)
- ACSS (Automatic CSS)
- Frames Component Library
- Gutenbricks
- WS Forms
- Flyingpress
- Perfmatters
- GA4 / Fathom Analytics
- RankMath
- Cursor
- VS Code
- Linear
- Cloudflare
- Cloudways
Professional Experience
Web & Technical Lead Jan 2025 - Present
Ellodave Creative Agency
Web Developer Jul 2019 - Jan 2025
Ellodave Creative Agency
Responsibilities
- Work with the project lead/SLT to understand client requirements and provide technical knowledge during project planning.
- Optimise website performance by identifying and resolving technical issues and bottlenecks.
- Stay informed about the latest security threats and implement security measures to safeguard websites.
- Manage client web hosting environments.
- Routine server maintenance – perform backups, restores, updates when required.
- Manage user roles and permissions.
- Report on project feasibility, potential task timescales, and technical requirements for development or new build.
- Provide technical guidance/training to other staff regarding content management/best practices.
- Advise SLT on potential technical improvements/additions to workflow.
- Aid with data collection and reporting (analytics) – helping to streamline client data and report findings back to the wider team.
- Project estimations.
- Shaping development and deployment processes.
Digital Designer & Web Developer Jul 2017- Jul 2019
Ellodave Creative Agency
Responsibilities
- Built, customised, and maintained websites based on design specifications.
- Developed functionality to enhance website performance and user experience.
- Ensured responsive design and optimal performance across various devices and browsers.
- Diagnosed and troubleshooted website issues, addressing bugs, errors, and other issues.
- Collaborated with the design team to implement visual and/or interactive elements that complement the design concept.
- Created video animation and infographics.
- SVG Animations/Lottie.
- Email campaign creation using Mailchimp.
- Video Editing using Adobe Premiere
- Social Media assets.
- Pmax assets.
- Client promotional videos.
Junior Designer Jan 2016- Jul 2017
Ellodave Creative Agency
Responsibilities
- Assisted with editorial projects using InDesign.
- Asset editing and export for web.
- Produced promotional graphics for web.
- Supported Graphic Designers with basic HTML and CSS editing.
Education
BA (Hons) Visual Communication
University of Wolverhampton Sept 16- Sept 17
Foundation Degree, Graphics & Digital Design
Staffordshire University Sept 15- Sept 16
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma, Art & Design, Graphics & Interactive Media
Newcastle Under Lyme College Sept 14- Jun 15
Technical Skills & Expertise
- WordPress Development
- Plugin Development
- WooCommerce Integration
- Page Speed Optimisation
- Server Maintenance and optimisation
- DNS Record Management
- Cross-Browser Testing
- SFTP
- GA4
- Looker Studio Dashboarding
- Google Tag Manager Integration
- Figma
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Premiere
- Adobe After Effects
- Excellent communication
- Via Teams, project management tools and in person meetings
- Raised potential technical issues with designs
- Experience with client contact via phone and email
- Shown Initiative in problem solving
- Scaled servers prior to client campaign launch to anticipate traffic surges
- Created a custom WordPress plugin to allow college staff to easily display course progression data provided via Lightcast API
- Implemented a virtual queuing system to manage an unexpected influx in online sessions during a college's enrolment period
- Identified potential accessibility issues with a design and proposed alternative solutions
- Took the lead in implementing a VPN for staff to access client files remotely during COVID and now as a hybrid agency
- Resilience and Autonomy
- Sole lead of web management at agency
- Embraced multiple rounds of feedback from clients, balancing their requirements with what was most technically efficient
- Meticulous
- Code reviews and browser testing
- Implamention of a pre/post live action checklist including content checks, speed optimisation, security risks and SEO optimisation.
- Teamwork
- Working closely with the design team on various projects
- Contribution of ideas in weekly design meetings
- Working closely with the Marketing team to develop client performance reports
Recent Writing
-
There's a padlock, so it's safe... right?
What's the first thing that comes to mind if I direct your attention to that little padlock icon at the top of your browser window - secure, trusted, safe? What if I told you none of these are correct. The padlock in fact has nothing to do with a website's security and trustworthiness.
Read more -
Is this your P@ssword123!?
Good password security does not need to be complicated. Keep them random and never reuse them. Make your life simpler, automate the process and use a password manager!
Read more
In my own time
I have a keen interest in technology and smart home tech, constantly exploring the latest advancements to integrate into my work and personal projects. I'm am an avid coffee enthusiast, enjoy city breaks and capturing/documenting our adventures with short travel videos.
On the side, I've also had the pleasure of helping a number of small businesses and friends build an online presence. Most recently: