A WordPress Web Developer Who Gets It.
Hello. I’m Neal Chester, your white‑label WordPress partner. I specialize in taking your design files and converting them into FSE Gutenberg themes. WCAG compliant and cross-browser compatible.
- Duration: 1 mos, 160 hrs
- Address: Website URL
Goal Achieved: A website supporting Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper.
Feb 2022 – Mar 2022. Mindgrub hired me to convert several Figma design mockups into a complete WordPress website. The theme supports Customizer, widgets, and custom menus. The site is responsive and utilizes ACF to customize the backend.
Skills: Front-End Development · Back-End Development · WordPress Development
- Duration: 1.5 mos, 95 hrs
- Website: Website URL
Goal Achieved: A multilingual website for Circinus’ worldwide clients.
Dec 2019 – Jan 2020. Ray Parrish, Creative Direction (Durham, NC), hired me to convert several mockups into a complete multilingual website. I used WP Multisite to handle each language. The site was translated into Spanish, French, German, and Arabic. The Arabic language required that the entire site be read and shifted from right to left. The theme supports the Customizer, custom menus, and the Gutenberg editor.
Skills: Front-End Development · Back-End Development · WordPress Development
- Duration: 4 mos, 214 hrs
- Website: Website URL
Goal Achieved: A custom WordPress Theme for Verizon resellers.
Oct 2020 – Jan 2021. The ad agency EP+Co (New York, NY) hired me to convert a mockup into a WordPress theme for Verizon’s nationwide resellers. The goal was to keep the partner sites consistent and on-brand. The theme featured a heavily restricted customized backend using ACF. Other features included a search, product filtering, and a dynamic homepage to showcase featured products.
Skills: Front-End Development · Back-End Development · WordPress Development
- Duration: 1 mos, 87 hrs
- Website: Website URL
Goal Achieved: A custom WordPress intranet site for a division in Sony’s music department.
May 2016 – June 2016. The ad agency Gupta Media (Boston, MA) hired me to convert a mockup into a WordPress theme for Sony Music’s intranet. The theme featured a customized backend using ACF, a universal dashboard, search, a place for artists to add and update their profiles, a company directory, and more. I built the shell, and Gupta handled the rest.
Skills: Front-End Development · Back-End Development · WordPress Development
- Duration: 1 mos, 116 hrs
- Website: Website URL
Goal Achieved: A custom Gutenberg WordPress video membership site.
Developed for Chester Web Consulting, Start Web Smart is an e-course video membership site geared toward educating mid to large sized businesses in the area of website launching. More education equals less money wasted on a digital sales asset that doesn’t convert.
Skills: Front-End Development · Back-End Development · WordPress Development · Membership · Security · Figma · Design
- Duration: 1.5 mos, 130 hrs
- Website: Website URL
Goal Achieved: A Gutenberg WordPress website for Stratyfy.
Ray Parrish, Creative Direction, hired me to convert several mockups into a complete website. The theme supports the Customizer, custom menus, and custom Gutenberg blocks.
Skills: Front-End Development · Back-End Development · WordPress Development · Photoshop
- Duration: 6 mos, 90 hrs
- Website: Website URL
Goal Achieved: A multilingual custom Gutenberg WordPress theme for UL Solutions’ Germany branch.
While at Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global safety science company, I maintained several websites within a WordPress multilingual multisite and converted two Figma designs into live WordPress themes.
Skills: Front-End Development · Back-End Development · WordPress Development · Figma · WP Multisite · WP Multilingual
- Duration: 1 mos, 97 hrs
- Address: Website URL
Goal Achieved: A responsive Gutenberg WordPress site for senior living. Reusable blocks.
Point B, an ad agency, primarily supporting the health care and social assistance sector hired me for an 8 month contract for various web dev needs. I audited and improved 7 existing websites for speed, ADA compliance, and conversions. I was also tasked with email coding and developing two WordPress websites and their launches.
Skills: Front-End Development · Back-End Development · WordPress Development · Figma · Adobe XD
Click a logo above to read a case study.
Experience
Much of my experience involves developing large WordPress websites for agency clients. These relationships were typically long-term remote engagements, varying from three months to over five years.
10+
Yrs Experience
120+
Sites Launched
80%
Built on WP
View PortfolioList of site URL’s
The following websites I took from a Figma or Photoshop file and developed into a full WordPress theme. Including the development of custom gutenberg blocks using Advanced Custom Fields Pro. The sites were cross-browser tested and launched:
- Start Web Smart – Consulting
- Stratyfy – AI Risk Management
- Retire North Carolina
- UL Solutions (Germany)
- Porter’s Neck Village – Senior Living
- Westminster Village – Senior Living
- Nichols Tucker – Law Firm
- Norton Hare – Law Firm
- Circinus Worldwide – Data Security
- Circinus America
- American Beverage Association
- Verizon Wireless
- Sony Music
- Wedding Photography Group
See my entire itemized work experience on Linkedin.
Free Quote
Enter the link to your next design project and I’ll return a quote in 24 hours. Prices: $50/hr ($75/hr after the first 2 projects).
Features:
- Pixel Accuracy
- Codex-compliant
- FSE Gutenberg Themes
- Modern CSS / HTML
- Completed on Time
- WCAG Compliant
- Cross-browser Tested
- Custom Blocks w/ ACF
- Documented Code
- Optional Maintenance
100% happy with the output from Neal. We brought him in halfway through a project vetted by a different developer and he slid in and got to work right away. His communication was reliable and prompt. We pulled Neal in for his expertise in WordPress theme development and it was the right choice. I wouldn’t hesitate to bring him on for a similar project again.
★★★★★
Ron Gaulden, with EP+ Co
for Verizon Wireless
My coding languages and proficiency levels:
Skill Level and
Capabilities
I’m part developer, designer, problem-solver, and often part consultant—especially in agency environments.
Click a skill to learn more.
Front-End Development
From Design to Code:
- Reading design files
- Using Figma and Photoshop
- Attention to detail
- Image export decisions: WebP & SVG
Coding & Workflow:
- HTML5, CSS3, JS w/ jQuery
- Modern CSS (flexbox, grid, custom properties and simple animations)
- Semantic HTML w/ support for technical SEO + Schema
- BEM coding methodology w/ HTML+CSS
- Version control (Git) w/ Github
Accessible + QA:
- Responsive development and mobile friendliness
- Accessibility, WCAG compliance
- Cross-browser testing
Related Skills:
- Problem solving
- Customer service
- Written and video instructions
- Project management
Back-End Development
Coding:
- PHP: Core language for WordPress logic, theme, and plugin development
- The use of JSON, and XML
- Version control (Git) w/ Github
Hosting + Server Admin:
- Server and database management w/ MySQL + MyPhpAdmin
- Familiarity with popular web hosts like WP Engine, Site Ground and GoDaddy
Related Skills:
- Problem Solving
- Leverage of AI
- Customer service
- Project management
- Written and video instructions
Security Best Practices:
- Protecting from common vulnerabilities (SQL injection, XSS, etc.)
- Use of standard security plugins to protect WordPress
- Using SSL (secure socket layer) = HTTPS
WordPress Development
Custom Theming:
- Themes from scratch both traditional, child, and block themes
- WordPress standard coding practices including: enqueueing assets
- Custom post types setup
- WordPress Hooks (actions & filters), the Loop, template hierarchy, etc.
- Advanced Custom Fields Pro (ACF) plugin
- Use of the WordPress Query class when necessary
- Simple plugin development
WP Feature Support:
- Gutenberg Blocks and Full Site Editing
- Custom menus and widgets
- Multi-language
- Customizer
Integration Support:
- API integration using Zapier and dedicated plugins
- CRM, email marketing tools, payment processors, etc (Stripe, Hubspot, Mail Chimp, Sales Force).
- WooCommerce integration and store development
Security:
- Backups, restoration, and migration
- Staging to production environment setup
Related Skills:
- Attention to detail
- Project management
- Problem solving
- Customer service
- Written and video instructions
Page Speed Optimization
Front-end:
- Image optimization, lazy loading, next-gen file formats
- Image and font preloading
- Javascript management w/ Async and Defer
- Use of Content Delivery Networks (CDN) like Cloudflare
Back-end:
- Memory caching
- Browser caching
- GZIP compression (Apache server)
WordPress:
- Caching
- CSS and JS aggregation
- Alternative font delivery
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
- User testing w/ apps like Lyssna
- Monitoring user traffic and onsite interactions
- A/B testing w/ Nelio
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
- Project management
- Sales copy development w/ the help of AI
UX Website Design
- User Experience design (UX)
- Color choices and color psychology
- Font choice and pairing
- Image and icons choices
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
- Project management
- Customer service
- User testing w/ apps like Lyssna
How I Stay Informed
- Nielsen Norman Group
- WP Mail & WP Weekly
- Kevin Powell (CSS)
- Lyssna (UX, CRO Testing)
Interested? Let’s Talk
I am available remotely for short-term projects and long-term contracts (including work-to-hire) (W2 or 1099). Payments can be made through direct deposit or PayPal.
