Web development
WordPress consultant
Sometimes the job is not to build something, but to work out what should be built and who should do it.
- Same-day reply
- Fixed price
- No lock-in
- Vendor independent
- Technical review
- Proposal review
- Architecture decisions
Service
WordPress consultant
Typical engagements
- You have three agency proposals that are hard to compare because they describe different things.
- A choice has to be made between rebuilding and repairing, and nobody internally has the grounds for it.
- An agency is on its way out and a proper handover is needed.
- The site needs to scale to more languages or more brands and the structure will not hold.
What I deliver
A written assessment of a few pages, written so a non-technical director can read it. No eighty-page appendix of tool screenshots.
I go into the actual code, not just what can be seen from the outside. That is where the difference lies between an advisor and someone who has had to maintain it afterwards.
On being independent
I have no partner deals with hosting providers, theme shops or plugin companies. I get no commission if you pick one over the other.
That also means if the conclusion is that you should stay with your current vendor, I write that. It has happened more than once.
Deliverables
What you get
Concrete deliverables, not a report of recommendations someone else has to find time for.
- A written assessment
A few pages, written so a non-technical director can read it. No eighty-page appendix of screenshots.
- A code review
Not only what is visible from outside. That is where the difference lies between an advisor and someone who has had to maintain it.
- A comparison of proposals
What is actually included in each proposal and what gets expensive later. They are rarely comparable as written.
- Attendance at meetings
If you want someone present who can ask the technical follow-up questions. It usually changes the tone of the conversation.
Process
How it works
Four steps. You know what happens when, and you can stop after any of them.
- 01
Get on a call
Twenty minutes where you explain what is going wrong and I ask the questions that decide the scope. I say so immediately if the job is not a fit.
- 02
I read the code
Before quoting I spend half a day to a day reading the project. You get an honest assessment of the state of things, including when it is worse than you hoped.
- 03
Fixed price and scope
You get a written quote with what is included, what is not, and when it is done. Not a three-month range you cannot plan around.
- 04
Delivery in your workflow
I work in your git repository and open pull requests that can be reviewed. Everything I touch is documented, so knowledge does not walk out the door with me.
Who does the work
I am the person you will be working with
My name is Mikkel and I have been building for the web since 2010. There is no project manager in between, and you will not get a junior on the job because the senior was busy. What you agree is what gets built, and I am the one building it.
Day to day I am a partner at Bigum&Co, and I have worked on more than 400 projects across ecommerce, pharma, construction and the public sector. Call or write — I usually reply the same day, and I will say straight away if the job is not a fit.
- Experience
- 16 yrs
- Projects
- 400+
- Rating
- 5.0
- Reply time
- Same day
In depth
WordPress consultant
Rebuild or repair
This is the decision I most often get brought in for. The site is not working well enough, there are rebuild proposals on the table, and nobody internally has the grounds to judge whether it is necessary.
The answer depends on three things. How much of the current code was written by someone who knew what they were doing. How locked the content is in a particular page builder or structure. And how big the gap is between what the site needs to do today and what it was built for.
If the code is reasonable and the content is free, you can usually get a long way with a cleanup at a fraction of the price. If the content is locked in a page builder and the site now needs to do something quite different, a rebuild is honestly cheaper than fighting it.
I have given both answers. It has happened more than once that the conclusion was to stay with your current vendor and spend the money elsewhere. That is not good business for me in the short term, but it is the only way the assessment is worth anything.
On being independent
I have no partner agreements with hosting providers, theme shops or plugin companies, and I get no commission if you pick one over the other. It is worth asking about when someone recommends you something — not because commission is wrong in itself, but because it shapes the recommendation and you should know.
It also means I do not have an implementation team that needs work. The advice is not a sales meeting dressed as a report, and the memo is written so someone else can execute it.
If you want me to build afterwards, I am happy to. But the assessment looks the same regardless of who ends up doing the work.
Reviews
What people say about me
Mikkel is a man after my own heart. Executes at lightning speed, has an eye for detail and is always there when you need him. It does not get better than that.
Tini Owild(translated from Danish) He is simply a pro. Highly competent and precise, brings good input, and is a huge support.
Carsten Johan Thessen(translated from Danish) I have never come across a developer as dedicated and capable as Mikkel.
Jonas Krogslund(translated from Danish)
Services
Why me
- 16 years of experience
I have built for the web since 2010 and seen most of the ways a project can come off the rails. It makes the estimates more honest.
- 400+ projects
Across ecommerce, pharma, construction and the public sector. Chances are I have seen something close to your job before.
- You talk to the person coding
No project manager in between, and no junior on the job because the senior was busy. What you agree is what gets built.
Brands I have worked with
A selection. Some freelance, some through agencies, some across several years.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
- Can you join meetings with our agency?
- Yes. I do it regularly, and it usually changes the tone of the conversation when someone in the room can ask the technical follow-up questions.
- How long does a review take?
- A technical review of an ordinary site typically takes two to three days including the report. With a webshop and several integrations involved it grows a bit.
- Do you also build it afterwards?
- Only if you want me to. The advice is not a sales meeting dressed up as a report, and I write it the same way regardless of who ends up doing the work.
- How long does a review take?
- A technical review of an ordinary site takes two to three days including the report. With a webshop and several integrations it grows a bit.
- Can you join meetings with our agency?
- Yes, and I do it regularly. It usually changes the conversation when someone is present who can ask the technical follow-up questions.
- What if our vendor will not give access?
- Then that is information in itself. You can get some way from the outside, but access to code and server is what makes the assessment precise. I am happy to help word the request.