
Mike Zeballos
Verified Expert in Engineering
WordPress Developer
Santa Clarita, CA, United States
Toptal member since October 13, 2021
A veteran web developer with WordPress, prompt engineering, and web accessibility expertise, Mike has accumulated years of industry experience, cultivating diverse skill sets with tools, technologies, and methodologies essential for crafting modern, performant, and secure websites. Mike is trusted with the full-stack management of various local government websites in Northern California (USA) and provides ongoing training and responsive support.
Portfolio
Experience
- JavaScript - 15 years
- HTML - 15 years
- PHP - 15 years
- CSS - 15 years
- WordPress - 8 years
- WordPress API - 6 years
- Accessibility - 5 years
- WCAG 2 - 5 years
Availability
Preferred Environment
Windows, PhpStorm, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), SSH
The most amazing...
...project I've developed is the first commercial online subscription-based Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu learning system that uses a relational database for video delivery.
Work Experience
Principal
Lo9on, Inc.
- Co-produced one of the 1st paid subscription-based martial arts learning programs with international reach using PHP and MySQL. The custom payment processor and the ActionScript-based media player were hosted on a leased dedicated server.
- Migrated the online learning program to Muvi's OTT video streaming platform using a custom theme based on Angular and Smarty. An improved video search functionality was developed using a home-brewed API powered by Manticore Search.
- Developed a single-page application web app for staff to check in guests at sponsored events. Designed and storyboarded in Miro, built with React, Firebase Cloud Firestore for data storage, and connected to headless WordPress and WooCommerce API.
- Provided collateral media services using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, 3D Studio Max, and AutoCAD.
- Built a hybrid app for Andy Gump's wellness program for networking participants and coaches, sharing news and nutritional advice, and sending push notifications. Used AngularJS and deployed the app on the Google Play Store via a closed beta.
- Allied with dozens of local governments and special districts in Northern California as a webmaster, designing and maintaining websites, providing technical support and staff training, and auditing for regulatory compliance and ADA accessibility.
- Utilized early, emerging technologies, such as Macromedia Flash and ActionScript, CSS, and rich media, such as QuickTime video, to deliver cutting-edge web solutions for clients.
- Authored a user's guide for the MODX Evolution CMS.
- Worked in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, designing short forms, brochures, packaging, and creating corporate and product websites. Notable clients were Worldwide Cosmetics, American Int'l, Lee Pharmaceuticals, and Jessica.
Full-stack Developer
Rauch Communication Consultants
- Communicated directly with the client and district staff on technical support, website administration, and editorial updates and training.
- Audited district websites for state and federal regulatory compliance, including Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 level AA minimum standards for accessibility. I generated reports aligned with the outline scope and identified violations and remediation.
- Created a web-based customer service portal for a specialist district, built on a WordPress foundation and Ninja Forms with extensive utilization of both JavaScript and PHP hooks to produce the required business logic.
- Created a real-time water testing dashboard for a local government website, built with React and Plotly for charts and a custom data provider WordPress plugin.
- Created a boilerplate WordPress theme structure using Webpack and Composer that aligned with Rauch's business and coding standards to help minimize the time and expense of building new websites.
- Designed and coded custom plugins, such as a board agenda management tool and a document manager, to provide the district staff with a better, more robust editorial experience within WordPress.
- Authored and embedded custom maps with district boundary overlay using KML and the Google Maps API.
- Integrated custom weather and rainfall charts with CSV and JSON from Balance Hydrologic and NOAA, using their respective APIs with Chart.js for presentation.
- Provided ancillary SEO and keyword analysis to help make it easier for constituents to find important pages and postings on Google and other mainstream search engines.
- Assumed a role of high trust by managing all website and related infrastructure credentials, including website hosting, backup services, and domain management.
WooCommerce Expert
TerraMai, Inc.
- Assisted the client with creating a schema to map complex products being exported from a proprietary product management system to WooCommerce.
- Produced a customized shopping experience using GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks.
- Consolidated the WooCommerce cart, variable and simple product forms onto a custom sliding drawer with Ajax endpoints.
Senior Developer
Sarnet Communications Inc.
- Managed multiple interconnected websites with a sophisticated network of vendor, client, and messaging data streams via custom RESTful APIs and Ajax.
- Contributed to completing and optimizing a messaging platform, enabling communication between wedding vendors and clients using the WordPress REST API, secured with JWT authentication.
- Addressed critical issues via bug fixes and recommendations on improving performance through refactoring, caching, and re-architecting code, with attention to metrics in tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse audits.
- Implemented a GitHub workflow to automate deployment from develop and feature branches to production, which enhanced efficiency and established best practices.
- Managed internationalization of site content and interactive components via WPML and Loco Translate WordPress plugins.
- Created an Enfold/Divi custom page builder widget for selecting featured vendors to display as cards in a customizable animated carousel.
Senior WordPress Developer
Michelle Kantrow DBA News is my Business
- Migrated the AdSpeed AdServer account to AdSanity, a WordPress ad server plugin. Configured placement, impression settings, and desktop and mobile visibility.
- Migrated a news website from a Wix CMS to WordPress, hosting from WpEngine to Kinsta.
- Provided miscellaneous support, maintenance, and troubleshooting of various website issues, including an integrated ad server, Google Analytics, GTM, security, and hosting.
Senior WordPress Developer
United States Skateboard Education Association
- Assisted with migrating the organization's Articulate learning platform account assets to LearnDash LMS.
- Converted interactive HTML Canvas animations to YouTube instructional videos, facilitating multilingual captions and playback among various devices.
- Migrated an existing membership-based eCommerce platform to WooCommerce.
- Engineered an architectural update to the member/subscriber flow and business logic via a Miro diagram.
Silverstripe Developer
Dioscuri Limited (Toptal Client)
- Assisted with developing a commercial dealer webpage to search by location using Google Maps API and Geocoding API for proximity search.
- Created a PHP script based on TCPDF/FPDI that aggregates product families, groups, and items into a dealer price list generated as a downloadable PDF.
- Assisted with creating and modifying various Silverstripe modules for back-end editorial work.
- Refactored a product's CSV import script based on Silverstripe's CsvBulkLoader, adding custom reporting via email, automated database backup, and recovery in the event of job failure, concurrency protection, and various optimizations.
Senior WordPress Developer
Cayman Islands Sotheby’s International Realty (via Toptal)
- Assisted with implementing a custom search context that distributes search results to different post templates and created the "load more" functionality as a substitute for paginated search results.
- Assisted with implementing a theme-based currency converter.
- Helped produce an improved UI for a property search bar.
Junior Engineer
ITT Gilfillan
- Assisted and contributed to the research and development of radar systems for civil and air defense under the supervision of senior-level engineers.
- Gained hands-on experience working with radio-frequency components, antennas, and waveguides.
- Contributed to hardware and software design of microcontrollers, programmable logic arrays, and embedded systems.
Experience
WordPress Websites for a Luxury Resort
Senior WordPress Developer
https://hcp.go2.org/WordPress Custom Plugin for a Luxury Apartment Rental Multisite
https://www.thesavoydc.com/DocPress | Google Docs Editor Add-On
https://docpress.itCustomer Service Web Portal
https://cp.goletawater.com/The online portal provides water customers the convenience of starting or stopping the service and updating their customer information and other common customer service requests.
Website Design with Google Maps Integration
https://jjmachadoassociation.com/A custom back-end admin form automatically geocodes the latitude and longitude coordinates of new academies added to the organization via a custom plugin using the Google Maps Geocoding API.
Chief Engineers of Chicagoland Website
Section508/WCAG 2.1 Website Accessibility Audit
https://stpud.us/Online Jiu-Jitsu Instructional Program
https://jjm30.com/I designed and developed the first version in late 2000 using PHP and a relational database to deliver instructional videos to paying subscribers.
The customized software includes a recurring billing system, a customer account management console, and an administrator console.
Canvas Art Merchant Website
Website Design
https://cvwd.net/capp/I designed a full-width responsive website, converting a PSD mockup to a custom theme. I also incorporated Beaver Builder visual editor to facilitate an easy-to-use editing environment for the district staff.
WordPress Plugin for Board Agenda Management
The plugin provides a customizable repository for storing documents outside the WordPress media library.
Custom WordPress Theme and Website Relaunch
https://cvwd.net/I continue to provide ongoing support for questions, posting content, and timely issue resolution.
WordPress Plugin: Real-time Water Testing Interactive Charts in React
https://aewsd.org/water-quality/water-testing/A National Aircraft Registration and Information Portal
https://aircraft-data.comShopify Custom Theme and Store Configuration
https://shop.jeanjacquesmachado.com/WordPress Plugin for PDF Document Management
The plugin enables documents to be stored in any public directory on the webserver, thus freeing the media library from clutter. Additionally, users can specify a custom permalink to the document, providing the capability of replacing the file without breaking the link to the existing record.
Adobe XD to WordPress Website Production
http://sausalitomarincitysanitarydistrict.com/The client is the one managing the website after training, and I provide ongoing support as required.
Full Page Slider with CSS Animation
http://sausalitomarincitysanitarydistrict.com/customer-information/treatment-plant-upgrade/Timeline for District 75th Anniversary
http://www.goletawater.com/75th/The styling was adapted from the site theme with a smooth, fluid, and responsive presentation. The timeline was used for a keynote presentation and incorporated with social media announcements as part of a media outreach strategy.
Electoral Divisions Redistricting Map
The map was created using Google Maps and the Maps JavaScript API, using color-coded KML layers with InfoWindow popups and an autocomplete search bar to help constituents identify their residence on the map and the division they reside in.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Electronics Engineering
ITT Technical Institute - Van Nuys, Orange County, California, US
Certifications
Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT
Vanderbilt University, via Coursera
Testing for Web Accessibility With Accessibility Insights
Coursera
AWS Cloud Technical Essentials
Coursera
Section 508/WCAG Certified Trusted Tester
Department of Homeland Security
Designing an Accessible User Experience
Deque University
Dynamic Updates, AJAX, and Single-page Apps
Deque University
Accessibility Fundamentals: Disabilities, Guidelines, and Laws
Deque University
Responsive Design and Zoom
Deque University
Skills
Libraries/APIs
jQuery, WordPress API, WooCommerce API, Vue, Node.js, React, Google Maps API, Liquid, Shopify API, PayPal API, Google Maps, Google Maps JavaScript API 3, Google Geocoding API, Google APIs, WordPress REST API, Social APIs, Plotly.js, REST APIs, Vue 2, Google AdSense
Tools
Ninja Forms, Composer, WAI-ARIA, NPM, Git, Divi Builder 3, Webpack, Apache, Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS), Amazon CloudWatch, AWS IAM, Bitbucket, TCPDF, Google Analytics, AdSanity, LearnDash, WP-CLI, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Wix, Miro, WP Fusion, Mailchimp, Gutenberg Editor, Trello, GitHub, WPML, Zapier, Figma, ChatGPT, AI Prompts, Lighthouse, Cron
Languages
PHP, HTML5, HTML, Ada, JavaScript, CSS, Sass, SCSS, ES5, ECMAScript (ES6), SQL, TypeScript, KML, CSS3, Google Apps Script
Paradigms
Responsive Web Design (RWD), REST, Responsive, Responsive Layout
Platforms
WordPress, MODx, WordPress Theme Design, Shopify, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda, Docker, Algolia, AdSpeed, WooCommerce, HubSpot
Storage
JSON, MySQL, WP Engine, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Cloud Firestore, Databases
Frameworks
Bootstrap, CodeIgniter, Divi, Smarty, ZURB Foundation, Slim, Angular, Eloquent, SilverStripe, Swagger, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), OAuth 2, Laravel
Other
Compliance, WCAG 2, Beaver Builder, WordPress Themes, Accessibility, Web Accessibility, Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA), WordPress Plugins, Wordfence Security, Web Development, Websites, WordPress Multisite, WordPress Multi-user, WordPress Management, WordPress Page Builder, WordPress Optimization, WCAG, Accessibility Testing, WooCommerce Subscriptions 2, Content Marketing Platforms, Section 508 Compliance, Gravity Forms, Elementor, XD to HTML, PSD to WordPress, AI to WordPress, WordPress Rescue, Sketch to WordPress, Adobe XD to WordPress, Responsive UI, Accessible Design, WordPress Security, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), APIs, DNS, Shopify Theme, Shopify Payments, Shopify Customizations, Timelines, CSS3 Animation, Google Earth KML, Maps, Google Maps Styling, Amazon RDS, WP JSON, Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro), Subscriptions, Membership Sites, Admin Panels, Google Data Studio, Smart Slider, Scroll Animations, WordPress Design, Single-page Applications (SPAs), PDF, Google Tag Manager, eCommerce, Ads, Web Security, Videos, Avada, Google Search Console, SSH, Web UX, Website Optimization, Recurring Payments, Internationalization, Enfold, Localization, Real Estate, RentPress, Property Management System Integrations, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Funnel Leasing API, Forms, Design, Large Language Models (LLMs), OpenAI, Anthropic, OAuth, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Prompt Engineering, ChatGPT API, GeneratePress, CSV Export, Blade, Blade Templates, Core Web Vitals, Google Structured Data
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