About

About

Your web development partner

I’m a freelance web developer based in Worcester, MA, with over a decade of experience helping small- and medium-sized companies navigate the world of web development. I’ve built and shipped over 125 projects to production, but what sets me apart isn’t how many projects I’ve shipped; it’s the breadth and depth of expertise I bring to every engagement.

Breadth of expertise matters

Rather than specialize in one area, I’ve cultivated expertise across the entire web development ecosystem. My experience spans:

Full-stack development: From frontend frameworks like React, Vue, Next.js, and Nuxt.js to backend business logic in Ruby on Rails and other full-stack frameworks, I handle every layer of your application.

Design & user experience: Years of collaboration with designers and UX experts have allowed me to develop an intuition for what makes websites not just functional, but beautiful and effective.

Performance & analytics: Performance is top-of-mind for every project I work on. Fast-loading websites don’t just improve user experience, they directly impact conversion rates, SEO rankings, and ultimately your bottom line.

SEO & visibility: I optimize for organic search traffic and help you understand what’s working and what isn’t. Your website needs to be discoverable and reach its intended audience in order to be effective.

Security & compliance: I audit sites for vulnerabilities and ensure WCAG accessibility standards are met, protecting both your business and your users (making a website accessible to those with disabilities isn’t just the right thing to do - it’s the law!).

E-commerce & payments: From small online stores to multi-million dollar businesses, I’ve integrated payment processors, handled subscriptions, and built scalable commerce solutions.

Infrastructure & operations: My systems administration experience with Linux servers gives me deep insight into how applications perform in production, not just in development.

My ideal partnership

I usually fit best with clients who are large enough to need robust, purpose-built solutions that can’t be achieved with something out-of-the-box, but who also don’t have the resources to hire specialists in-house. You might be a growing business that needs someone who can wear multiple hats, or an established company looking for an expert consultant who can see the big picture.

What I look for in a client:

  • Collaborative mindset: The best results come from working together as partners
  • Interesting problems to solve: I thrive on technical challenges and complex requirements
  • Long-term thinking: While I handle fixed projects, I prefer building ongoing relationships

My approach

I pride myself on providing honest recommendations and never upselling you on services you don’t need. I advocate for solutions that give you the best value, even if that means I make less money. My goal is to give you freedom: freedom from vendor lock-in, freedom to work with other developers in the future, and freedom to focus on growing your business.

When you work with me, you’re not just hiring a developer. You’re getting an integrated team member who will:

  • provide strategic guidance beyond just coding
  • help you make informed technology decisions
  • be available when you need expertise outside my traditional role
  • act ethically and in your best interest
  • always prioritize your long-term success over short-term profits

Technical expertise

My toolkit includes modern web technologies including (but not limited to!):

Frontend technologies

  • Languages: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (ES6+), TypeScript, Sass/SCSS
  • Frameworks/libraries: React, Vue.js, Alpine.js, jQuery
  • Meta-frameworks: Next.js, Nuxt.js
  • CSS frameworks: Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap, Foundation
  • Build tools: Webpack, Vite, esbuild

Backend technologies

  • Languages: PHP, Node.js, Ruby
  • Frameworks: Ruby on Rails, Laravel
  • APIs: REST

Databases

  • Relational: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB
  • NoSQL: MongoDB, Redis
  • ORMs: ActiveRecord

Content management systems (CMS) & e-commerce

  • Traditional CMS: WordPress, Drupal
  • Headless CMS: Storyblok, Statamic
  • E-commerce: Shopify, WooCommerce

Static site generators

Jekyll, Hugo, Gatsby, Astro

Cloud & infrastructure

  • Cloud providers: AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, Linode, Kinsta
  • Hosting: Vercel, Netlify, Heroku, Render
  • CDN: Cloudflare
  • Containers: Docker, Docker Compose

DevOps & deployment

  • Version control: Git, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket
  • CI/CD: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Bitbucket Pipelines
  • Server management: Linux administration, Apache, Nginx
  • Monitoring: Sentry, Rollbar

Search & indexing

  • Search: Algolia

Payment & e-commerce tools

  • Payment processors: Stripe
  • Subscription management: Stripe Billing, ReCharge, Skio

Analytics & marketing

  • Analytics: Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
  • SEO tools: Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, SEMrush
  • Email: Mailchimp, Active Campaign, SendGrid, Postmark, Amazon SES

Security & performance

  • Performance: Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights, Core Web Vitals
  • Accessibility: WCAG compliance

Design & prototyping tools

Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator)

Project management & communication

Slack, Jira, Trello, Asana, project estimation, agile methodologies

Need help with something else?

I’m not a “PHP developer” or a “Javascript developer” or even just a “developer” - I take on projects of all kinds and I’m always open to learning new things. I routinely take projects that are outside of my comfort zone, and you can count on me to be transparent about my skills and levels of expertise. If the project isn’t a good fit, I’m happy to try to connect you with someone else in my network who might be.

Ready to work together?

Whether you need a complete website rebuild, want to add new features to an existing application, or are looking for ongoing partnership, I’d love to hear about your project. You can reach me at alex​@​agk.io.

I look forward to hearing from you!