Need a web developer?
Tight deadlines. Tricky problems. High stakes projects.
I've been navigating all of it for over twenty years, working alongside agencies and established companies who need a developer they can hand a project to and trust it gets done right.
How can I help you?
Every company is in a different situation when they reach out. Some need a full build, some need reinforcements, some need someone to untangle a mess someone else left behind. Here are the most common scenarios — see which one sounds like yours.
Website development
A growing organization needs a website their team can actually manage. Content is scattered across legacy systems, editors are frustrated, and the current setup can't handle multiple languages or traffic spikes. They need a clean, structured CMS build that works as hard as their team does.
Agency overload
A digital agency has more work than their team can handle. Deadlines are slipping and they need a senior developer who can parachute in, understand the project fast, and deliver — without hand-holding, client drama, or cutting corners. White-label, no client poaching. Just clean work, on time.
E-commerce integration
A mid-sized retailer's website is costing them sales. Slow load times, clunky checkout, no mobile optimization. They need a developer who can rebuild the experience on Shopify — properly integrated with their inventory and customer data — without blowing up their timeline or budget.
AI Chatbot & Knowledge Base
A professional services firm has a mountain of documentation, FAQs, and product content that customers can never seem to find. They need a custom AI assistant embedded in their site that can answer questions accurately from their own content — not hallucinate from the open web.
Who have I helped?
I've worked with a lot of great teams over the years.
Here's what some of them have to say about the experience.
We hired Derrick on contract to complete a web application project for one of our clients. Timelines were extremely tight, but Derrick was always calm under pressure and came through for us in a huge way. His attention to detail, flawless execution, and depth of knowledge in front- and back-end web development are only a few of many of Derrick's strengths.
Sam Najjar - The Marketing Store
Having Derrick as a developer has been a game changer for us. He continually gets our projects done to perfection and on time. With our site being a critical resource for over 950,000 manufacturing and distribution businesses, we couldn’t afford any missteps. We’re thrilled with the results and couldn’t recommend more highly!
Christina Morrison - True North Insight
Not all the skills we need can be brought in-house. Sometimes we have to hire contractors. Generally, I view this as a necessary evil. However, in Derrick's case, it was a great experience. He not only had the knowledge and skills, but understood what we needed and got it done.
Wayne Rasmuss - Popstar Networks
Derrick's smart contributions to the project, his willingness and ability to use our processes, and his openness to feedback were all incredibly important to getting it over the finish line. I specifically appreciated how he was able to think creatively about how to solve the problems at hand. The client is very happy and they started getting real sales this week.
Stephen Callender - Foster Commerce
Derrick is a wealth of information! Not only is he incredibly communicative but deeply analytical, technologically skilled and does immense topic research. I am pleased and proud to have worked with Derrick as I gained personal knowledge through this experience. Highly recommend as he is someone you can speak with on a practical level to get positive results.
Mitch Beyer - Thermacell
What do I do?
I specialize in website and web application development, with over twenty years of experience across agencies, startups, and established brands. My tech stack is focused and battle-tested — PHP, Laravel, Craft CMS, Shopify, and modern JavaScript — and I know how to pick the right tool for the job. There's a bit more about me and how I work on my about page.
Laravel
My framework of choice for web applications that need to be fast, reliable, and built to scale. Laravel lets me write clean, maintainable code that solves real business problems without the technical debt.
Craft CMS
My go-to for content-driven websites that clients can actually manage. Craft's flexible content modelling and intuitive control panel let me build custom solutions that editors love and developers don't have to babysit.
Shopify
For e-commerce that goes beyond stock templates. I use Shopify's platform as a foundation and build on top of it — custom design, custom functionality, properly integrated with your inventory, CRM, and marketing stack.
What have I done?
Over twenty years I've worked on projects that range from small business websites to large-scale applications for some of the world's biggest brands. A few favourites are below — each one came with its own challenges, which is honestly the part I enjoy most.
Who have I worked with?
I've been fortunate to work with talented agencies and world-class brands around the world. They come back because I show up, do the work, and hold myself to their standards.
Why hire me?
There's no shortage of developers out there. Here's what makes working with me different — and why the companies and agencies I work with keep coming back.
Get In, Get Out
Define a mission. Get in. Get it done. Get out. I like to set clearly defined parameters and goals for a project and then deliver ...
I have a curious mind
I love a challenge and coming up with creative solutions. The best part of being a developer is the problem solving. Think about it, break it down, and then start solving. Some of the best projects I have worked on presented the toughest problems.
Pressure makes diamonds
The gold standard for high-pressure, tight-deadline projects in my career was the NBC 2012 Olympics media site — built to handle global traffic for one of the most watched events on the planet. That's the kind of project that either breaks you or proves what you're made of. I'm still here.
How can I help you?
If you made it this far, you probably have a project worth talking about. Get in touch — I'd love to hear what you're working on.
Send me a message or call me @ 905.251.0319.