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 that you've taken the time to learn whether I'm normal or just a complete nutter!
I'm on the younger side of 40 39 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 role, I work as a freelance SEO specialist and WordPress developer. 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 400-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).
I love nature!
Digital background
I've been building and optimising websites professionally for the last twenty years, but I've actually been developing websites for almost three decades, to be precise.
Back in the 90s (the good old days!)
My first website (and no, I won't share it with you) was launched in 1998. I was 13 years old in my parents' dining room, running a PC Time Machine on Windows 98, armed with a dial-up modem, Internet Explorer 4, and Notepad 4.1. I started coding websites for topics I was interested in (like Fish, 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 and services 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 BS Degree with the Open University.
I've gained over 10 years of agency experience across two specialist roles, starting as a WordPress developer, where I supported bespoke builds and custom themes, and later moving into SEO, where I progressed to lead strategist, delivering results for national and global brands. Alongside my agency experience, I've spent another 10+ years running freelance SEO and WordPress projects independently.
Where am I now?
I now provide freelance SEO services and website development services. I can work with any platform for SEO (WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento or custom). For new site builds, I'm a big fan of WordPress.
I'm hired by digital marketing agencies, SMEs, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and other freelancers. You can find me on LinkedIn.
My love for WordPress
From the first time I encountered WordPress in 2007, it was love at first sight.
Since then, I've been fully dedicated to WordPress, immersing myself in its capabilities and 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 Mike Little, the co-founder of WordPress, at the WordCamp Bournemouth event in 2014.
High five ✋