Muhammad Awais
Verified Expert in Engineering
WordPress Developer
Lahore City, Punjab, Pakistan
Toptal member since July 5, 2022
Muhammad is a WordPress expert with over 10 years of experience in building high-performance websites and custom WooCommerce solutions. He specializes in custom plugins, WP-CLI, speed optimization, and solving complex technical challenges. Passionate about clean, efficient code, Awais ensures every project runs smoothly and delivers real business impact.
Portfolio
Experience
- WordPress - 10 years
- Website Maintenance - 8 years
- WordPress Plugins - 8 years
- Gravity Forms - 5 years
- Bug Fixes - 5 years
- WooCommerce - 5 years
- Cloudflare - 5 years
- Optimization - 3 years
Work Experience
WordPress Engineer
Self-employed
- Developed personalized WordPress plugins and customized themes, focusing on optimizing website speed. Additionally, I served as a retainer, managing multiple WordPress-related tasks using the WP CLI.
- Created a Bash script that quickly makes a local environment on DigitalOcean to host the website. The script also handles SSL certificate installation.
- Contributed to an open-source WordPress plugin called WordLift, an AI-based SEO tool.
- Configured and set up WooCommerce stores, implementing payment gateways and shipping options.
- Created and modified WooCommerce templates. Troubleshot and resolved WooCommerce-related issues.
Web Development Support
TPC Leadership Global B.V.
- Earned repeat business from TPC Leadership, being rehired around 6 months after an initial site audit engagement to lead further technical improvements, a direct result of client satisfaction with prior deliverables.
- Resolved structured data (schema) errors flagged in Google Search Console, helping restore accurate rich-result eligibility and improving the site's search visibility.
- Configured Cloudflare-level bot management rules to block unauthorized AI crawler traffic, protecting site content from unauthorized scraping while preserving legitimate search engine indexing and 90% reduction in unwanted bot traffic/bandwidth load.
- Streamlined domain management by configuring DNS forwarding across multiple TLDs (.ch, .com), consolidating brand presence under a unified routing structure.
- Implemented a Content Security Policy via a phased, report-only rollout, strengthening the site's security posture against script-injection attacks without disrupting active traffic.
- Managed hosting-level configuration and troubleshooting (Guru cPanel environment), including server hardening diagnostics, ahead of a planned migration to Hostinger.
- Diagnosed and fixed a WP-admin access failure caused by server-level hardening, restoring full administrative functionality with zero downtime to the live site.
WordPress Engineer
Kalai General Contracting
- Developed a fully responsive Elementor website from scratch, creating custom pages and forms that aligned with client specifications and improved user engagement.
- Configured Google Workspace email accounts and ensured full email deliverability, enabling professional communication for 10+ team members without technical interruptions.
- Optimized website performance, reducing page load times by 35% and ensuring seamless functionality across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
WordPress Engineer
Zoom Digital
- Optimized a WordPress site for page speed using plugins and custom code.
- Created custom plugins to deal with third-party APIs, CPTs, taxonomies, database handling, and import and export.
- Migrated sites from development to production and updated high-traffic sites smoothly.
- Fixed many complex WordPress bugs caused by updates or some other reasons.
- Worked with Elementor-based sites like converting custom templates to Elementor.
WordPress Engineer
DatumSquare IT Services
- Developed a customizable online donation form using jQuery, Twig, and Bloomerang API integration for a donation form for a popular site capitalresearch.org.
- Worked on a number of WordPress sites and developed custom pages and features. Used Bootstrap to make the site responsive, as well as ACF to build custom features quickly.
- Converted a couple of apps built on the Zend Framework 1 to Laravel.
- Customized themes using child themes or plugins. Managed WooCommerce sites and customizations.
Project History
Date Time Field Add-on for Gravity Forms
https://wordpress.org/plugins/gf-datetime-field-add-on/GEN-Y Hitch
Delivery Time for WooCommerce
https://github.com/awais300/delivery-time-woocommerceYoder Oil
https://www.yoderoil.com/Elementor Website Development & Google Workspace Email Integration
https://www.kalaigc.com/• Designed and developed a fully functional Elementor-based website for Kalaigc.com, handling the project from concept to completion. Responsibilities included:
• Built custom pages, forms, and layouts using Elementor to match client requirements.
• Implemented responsive design to ensure the site performs seamlessly on all devices.
• Set up and integrated Google Workspace email accounts for professional communication.
• Configured email deliverability to ensure the smooth sending and receiving of messages.
• Optimized website performance and user experience.
• Delivered a complete, professional, and fully operational website that meets both aesthetic and functional expectations.
Technical Audit
https://tpcleadership.com/Skills
Libraries/APIs
jQuery, WordPress API, Google Maps, Stripe, WooCommerce API, REST APIs, React, Google APIs, WordPress REST API, Node.js, jQuery UI
Tools
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Git, WPBakery, WPML, Mailchimp, ShipStation, Figma, SendGrid, Wix, WP Job Manager, GitHub, WP-CLI, FileMaker, Zapier, Adobe Photoshop, NGINX, Google Analytics
Languages
PHP, HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, PHP 7, CSS3, HTML, SQL, Python
Frameworks
PHP MVC, Next.js, Divi, Tailwind CSS, Laravel, Bootstrap
Paradigms
Responsive Web Design (RWD), UI Design, Agile, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), UX Design, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Web UI Design, Web UX Design, Design Patterns
Platforms
WordPress, WooCommerce, HubSpot, Magento, Mobile, Pantheon, Web, Linux, Ubuntu Linux, Apache2, DigitalOcean, Shopify, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Drupal, Google Ads, WordPress Theme Design, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Klaviyo, Velo by Wix
Storage
WP Engine, Database Architecture, Databases, MySQL, Google Cloud, Caché
Industry Expertise
Web Design
Other
WordPress Plugins, Bug Fixes, Cloudflare, APIs, Elementor, WordPress Themes, Payment APIs, Back-end, Custom Post Types, Landing Pages, Website Maintenance, Full-stack, eCommerce, Web Development, Contact Form 7, Page Speed Optimization, Web Security, WordPress Design, Integration, Custom Themes, Astra, Security, Content Management Systems (CMS), WordPress eCommerce, Servers, Performance Optimization, Yoast SEO, Technical Leadership, Full-stack Development, Beaver Builder, API Integration, Front-end, DNS, Web Hosting, Avada, Site Speed Optimization, WordPress Optimization, WordPress Multisite, DNS Configuration, Web Applications, DNS Servers, WordPress Security, Back-end Development, Multilingual Websites, i18n, Data Security, Core Web Vitals, Software Design, Custom WordPress, Elementor Pro, Data Visualization, Payment Gateways, CSV, PDF, WordPress SEO, Subscriptions, Websites, Responsive Design, HTML Templates, IT Security, Auditing, Mobile eCommerce, IT Consulting, Landing Page Design, Responsive UI, Squarespace, Product Information Management (PIM), WordPress Maintenance, Localization, Maintenance, Upgrades, Performance, User Experience (UX), Technical SEO, Widgets, Franchises, CSS Animations, Database Optimization, Interactive Web Development, Privacy, Troubleshooting, Website Optimization, WordPress Customization, A/B Testing, Agentic RAG Systems, Domain DNS Setup, Front-end Development, WordPress Theme Customization, Bricks, Backup & Recovery, Code Auditing, Vimeo, Themes, Network Solutions, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), WCAG 2, CMS, Security Audits, Website Performance, Aesthetics, Attention to Detail, Translation, Solution Architecture, Optimization, Gravity Forms, Website Migration, CSV File Processing, GoDaddy, QR Codes, User Interface (UI), PayPal, Maps, PCI Compliance, Pixel Perfect, Checkout, System Administration, HubSpot CRM, SEO Tools, API Applications, Web Scraping, Scraping, Data Scraping, Website Data Scraping, FDA compliance, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Strapi, Microsoft 365, Office 365, AI Integration, Design, Large Language Models (LLMs), Shipping Management, Ajax, Digital Payments, Invoices, Visual Composer, IIS, Storybook, Headless CMS, Imagery, Data Cleansing, AI Automation, Branding, Google Structured Data
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