about

A senior developer, expanding by design.

I'm J.D. — a senior web developer based in Tampa Bay, FL. Over the past 10+ years I've built and led custom web projects at marketing and digital agencies and through independent client work — mostly on WordPress, along with Shopify and HubSpot CMS, across SaaS startups, Professional Services, Law Firms, Nonprofits, and beyond.

Along the way I've also scoped project proposals with sales and account teams and trained both clients and junior developers — the parts of the job that don't show up in a stack list but shape how I actually build things.

In 2026 I started expanding into full-stack development with Next.js, TypeScript, and PostgreSQL — not to leave WordPress behind, but to widen what I can build and who I can build it for.

This site tracks that shift as it happens: real projects, real code, and a few things I built just because I wanted to see how they worked.

the path here

How I got here

2016
Where it all started

Landed my first web developer role at a marketing agency, coding custom WordPress themes from design mockups and wiring up CRM integrations. Picked up the trade fast.

2018
Employee of the Month

Grateful for the recognition — a welcome sign I was on the right track. Almost as sweet as winning the company costume contest later that year!

2019
Leveled up to Senior

Same agency, bigger responsibility — multi-platform launches, DNS, and building the onboarding docs that helped new devs ramp up faster.

2020
Freelancing on the side

Picked up side projects for friends, family, and small businesses trying to stay afloat during a tough stretch for everyone.

2022
Scoping projects, still coding

Moved to a digital agency and started sitting in on design reviews and budget conversations before a project ever reached my desk — mentoring newer developers along the way, while staying hands-on with the code.

2026
Expanding into full-stack

Shifted my primary stack to React, Next.js, TypeScript, and Postgres — building complete applications instead of just the front end.

toolbox

What I reach for

Still fluent in what got me here, building daily with what's next.

Current stack
  • React & Next.js
  • TypeScript
  • Tailwind CSS & shadcn/ui
  • Neon Postgres
  • NextAuth / Auth.js
  • Vercel
Workflow
  • Claude Code & VS Code
  • Git & GitHub Actions
  • Notion
  • LocalWP
Other Platforms
  • WordPress & ACF
  • Shopify
  • HubSpot CMS
  • WooCommerce
Design
  • Figma (primary)
  • Photoshop
  • Adobe XD
how I work

Principles I don't compromise on

01
Honest scope, honest timelines

I'd rather tell you a project takes longer than promise a date I can't hit. Scope gets defined before numbers do.

02
Accessible by default

WCAG AA contrast, semantic markup, and keyboard navigation get checked before a design ships — not patched in after.

03
Code that outlives the project

Clean, documented, maintainable — built so the next developer (or future me) isn't cursing my name.

Want to see the work behind the story?

// past projects, filterable by stack and industry