Coming back to WordPress — why I’m all-in again 

I am coming back to WordPress. Not as a trend, but because that is where I do my best work. Here is how I got here: basic web work before 2010, a webmaster job at Germanna Community College, a move to WordPress on WP Engine, a stretch of Power Apps and SharePoint with government agency contractors, and realizing I missed WordPress.

Before 2010: when websites were mostly files

When I first started — before 2010 — web development was more basic than what most teams expect now. You opened files. You wrote the page. You fixed whatever the browser broke. There were fewer tools in between you and the finished page.

That early work still matters to me. Clear structure. Careful markup. A site someone else can update without calling you every week.

Germanna Community College: my first webmaster job

My first job was at Germanna Community College. Then I got my actual first webmaster job. (That is what we were called back then!) I worked in the marketing and public information office, so I had to learn marketing and advanced web development on the job.

That office setting shaped how I think about websites. Pages had to make sense to students, parents, faculty, and staff. Marketing taught me to ask what the visitor needs before what the software can do. Public information work taught me to live with approvals, brand guidelines, and shared calendars.

Dreamweaver, hand-coded ASP, and Adobe Contribute

Day to day, I worked in Dreamweaver and hand-coded pages with ASP. A lot of content edits went through Adobe Contribute. It was practical campus work: pages that had to load, make sense, and stay editable for people who were not developers.

Designing the new college site: ASP to PHP on WP Engine

I was tasked with designing a new website for the college. That project meant learning an entire new system: from ASP to PHP and WordPress development on WP Engine servers. Edits that once lived in Adobe Contribute moved into WordPress.

It was a big leap and a real improvement. Editors could update the site without waiting on a handoff. Developers could leave something maintainable. That is when my interest in WordPress really took hold — when the tools finally matched how I wanted to build public websites.

Shops, agencies, and more WordPress work

After Germanna I kept building for the open web: in-house roles, shops and agencies, themes, content models, forms, integrations, and the quiet fixes that keep a site trustworthy. I learned how teams get work done under deadlines, with incomplete briefs, and with stakeholders who care more about results than tools.

Power Apps, SharePoint, and government agency contractors

Later I took on different work. On the job, I learned Power Apps and SharePoint development while working with various government agency contractors. That grew into broader Power Platform work — Power Apps, Power Automate, InfoPath migrations, permissions, and helping large organizations move processes into something people could actually use.

I enjoyed it for a while. Working inside the tools people already had was useful. But I was missing WordPress. I missed public websites, content editors who can own their pages, and building something people open in a regular browser.

Coming back to WordPress

So I am coming back to WordPress, along with the wider web development that supports it. Themes and plugins when they earn a place. Clean markup. Sensible content structures. Staging and previews that match how agencies and in-house teams review work. Editable handoffs so the next person is not guessing.

If you run a shop or agency and need a steady WordPress partner for overflow builds, maintainable themes, or accessible handoffs, that is the work I want. Collaborators and full-time teams looking for a WordPress developer with higher-ed marketing roots are welcome too.

What I care about in a build

• Accessible, maintainable sites someone else can own
• Themes and plugins when they earn a place — not by default
• Staging and previews that match how agencies actually review
• Clear documentation so the next developer is not stuck

Coming back does not mean pretending the Power Platform years did not happen. It means using what I learned about process and people, then putting that experience into WordPress and public web work again.

FAQ

Why WordPress again after Power Apps and SharePoint?

My interest in WordPress started at Germanna — webmaster work in marketing and public information, Dreamweaver and ASP, then a college site rebuild in PHP and WordPress on WP Engine. Power Apps and SharePoint with agency contractors were useful for a while. I missed WordPress. That is the work I want to do again.

Who is a good fit?

Agencies with overflow WordPress work, collaborators with a product idea, and companies hiring a WordPress developer. I care about accessible, maintainable builds you can keep using after the project ends.

Where are you based?

Gettysburg, PA — open to remote. I reply within one business day Eastern Time.

Get in touch

If that sounds useful, tell me what you are building. Reach me through the contact form or the Hire page. Share what you need, what “done” looks like, and any constraints that matter. I will reply with a clear next step — no pressure, just a conversation about whether we are a fit.

I am glad to be back where this started. Looking forward to working with you.