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 35 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?
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 have an English Oak, Japanese Black Pine (which I grew from seed), Alberta Spruce, Hinoki Cypress and several Acer palmatum. 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 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! I started building 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 OSC. It's still going strong today, 21 years later!
I completed college where I studied a BTEC in Computers and Electronics at Bournemouth. I later went on to study a Computing Bsc (Hons) Degree with the Open University.
When I was 18 I started my first online business which evolved in its heyday selling hosting space through cPanel/WHM.
I gained agency experience working as an in-house WordPress developer for various Internet marketing companies in Bournemouth, before eventually going back to working for myself as a freelancer.
Where am I now?
I specialise in developing bespoke WordPress themes, providing WordPress consultancy services to clients with existing websites, and WordPress SEO/optimisation services.
I'm hired by agencies, business owners, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and other freelancers.
My love for WordPress
It was like love at first sight. I knew the first time I used WordPress back in 2007 it was the best thing since sliced bread.
I've never looked back and I've been fully dedicated to WordPress ever since.
And my judgement was spot on, as now WordPress is the #1 CMS on the planet, powering 30% of the Internet, and in 2021 over 60% of the 100 fastest-growing companies (Inc. 5000) use WordPress!
I even have my very own WordPress t-shirt that was handed to me in person by Mike Little the co-founder of WordPress at Bournemouth's WordCamp Event.
High five ✋