I’ve been working on the web since 2007 as an engineer, designer, strategist, user interface consultant, team lead, project manager, and product builder. My broad experience with hundreds of different projects and companies, huge and tiny, give me a lot to draw from when assisting high-performing teams and soloists.
Who I am, what I do, and where I can be found online. Think of this as your "Josh Can Help" primer.
Frequently asked questions about what I do, how I do it, and details about working with me.
Let's connect!
I’m a senior web developer with over 9 years of experience, 7 with WordPress. Over 20,000 hours of development experience gives me a wide perspective and my focus on WordPress and JS makes me an excellent resource for companies using both.
Technologies I work with:
I currently work as an Open Source Engineer for Auth0. At the moment, I’m not taking on any new projects or clients.
Regardless of the industry, when people care deeply about what they’re making and who they’re helping, it shows.
In one of those “meant to be” moments, I met the founder and president of the mind-bogglingly talented craft beer agency here in Seattle, Blindtiger. Oceania (Oce for short) invited me down to the office to talk shop and it just clicked.
8-month engagement to provide engineering, strategy, code review, pair programming, performance reviews, and security guidance.
A few details about the current (5th) iteration of this site.
A WordPress child theme gone mad! Built-in click statistics, moderation controls, grabbing text and images from submitted links, and expiring content.
Just in time for an announcement by Microsoft about their HoloLens project, we launched a complete site rebuild for 8ninths, focusing on their VR and AR capabilities.
Not my typical project these days but I quickly put this together for a friend of mine. His flat-file PHP site was a little long in the tooth so, using his brand colors, I whipped this up all in-browser. Fast, responsive, does the job!
Concept for a log of search terms with no results on a WordPress site.
Just HTML, CSS, and JS goodness! Design by Ernesto D. Morales
In addition to designing and building, I also write. A lot. Technical documents, documentation for products and client sites, status report and estimate emails, blog posts, and so on.
I believe that concise, direct, and clear writing makes the web a better place and fosters great relationships. I pride myself on great communication with clients, non-technical team members, and fellow developers.
The web is made up of words, augmented with images, audio, and video, tied together with code in your browser, on the server, and everywhere else. Being a contributor to the web at large means touching everything during the process.
So I write words, take photos, and write code. Professionally, I’m typically creating the last piece of the puzzle but, for my own projects and ones for friends and family, I like to be a part of the whole process.
Unless attributed, words, photographs, and graphics are my own.
After reading several articles and a great book, Deep Work by Cal Newport, I’m sold: focus is tough, necessary, and at a premium. I’ve been on a month-long discovery process to find how to work more efficiently (in other words: less screen time with more output), produce better, and avoid negative thoughts.
Before this, I wasn’t just losing time, I was actively harming my thought process for the rest of the time that I wasn’t distracting myself. All of this consumption, in the name of doing more and better, was robbing my ability to do just that.
Here are a few things that I think should exist, with my help or without. Make one or make them all, just let me know when they launch.
An incredible movie, a life-changing product, and a quote. Might be just what you need right now too.
I’ve been doing agency development and design work for almost a decade, and customer service for almost 2. But I learned a lot when the tables were turned.
This is a summary of an email I sent to someone who wants to get into creating custom WordPress themes and plugins. I’ve been doing this for over 7 years now and would like to think I have something interesting and helpful to say about this.
Oh wow, you made it all the way down here? I’m impressed but also … a little anxious suddenly. The pressure is on to deliver another chunk of text that will reward you for getting all the way through the stuff above. What else could I possibly tell you?
I am a father of two and a husband to one in Bainbridge Island, Washington. As a family, we explore the city together, take regular family breakfast dates, and make stuff with our hands.
This is my favorite quote of all time. I think we all need a reminder now and then to just do the best we can, regardless of circumstances:
Do not fear going forward slowly;
Fear only to stand still– Chinese Proverb
Even the smallest step forward can mean so much to yourself and those around you.
Here’s one of my favorite videos of all time. I watch this now and again and try to drink in the message as deep as I can (NSFW language):
TL; DW: get it started, kick it off, make the list, open the document, write the first few words. Whatever it is, if it needs to be done and you’re the best person for the job, take a step.
Here are a few great books that I suggest you read, if you’d like: