I love to read about me pages, as they give you a chance to find out more about the person behind the computer screen.
So I really appreciate you've taken the time to learn whether I'm partly normal or just a complete nutter!
I'm on the younger side of 37 and happily engaged to my childhood sweetheart, with two beautiful boys who mean the world to me.
My friends call me Colly Wobbles, or sometimes Nanny because my hair is turning Grey 😂
In my full-time job, I'm a freelance WordPress developer and WordPress SEO. I'm passionate about my work.
What do I get up to off the line?
Gardening & Bonsai! 🌳
Yes, when I'm not wired into my laptop (which is most of the time) you'll find me in the garden practising (or butchering) my collection of Bonsai trees.
I care for an English Oak, Japanese Black Pine, Scotts Pine, Dawn Redwood, Japanese Larch, several Acer palmatum and a huge collection of conifers! I'm a big YouTube fan of Peter Chan.
Reef Aquarium 🐠
I'm interested in marine life and maintain a 350-litre marine aquarium that houses a happy Clownfish pair, Royal Blue Tang, Yellow Tang, Flame Angel, Royal Gamma and a Cleaner Shrimp called Jacques.
I almost have the entire family from Finding Nemo, which is one of my favourite movies (alongside Free Willy and Ghostbusters 2).
I love nature!
Web development background
I've been developing WordPress websites for over a decade, but actually, I've been developing websites a lot longer, over two decades to be precise.
The early years
My first site (and no I won't share it with you) was launched in 1998. I was 13 years old in my parent's dining room, running a PC Time Machine on Windowz 98 with IE4 browser and Notepad! I started coding websites for topics I was interested in (like Cowboys and Ghostbusters).
Professional
A few years later, I had mastered HTML/CSS and was progressing onto e-commerce solutions with an open-source PHP platform called OSCommerce. It's still going strong today, 21 years later!
When I was 18 I launched my first online business which evolved in its heyday selling e-commerce website packages and hosting space through cPanel and WHM.
Affiliate marketing has always interested me because it combines web development with SEO. Over the years I've up-cycled many expired domains to create niche websites that promote products I'm interested in. I still run some of these websites today, which you can read about in my blog and others I've sold on flippa.com.
I completed college where I studied a BTEC in Computers and Electronics at Bournemouth and later went on to study a Computing BSc (Hons) Degree with the Open University.
I've gained agency experience working as an in-house WordPress developer and SEO specialist for Internet marketing companies, as well as for myself working as a freelancer and affiliate marketer.
Where am I now?
I specialise in developing bespoke WordPress themes, and WordPress optimisations and providing SEO consultancy services.
I'm hired by agencies, SMEs, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and other freelancers.
My love for WordPress
From the moment I first encountered WordPress in 2007, it was a case of love at first sight. That initial experience was a revelation – it felt like discovering the digital equivalent of sliced bread.
Since then, I've been fully dedicated to WordPress and I've immersed myself in its capabilities constantly evolving and learning new skills.
My early intuition about WordPress wasn't misplaced, today WordPress powers an impressive 42.6% of the Internet, and in 2021 over 60% of the 100 fastest-growing companies (Inc. 5000) use WordPress!
My connection with WordPress isn't just professional; it's personal. A cherished memory is receiving a WordPress t-shirt from none other than Mike Little, the co-founder of WordPress, at the WordCamp Bournemouth event in 2014.
High five ✋