Custom websites, built to the highest technical standard
A website that loads fast, is accessible to everyone and that you enjoy keeping up to date yourself. Custom-built in WordPress, for businesses and organisations that take their website seriously.
Previous clients
What custom means for you
Custom websites
Custom means that everything on your website is there because you need it. So it starts with a conversation about what the site has to do and for whom. Then I develop a bespoke theme that follows the design closely.
That theme works with the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg). You build pages from blocks that fit your content and brand, and see what the page will look like while you edit. Creating a new page or changing an existing one is something you do yourself, and the result keeps looking the way it was designed.
The code underneath is written to the WordPress standards and contains only what the site uses. That makes it fast, accessible and easy to maintain.
Why WordPress
WordPress is open source and runs more than forty per cent of all websites. The site and its content are yours, and any good WordPress developer can take it forward. Almost any system can be connected to it, from newsletter to CRM.
I have worked with it for more than fifteen years, speak at WordPress meetups and develop my own plugins. That experience goes into every site: in the choices made up front, and in the details you still appreciate years later.
Integrating with the systems you already use
What can be integrated
Your website can be integrated with the software your organisation runs on. Vacancies that appear on your site straight from Recruitee, Byner or Greenhouse. Enquiries and leads that land in your CRM, such as HubSpot or Salesforce. Newsletter sign-ups sent to Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign or Laposta. Or logging in with an existing account, through single sign-on.
Your system not listed?
Chances are it can still be done. Almost any system with an API can be integrated, and where there is no API, an export or import often does the job. I find out up front what the system can do, so you know what is possible and what it costs before development starts.
Curious what is possible? See plugins and integrations.
When to bring me in
For a new website, an existing one, and for agencies.
You want a new website
Everything from design to maintenance taken care of. For the design I work with designers I partner with regularly, so you have one point of contact for the whole project. If there is already a design, I develop that.
You want to keep developing your website
A good website keeps moving. A new service is added, an integration, easier management, or the site needs to be faster. I first look at what is there and build on what is good, even if someone else made the site. Small improvements run through a fixed number of hours per month, larger pieces become a project of their own.
You are an agency looking for a senior developer
For client projects where you want extra experience or capacity. I develop alongside your team or take on the entire technical side, and join meetings with the client when that helps.
What you get
What comes with every website.
- A bespoke theme in the block editor
You build and change pages yourself, and they keep looking the way they were designed. - Fast
Core Web Vitals in the green at launch. These are the metrics Google uses to measure what visitors experience. - Accessible
Developed with WCAG 2.2 as the guideline, so everyone can use the site. - Code that follows the standards
Written to the WordPress Coding Standards and checked automatically. - One point of contact
The person you talk to is the person who builds it. From the first conversation through to maintenance. - Honest advice
I think along with you and say so when something can be simpler, better or cheaper. - A long-term partnership
Most clients stay for years. I know their site and their organisation, and that makes every next addition better. - Easy to hand over
Code in Git, documented. Fellow freelancers step in during illness or holidays.
How it works
From the first conversation to a partnership that lasts for years.
Explore
We call or meet. You tell me what needs to happen and for whom, I ask questions.
Define
I work out what will be developed and what it costs. In this phase the design comes from one of my regular designers or from your own designer.
Build
I develop in stages. You follow along on a test environment and adjust course. Once you approve, the site goes live.
Maintain and develop
I keep the site technically up to date, and it grows with what your organisation needs.
Recent work
Custom website with modular blocks
Pricing and maintenance
What it costs
Projects of any size are welcome, from a single component to a complete website. The price depends on the number of page types and blocks, the integrations and the amount of content that moves across. You get a fixed price as soon as it is clear what needs to be done. Smaller work is charged by the hour.
Maintenance and ongoing development
These are two different things. With a maintenance contract I keep the site up to date: updates to WordPress, plugins and PHP, on a fixed schedule. Ongoing development is the partnership after that. The site grows with your organisation, with new features at the moment you need them.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. You work in the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg), with blocks made for your site. Creating pages, editing text and changing images is something you do yourself, and it keeps looking the way it was designed.
Yes. A good website is more than technology, so I work with a regular network of freelancers. For design that is Ivo Ruijters of Around Seven, for SEO Roy Huiskes of Chapter42 and for copy David Brinks of Hardcopy. You choose who you bring in. I coordinate the work with them, so you keep one point of contact.
Yes. I look at the code first and tell you what is good and what I would improve. Often a site can build on what is there. If starting over is wiser, you will hear that, along with the reason.
Then a fellow freelancer takes over. The code is in Git and documented, so someone else can pick it up straight away.
Daily, as a tool. AI writes a large part of the code, and I review every line before it goes live. The quality comes from knowing what good code looks like. Sensitive client data never goes into an AI.
Looking for a developer you can rely on for years? I’m Mark.
I develop websites, webshops and applications in WordPress and Laravel, and have since 2011, for clients including the University of Twente, Giro555 and iCulture. Most clients have worked with me for years.
Tell me what you want to achieve, and you’ll hear from me personally what I would do. Even if you don’t know yet exactly what you need.