Web development
WordPress developer
I have worked in WordPress since version 3. Most of what I do now is cleaning up installations where 40 plugins do 12 different things and nobody dares switch anything off.
- Same-day reply
- Fixed price
- No lock-in
- Custom themes, no page builder
- ACF and blocks
- WooCommerce
- Security and updates
Service
WordPress developer
Custom themes over off-the-shelf
A purchased theme is cheap to start with and expensive to live with. You pay in speed, in code you cannot read, and in every customisation needing a child theme with thirty overrides.
I build themes from scratch with Advanced Custom Fields or blocks, depending on who is editing. The result is usually a tenth as much code, and an admin interface where the fields are named something that makes sense to the person using them.
Cleaning up existing sites
- Mapping which plugins are actually used and what they cost in load time.
- Removing duplicate functionality — three SEO plugins is not three times the SEO.
- Database cleanup: stale transients, revisions and tables from plugins deleted in 2019.
- Updating PHP and the code that stops working under PHP 8.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce can absolutely run a store, but it gets heavy as catalogues grow. I work on product data structure, caching strategy and the points in checkout where people typically drop off.
If you are past a couple of thousand SKUs with serious growth ahead, I usually say out loud that Shopify might be the better fit. It is not my call, but you should have the grounds for it.
Deliverables
What you get
Concrete deliverables, not a report of recommendations someone else has to find time for.
- A custom theme
Built with ACF or blocks depending on who edits. Usually a tenth as much code as a purchased theme.
- Fewer plugins
A map of what is actually used and what each one costs in load time. The rest gets solved in the theme.
- PHP and dependencies updated
Including the code that stops working under newer PHP. It is one of the things postponed until it becomes urgent.
- A cleaned database
Stale transients, revisions and tables from plugins deleted five years ago.
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 developer
What a WordPress developer does that an agency does not
There are two ways to build WordPress. One is to buy a theme and a page builder and assemble it. It is cheap to start with, and there is nothing wrong with it if the site is small and will stay that way.
The other is building the theme yourself, with fields and blocks matching what the site actually needs. It costs more up front and markedly less afterwards, because every change becomes fast and because there are not three layers of code between what you want to change and what gets rendered.
The difference shows after eighteen months. The purchased theme has picked up fourteen plugins to cover what was missing. The front page pulls three megabytes of JavaScript to render four sections. Nobody dares update the theme, because changes were made directly in it.
The custom theme has ten plugins, a front page under a megabyte, and an admin where the fields are named something that makes sense to the person using them. It is not cleverer code — it is just fewer layers.
On page builders
I do not start new projects in Elementor, Divi or WPBakery. Not because they are badly made, but because they are the single factor that most often ruins performance on Danish WordPress sites, and because they make content hard to move later.
It is worth knowing what you are committing to. Content built in Elementor sits as Elementor's own data structure in the database. Switch the plugin off and you have a page full of shortcodes. That is a real cost of switching, and it rarely comes up when the theme is sold.
I can happily maintain a site already running on them, and I do not propose a rebuild just because I would have done it differently. But when we are talking about something new, I say no.
Reviews
What people say about me
Mikkel Tschentscher is my lifeline when something is urgent and nobody else can work it out.
Torben Wiese(translated from Danish) 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)
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 work on a theme someone else built?
- Yes. I start by reading through it and tell you honestly whether it makes more sense to build on it or start over. Sometimes the answer is to build on it even though the code is ugly.
- Do you use Elementor or WPBakery?
- Not by choice. I can maintain a site that already runs on them, but I do not start new projects in them. It is the single factor that most often ruins performance on Danish WordPress sites.
- Do you also do ongoing maintenance?
- To a limited extent, and only for clients I have built for. Updates, security checks and backup verification. I do not take on pure maintenance contracts off the street.
- Can you work on a theme someone else built?
- Yes, and it is much of what I do. I start by reading through it and say honestly whether building on it or starting over makes more sense.
- Do you do ongoing maintenance?
- To a limited extent, and only for clients I have built for. Updates, security checks and backup verification. I do not take pure maintenance contracts off the street.
- What about multisite and multiple languages?
- I have worked with both. Multiple languages is usually the hardest part, not technically, but because it doubles the amount of content someone has to keep current.