Tiberiu is available for hire
Hire TiberiuTiberiu Petcu
Verified Expert in Engineering
WordPress Developer
Bucharest, Romania
Toptal member since March 17, 2021
Bio
Tiberiu is a PHP/WordPress developer and team lead with 17+ years of experience. He has been working with WordPress since version 1.0.2, creating and maintaining a multitude of websites, plugins, and themes. Based on client needs, he proposes solutions, creates software architecture, writes code, and customizes applications and web apps. The elegant web and mobile solutions Tiberiu has developed include Bordeaux.com, eCommerce sites, football team management, and a travel aggregator.
Portfolio
Kafe Rocks
WordPress, Twig, PHP, Vanilla JS, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes...
Apiiro, Inc
WordPress, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Search Engine Optimization (SEO)...
Noma Security, Inc
CSS, HTML, WordPress, Scroll Animations, Figma to WordPress...
Experience
- WordPress Themes - 17 years
- WordPress - 17 years
- PHP - 17 years
- JavaScript - 17 years
- jQuery - 16 years
- WordPress Plugins - 16 years
- PSD to WordPress - 15 years
- WordPress REST API - 10 years
Preferred Environment
Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Claude Code, Codex, Git, Google Antigravity
The most amazing...
...project I've been involved in was leading the team that developed the new Bordeaux.com website.
Work Experience
Lead WordPress Developer
2021 - PRESENT
Kafe Rocks
- Planned and architectured a custom-made solution that will be the backbone of 80% of the company's assets. The solution is heavily optimized for page speed and core web vitals.
- Implemented a private solution that allowed the twig templating engine to be used by WordPress themes and plugins.
- Kept a tight connection with product managers, design, QA, SEO, and content to ensure everything gets communicated correctly with the dev team and everyone is aligned with the company's goals.
- Conducted the WordPress dev team interviews and provided assistance during onboarding to new team members.
Technologies: WordPress, Twig, PHP, Vanilla JS, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, WordPress API, Yoast SEO, SEO Tools, WooCommerce API, REST APIs, API Integration, Gravity Forms, Full-stack, Git, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Elementor, APIs, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Responsive Web Design (RWD), WordPress Design, Theme Customization, Sass, Laravel, Webpack, Figma, React, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Leadership, Performance Optimization, Custom Themes, SCSS, Gutenberg Editor, Cloudflare, Technical SEO, Agile, Technical Leadership, Full-stack Development, Landing Pages, CSS, HTML, Web Hosting, WordPress Back-end Customization, Kinsta, Automated Testing, Google Calendar API, WP Engine, RESTFul APIs, Project Management, Redis, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Claude Code, PHP 8, GitHub Actions, Node.js, Product Owner, Product Management, SQL, JSON REST APIs, Google Analytics, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Hosting, Architecture, Core Web Vitals, WordPress Security, CMS, Front-end Development, Responsive Design, Content Management Systems (CMS), Custom WordPress, OpenAI API, GraphQL API, LLM Integration, Large Language Models (LLMs), Back-end Development, Website Migration, Data Migration, Attention to Detail, Admin Panels, Google Maps, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, IT Consulting, Cybersecurity, Legacy Code, Back-end, Agentic AI, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Structures, Software Engineering, Web Design
WordPress Developer
2023 - 2026
Apiiro, Inc
- Developed a new WordPress theme based on Figma designs.
- Implemented tracking through Google Analytics and advanced report metrics.
- Integrated the website with an online job board API for real-time job openings visualization.
- Integrated HubSpot with all the forms on the site.
Technologies: WordPress, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Responsive Web Design (RWD), WordPress Themes, WordPress Design, Divi, Core Web Vitals, WordPress Security, CMS, Front-end Development, Responsive Design, Content Management Systems (CMS), Custom WordPress, OpenAI API, GraphQL API, LLM Integration, Large Language Models (LLMs), Back-end Development, Website Migration, Data Migration, Attention to Detail, Admin Panels, Google Maps, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, IT Consulting, Cybersecurity, Legacy Code, Back-end, Agentic AI, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software Engineering
WordPress Developer
2024 - 2025
Noma Security, Inc
- Implemented an SEO optimized WordPress website, based on Figma designs.
- Tracked and fixed bugs using Sentry/Jira and GitHub Pipelines.
- Oversaw the launch of the website and setup of the hosting server.
Technologies: CSS, HTML, WordPress, Scroll Animations, Figma to WordPress, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, IT Consulting, Cybersecurity, Legacy Code, Back-end, Agentic AI, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software Engineering, Web Design
WordPress Developer
2023 - 2024
Merit Metrics, LLC
- Implemented an optimized custom theme for the new website.
- Integrated version control for the whole codebase.
- Revised the deployment process and improved the pipelines.
Technologies: JavaScript, WordPress, HTML, PHP, CSS, Sass, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), HTML to WordPress, Webpack, Laravel, Tailwind CSS, Core Web Vitals, WordPress Security, CMS, Front-end Development, Responsive Design, Content Management Systems (CMS), Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, Attention to Detail, Google Maps API, Admin Panels, Google Maps, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, IT Consulting, Cybersecurity, Legacy Code, Back-end, Software Engineering
Senior WordPress Developer
2022 - 2022
True Partnerships Group Ltd
- Added new features to the LearnDash LMS based on client requirements and specifications.
- Implemented a new search page for speakers and tutors.
- Changed the Elementor-based pages into reusable templates.
- Repaired bugs from previous work done and updated the codebase to newer standards.
Technologies: WordPress API, WordPress, WooCommerce, LearnDash, Elementor, Yoast SEO, Learning Management Systems (LMS), SEO Tools, Full-stack, Git, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Responsive Web Design (RWD), WordPress Design, Theme Customization, Sass, HTML to WordPress, Figma, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Custom Themes, SCSS, Gutenberg Editor, Technical SEO, Agile, Technical Leadership, Full-stack Development, CSS, HTML, WordPress Back-end Customization, Automated Testing, WP Engine, RESTFul APIs, Project Management, Stripe API, PHP 8, SQL, JSON REST APIs, Google Analytics, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Hosting, Architecture, Core Web Vitals, WordPress Security, CMS, Front-end Development, Responsive Design, Content Management Systems (CMS), PayPal, Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, Data Migration, Attention to Detail, Google Maps API, Admin Panels, Google Maps, WordPress LMS, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, IT Consulting, Legacy Code, Back-end, Software Engineering
Senior WordPress and Web Developer
2019 - 2021
IT-Teams
- Developed a custom-made shop that worked in parallel with a WooCommerce solution. The shop used an API to communicate with a gateway to allow login, show available products, and push information about the purchases.
- Revised and modernized the codebase for three applications that gathered information from Amazon through their API, improving the uptime and responsiveness by over 200%.
- Updated the existing WordPress site (mobile and desktop) and achieved a 90+ performance score in PageSpeed Insights.
- Implemented a WordPress plugin that allowed users to customize the embedding of a React application.
- Led the WordPress team of two developers and one designer through several long-term projects.
- Architectured an API for a paid iOS and Android application that had to take information from the website, send messages to the owner, and send usage statistics. This was done by using the WordPress REST API.
Technologies: WordPress, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, MySQL, JavaScript, PHP 7, PHP 5, CodeIgniter, Vanilla JS, WordPress API, Yoast SEO, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), SEO Tools, WooCommerce API, REST APIs, API Integration, Gravity Forms, Full-stack, Git, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), APIs, eCommerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Responsive Web Design (RWD), Divi, WordPress Design, Theme Customization, Sass, HTML to WordPress, Laravel, Webpack, Tailwind CSS, Figma, React, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Leadership, Performance Optimization, Custom Themes, SCSS, Gutenberg Editor, Technical SEO, Agile, Technical Leadership, Full-stack Development, B2B, Landing Pages, CSS, HTML, Web Hosting, WordPress Back-end Customization, RESTFul APIs, Project Management, Payment Processing, PHP 8, Product Owner, Product Management, SQL, JSON REST APIs, Google Analytics, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Hosting, Architecture, Elementor, Core Web Vitals, WordPress Security, CMS, WPBakery, Front-end Development, Responsive Design, Content Management Systems (CMS), PayPal, Payment Gateways, Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, Website Migration, Data Migration, SQL Server, Attention to Detail, Google Maps API, Admin Panels, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, Legacy Code, Back-end, Healthcare & Insurance, Data Structures, Software Engineering, Web Design
Team Lead | Senior Web Developer
2017 - 2019
One Image
- Rewrote, improved and transformed the website for Bordeaux, the French wine producer. The new website was over 350% faster and doubled traffic during the first month.
- Rewrote the theme for a WordPress website, increasing speed by over 500%.
- Maintained direct communication with clients, which decreased the number of tickets by 30%.
- Prepared and oversaw interviews, leading to an 80% increase in the team size.
Technologies: WordPress, WordPress Themes, WordPress Plugins, MySQL, Vanilla JS, WordPress API, Yoast SEO, SEO Tools, WooCommerce API, REST APIs, API Integration, Full-stack, Git, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), APIs, eCommerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Responsive Web Design (RWD), Divi, WordPress Design, Theme Customization, Sass, HTML to WordPress, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Leadership, Performance Optimization, Custom Themes, SCSS, Gutenberg Editor, Cloudflare, Technical SEO, Agile, Technical Leadership, Full-stack Development, B2B, Landing Pages, CSS, HTML, Web Hosting, WordPress Back-end Customization, Project Management, Payment Processing, SendGrid, Product Owner, Product Management, SQL, JSON REST APIs, Google Analytics, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Hosting, Architecture, Elementor, CMS, WPBakery, Front-end Development, Responsive Design, Content Management Systems (CMS), Payment Gateways, Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, Website Migration, Data Migration, SQL Server, Attention to Detail, Google Maps API, Admin Panels, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, Legacy Code, Back-end, Data Structures, Software Engineering
Senior Web Developer | IT Consultant
2013 - 2017
Cabinet DN Brussels
- Converted mockups into WordPress themes and developed custom plugins requested by clients.
- Advised the company on technical decisions for its website and its clients.
- Optimized the company's website to achieve the best possible Google page speed ranking.
Technologies: PHP, HTML5, CodeIgniter, WordPress, WordPress Plugins, Sass, Mercurial, jQuery, Vanilla JS, jQuery UI, Yoast SEO, REST APIs, Full-stack, Git, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Responsive Web Design (RWD), WordPress Design, Theme Customization, HTML to WordPress, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Performance Optimization, Custom Themes, SCSS, Technical SEO, Full-stack Development, B2B, Landing Pages, CSS, HTML, Web Hosting, WordPress Back-end Customization, Project Management, Product Owner, JSON REST APIs, Google Analytics, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Architecture, CMS, Front-end Development, Content Management Systems (CMS), PayPal, Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, Attention to Detail, Admin Panels, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, Legacy Code, Back-end, Software Engineering
Senior Web Developer | Team Leader
2010 - 2013
QuickWeb Info
- Rewrote the back-end gateway for a cloud backup application using a CodeIgniter framework.
- Rewrote and improved the back-end gateway for a password manager software solution, decreasing the codebase by 50%.
- Distributed tasks among team members, ensured that deadlines were respected, and trained newcomers.
Technologies: PHP, CodeIgniter, MySQL, Linux, CSS, HTML5, JavaScript, Vanilla JS, jQuery UI, SEO Tools, Full-stack, Git, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Responsive Web Design (RWD), WordPress Design, Theme Customization, Sass, HTML to WordPress, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Performance Optimization, Custom Themes, Full-stack Development, Landing Pages, HTML, Web Hosting, WordPress Back-end Customization, Project Management, Content Management Systems (CMS), Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, Attention to Detail, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, Legacy Code, Back-end, Healthcare & Insurance, Software Engineering
Web Developer | WordPress Developer
2006 - 2010
SurfMedia
- Transformed PSD templates into fully working WordPress or PHP-based websites.
- Implemented on-site SEO for websites, which involved URL rewriting, HTML modifications, and .htaccess modifications.
- Designed and implemented SEO strategies for websites while also supervising a team of three content writers.
Technologies: WordPress, PHP, WordPress REST API, CSS, MySQL, PSD Slicing, PSD to WordPress, JavaScript, Vanilla JS, jQuery UI, SEO Tools, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), WordPress Design, HTML to WordPress, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Custom Themes, Full-stack Development, HTML, WordPress Back-end Customization, Project Management, Web Marketing, Content Management Systems (CMS), Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, Legacy Code, Back-end, Software Engineering
Web Developer | WordPress Developer
2003 - 2006
Freelance
- Developed WordPress-based websites using PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript.
- Transformed PSD templates into full HTML/XHTML WordPress websites.
- Modified and customized WordPress themes and plugins according to customer requirements.
Technologies: PHP, WordPress, MySQL, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, Vanilla JS, Git, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), WordPress Design, HTML to WordPress, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Custom Themes, Full-stack Development, WordPress Back-end Customization, Content Management Systems (CMS), Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, Legacy Code, Back-end
Experience
Website for Bordeaux Wines
https://bordeaux.comTransformed the Typo3 website into a WordPress website. The website was quite complex, with many custom sections and custom behaviors for each of those sections. It also featured six languages and a custom admin section where all the wines could be updated and uploaded from an XLS file. As the team lead and the lead developer, I supervised and delegated the work among four team members and maintained communication with the client.
Custom Shop for WordPress Website
Designed and developed a shop solution that would integrate with WordPress and work in parallel with the WooCommerce shop already in place. The new shop used an API to integrate with an existing finance application from where it would get all the data about the customers and products available for purchase. The solution had a separate payment gateway integration and a separate logging system.
Speed Optimization for an American Company’s Blog
https://optymyze.comOptimized an existing WordPress theme to comply with the latest Google metrics. The requirement was to get from a 35 performance score on mobile to above 90. After I altered and improved the theme code, the website reached a 95 performance score on mobile and 99 on desktop.
Custom-made Online Shop
Designed and built a full-fledged eCommerce solution based on the client's requirements. As the architect and executant for this vanilla PHP project, I designed the codebase and the database. The eCommerce solution was integrated with a Romanian payment solution and with PayPal for international purchases. The website was built with high traffic in mind, and it has withstood waves of over 10,000 visitors per hour at peak times.
Solution for Bordeaux Wine School Classes
Bordeaux wanted a marketplace for wine courses, which had to integrate with Stripe Payments and allow third-party teachers to enroll and teach classes. The solution was a WooCommerce and WordPress-based website. I designed and implemented the back-end code, wrote a custom WordPress plugin for class payments, and created a plugin that handled very complex forms used during the enrollment process.
Web Application to Manage Football Teams
Developed a web application used by football players to manage their teams. They could enter statistics, such as goals, cards, and how goals happened. They could plan the next match through schematics via an online drag and drop configurator for the match strategy. And they could send availability requests; as they were not professional football players, some of them may have been unavailable for the next match. The app was sustained by different cron jobs, such as reminders for team admins to enter the stats after matches and availability reminders.
Custom WordPress REST API for iOS and Android App
Developed a custom REST API endpoint for a mobile app available on iOS and Android. The REST API was backed by WordPress CMS, and it allowed the app to get information about the latest articles along with featured images and other custom fields. In order to read the articles, the user needed a paid subscription so that the REST API would allow the app to query that information.
Website for Travel Booking Aggregator
Optimized the speed of a website that aggregated booking accommodations from different travel partners. Each travel partner website had its own API, and the aggregator website had to interrogate each of those in order to present to the user all the available accommodations for their selected travel destination and dates. The project was started by someone else, and I was brought in to optimize the loading speed of the offers. I decreased the loading time from over two minutes to just 10 to 20 seconds.
Education
2007 - 2009
Master's Degree in Project Management
Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania
2003 - 2007
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Informatics - Bucharest, Romania
Certifications
MAY 2005 - PRESENT
Oracle Academic Initiative Coursework
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Informatics
JUNE 2004 - PRESENT
Fundamentals of Java Programming
InfoAcademy Romania
FEBRUARY 2002 - PRESENT
University of Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English
Cambridge Assessment English
Skills
Libraries/APIs
jQuery, WordPress API, WordPress REST API, jQuery UI, WooCommerce API, REST APIs, Google Calendar API, Google Maps API, Google Maps, React, Stripe API, OpenAI API, GraphQL API, Stripe, Node.js
Tools
LearnDash, Git, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Gutenberg Editor, Claude Code, WPBakery, Webpack, Trello, Figma, SendGrid, Google Analytics, MATLAB, Microsoft Project, Cron, RabbitMQ, Lighthouse, Mercurial, Photoshop CS3, Codex
Languages
PHP 7, PHP, JavaScript, SQL, CSS3, HTML5, CSS, HTML, SCSS, PHP 8, C#, C#.NET, Visual FoxPro 9, Java, C++, PHP 5, Sass
Frameworks
Twig, Vanilla JS, Divi, Laravel, CodeIgniter, Tailwind CSS
Paradigms
Agile, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Responsive Web Design (RWD), B2B, Automated Testing, Hosting, Scrum
Platforms
Windows, WordPress, WooCommerce, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Oracle, Linux
Industry Expertise
Project Management, Cybersecurity, Web Design
Storage
MySQL, Redis, WP Engine
Other
WordPress Themes, WordPress Plugins, PSD to WordPress, Page Speed Optimization, Site Speed Optimization, PSD Slicing, Elementor, Yoast SEO, Learning Management Systems (LMS), SEO Tools, API Integration, Gravity Forms, Full-stack, APIs, eCommerce, WordPress Design, Theme Customization, HTML to WordPress, Ajax, WordPress SEO, Web Development, Front-end, Leadership, Performance Optimization, Custom Themes, Technical SEO, Technical Leadership, Full-stack Development, Landing Pages, WordPress Back-end Customization, RESTFul APIs, Product Owner, Product Management, JSON REST APIs, Architecture, Core Web Vitals, WordPress Security, CMS, Front-end Development, Responsive Design, Content Management Systems (CMS), PayPal, Payment Gateways, Custom WordPress, Back-end Development, Website Migration, Data Migration, Attention to Detail, Admin Panels, WordPress LMS, WordPress Customization, Troubleshooting, IT Consulting, Legacy Code, Back-end, Healthcare & Insurance, Data Structures, Software Engineering, Sports Websites, PDF, Cloudflare, Kinsta, Payment Processing, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), LLM Integration, Large Language Models (LLMs), SQL Server, Agentic AI, Artificial Intelligence (AI), UMD, English, IT Project Management, Message Queues, Web Hosting, GitHub Actions, Google Antigravity, Web Marketing, Scroll Animations, Figma to WordPress
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