I've always enjoyed building things.
Sometimes that's been software. Sometimes it's been websites. If I'd chosen a different career it might have been restoring engines or making furniture. For me, the satisfaction has always come from taking an idea, understanding the problem, and creating something that works.
I've been working with computers since the days when punch cards were still used to run programs. I started as a programmer writing COBOL before moving into systems analysis and decision support, working with multidimensional modelling systems such as Wizard and Express. As an IT consultant I worked with organisations including Morgan Guaranty, BP and Unilever, helping businesses use technology more effectively.
Along the way I helped implement Unilever's first email system and built its first website. As the internet became commercially important, I moved into web development full time around 2000 and have been designing and building websites ever since for organisations ranging from multinational companies to local businesses and everything in between.
The technology has changed beyond recognition over the last 25 years. I started with table-based layouts and inline CSS. Today I work with PHP 8.5, MySQL, Bootstrap, JavaScript and modern AI tools. The tools continue to evolve, but the underlying job hasn't changed: understand the problem, design the right solution, and build something reliable.
One of my clients once said to me, "Working with you is so refreshing because the answer is always yes."
She was right, although perhaps not in the way she meant.
My answer is usually "yes", but I'll also help steer you away from the wrong question. Sometimes the solution a client asks for isn't the one that will actually solve their problem. My job isn't simply to write code; it's to understand your business, translate that into technology, and build something that genuinely helps.
That's also how I use AI.
There's a lot of discussion about whether AI will replace developers. My experience is that it replaces much of the repetitive work, leaving more time for the parts that matter: architecture, problem solving, testing, refining ideas and making sure the finished product is robust. AI is an incredibly powerful tool, but it's still just a tool. It doesn't understand your business, your customers or your objectives. That's where experience still matters.
Whether I'm building a business website, developing bespoke software or designing an automated workflow, success isn't measured by how clever the technology is. It's measured by whether it solves the problem it was designed to solve.
Ultimately, that's what my clients are really buying.
Not just a website or a piece of software, but the confidence that someone who understands both business and technology is helping them find the right solution. After more than four decades in IT, that's still the part of the job I enjoy most.
Tech stack: PHP 8.5, MySQL 8, Bootstrap 5, vanilla JavaScript, Apache/Nginx, Linux. No bloat, no unnecessary dependencies.