WordPress · plugins · web apps
Open for freelance, contract, or full-time roles
I build clean, maintainable websites and other applications tailored for agencies and growing businesses—no bloated page builders required.
At a glance
Most production work lived inside employers, so I am now publishing Sage/WordPress work, plugins, and spec builds on GitHub.
Employers on the record: Saliense, All Native Group, and Knowledge Capital Associates (USMC).
PowerApps, Power Automate, and InfoPath for federal agencies — details on the hire page. There is no public demo.
WordPress is the specialty. Adjacent work — APIs, React, Power Platform, deploys — is in range because I am a self-taught problem solver with 17 years in-house.
Hiring managers can ask for a private walkthrough of constrained employer work under NDA.
About me
I started in higher-ed marketing. The public trail is Sage, WordPress, plugins, and spec builds on GitHub.
The gallery showcases WordPress themes and plugins I ship on Sage 11. I have done a handful of silent agency-sub jobs; this site is not a client grid.
Skills & tools
Tools I reach for on real projects. Not an exhaustive list.
WordPress
JavaScript
Frontend
Dev Tools
AI & Tooling
Workflow
Marketing
Process
Four steps. Written scope. You own everything at the end.
Tell me who the site is for, what's broken, and what a win looks like. A paragraph is plenty — no spec doc required.
I send a plain list of work, a rough timeline, and an explicit list of what's out of scope. You approve or push back.
I use modern tools — including AI assistants — to move faster on the parts that are repeatable. Every line ships only after I've read and tested it myself. You get staged previews on real pages, not mockups.
You own everything: the domain, the hosting, the database, the code. I write you a plain-language handoff guide and stay reachable for questions.
Honest expectations
Most conversations start with the wrong question ("how much does a website cost?"). These answers might save us both time.
Good fit
Not a fit
How I work
Sage 11, Blade, Tailwind, Vite, and PHP 8.3 — deployed through GitHub. Here is how I run a build from the first note to a clean handoff.
Hosting, DNS, the database, and the Git repo sit in accounts under your name before we close. The Sage theme, plugins, env notes, and deploy path go with the site — so another developer can pick up without guessing.
Separate host login, GitHub access, and wp-admin for the shop — never a seat under my reseller account.
I build with Sage 11, Blade templates, Tailwind, and page fields shops edit in WordPress — not a page builder. If an owner cannot update hours or a product in a couple of minutes, the theme is not done.
Before launch I walk every editable field, leave a short handoff note, and record a Loom when the edit path is non-obvious.
Cursor, Claude, and ChatGPT help with scaffolding, boilerplate, and first-pass PHP. I still read, test, and own every line that reaches production — Vite builds, PHP 8.3, and GitHub Actions included.
A typical marketing site lands in about one to two weeks. Same review bar as a longer build — less time on work that does not need a human rewrite.
Custom work lives in focused PHP plugins or theme modules with standard WordPress hooks, PHPDoc, and a clean uninstall path. If a feature fits in dozens of lines, it should not arrive as a kitchen-sink plugin.
Most sites run a short plugin list. I audit and remove weight that does not earn its keep.
Blade stays thin; logic lives in App helpers with typed functions and explicit names. If another developer cannot follow a function in half a minute, I rewrite it before handoff.
PHPDoc on public functions, short files, and Git commits that explain why — not clever abbreviations.
Semantic HTML, keyboard paths, and contrast that hold up. Labels, errors, and handoff notes read like they were written for a busy shop owner — welcoming to developers, clear for everyone else.
Field labels and button text get the same care as the public page. If I have to explain a field, I rename it.
Projects
Themes and plugins with live demos for tours, shops, and inns. Buy a pack when it is listed, or hire me to adapt one. Employer work stays private unless a shop asks to be featured.
WordPress theme for farms, land, and historic homes — listings, agents, and showing requests.
A scoop board, online orders, and three shops.
A guide site with day and night tours and a battlefield map.
Open source
Sage 11 WordPress theme framework: Customizer tools, GitHub project pages, and a deep options system.
Sage 11 WordPress theme for matthummel.com. Blade templates, Tailwind, and pages shops can edit.
WordPress plugin that builds a table of contents from heading blocks. PHP, Gutenberg, and a small public API.
Sage 11 WordPress theme for the Matt Hummel studio site — Blade, Vite, and the same stack as this portfolio.
Private family app: authentication, invites, and posts. React on the front end, Supabase for data and sign-in.
Journal
Practical notes from WordPress, PHP, JavaScript, React, APIs, and real project work. Most posts include code you can adapt or use.
Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude, n8n, and CI compared. Scaffolding gets faster. Review, testing, and the last yes stay mine.
Read "5 Ways my new AI WordPress Workflow Actually speeds up development (and what it doesn’t)"More recent posts
The domain is in your name. The hosting account is yours. The database, the files, the code — all yours. I have no access after handoff unless you invite me. You can take everything to another developer tomorrow and they'll have what they need.
Development. I can work from your design, a reference site, or a well-described direction. For original design work, I'll refer you to someone who does it properly rather than half-guess at it.
A simple site with a few pages and a contact form: two to three weeks. Something with custom fields, filtering, or a booking system: four to eight weeks. I'll give you a realistic estimate during scoping, not an optimistic one.
Yes — that's the whole point. Pages use standard WordPress fields so editing feels like filling in a form, not touching code. I'll document anything unusual in plain English before I hand off.
Yes. I have worked as a silent sub on a handful of agency jobs. You keep the client relationship, I stay in the background. Rate is project-based. Write and tell me what you’re working on.
No. I have about 17 years of in-house employer web work. Most of that cannot be shown. Public GitHub is the trail I started in 2025.
PowerApps, Power Automate, and InfoPath for federal agencies are on the hire page. There is no public demo.
WordPress is the specialty. Adjacent work — APIs, React, Power Platform, deploys — is in range because I am a self-taught problem solver with 17 years in-house.
Get in touch
Recruiters can write through the contact form. Shops can browse themes and plugins. I usually reply within a day.
