

Scott Fennell
Verified Expert in Engineering
WordPress and UI Developer
Scott has written hundreds of WordPress themes and plugins. He specializes in 3rd-party API integrations, including Mailchimp, Cloudflare, and Shopify. He is experienced in leading technology teams, is a seasoned public speaker, and has presented at WordCamp Portland and the Google campus in Seattle. He is an active technology writer and has been published on A List Apart and CSS-Tricks many times. Scott is also a former infantry officer in the US Army.
Portfolio
Experience
Availability
Preferred Environment
WordPress, WP Engine, GitHub, Cloudflare
The most amazing...
...WordPress plugin I've built is a site launch tool. It gives users a WordPress UI for finding, buying, and launching a domain, including Cloudflare and HTTPS.
Work Experience
WordPress Engineering Fellow
Bootstrap
- Oversaw the integration with WooCommerce for custom shopping and selling features.
- Supervised a migration to a new hosting platform, implementing modern techniques for deployment and automated QA.
- Led the efforts to update WordPress core and third-party plugins.
- Provided custom WordPress plugin code for new features.
- Refactored the codebase to use object-oriented programming.
Lead Developer
LexBlog
- Built a WordPress theme framework using the WordPress Customization API that powers hundreds of vastly different designs from a single theme folder.
- Wrote a WordPress plugin for Bitbucket to allow administrators to store, update, and install themes and plugins from private repositories.
- Wrote a Mailchimp plugin for WordPress to allow admins to browse subscriber and campaign data from their WordPress dashboard.
- Created hundreds of responsive WordPress child themes for the largest law firms in the world.
- Established a unit-testing procedure for agencies to use when deploying WordPress plugins.
- Wrote a Cloudflare plugin for WordPress to allow site administrators to quickly empty their Cloudflare cache or enter development mode from a single Ajax-y click in the WordPress admin toolbar.
- Wrote an Intercom plugin for WordPress to allow agencies to easily monitor admin actions such as abandoned drafts, repetitive actions, and other scenarios that merit client outreach.
- Wrote a Twitter plugin for WordPress to provide a "latest tweets" widget with various customizations.
- Incorporated deep knowledge of the WP Engine platform in order to provide value-adds like a live/staging link in the WordPress admin bar.
- Wrote a custom WordPress theme commissioned by the Democratic National Party in the United States.
Mailchimp/WordPress Developer
Miscellaneous Freelance Web Development
- Wrote a WordPress plugin to integrate with the Mailchimp account of noted science fiction author J. Zachary Pike.
- Created a WordPress plugin to allow members of the public to submit avalanche observations to the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.
- Developed a custom Shopify theme to allow customers to pick the colors of various wristwatch components.
- Crafted a custom front end for The Foraker Group, the largest nonprofit in Alaska, using Vanilla CSS and JavaScript.
Developer
Kast Media, Inc
- Developed a custom WordPress theme and managed the deployment of the new site.
- Tracked performance, maintenance, and security status using a variety of enterprise-level systems.
- Developed several custom WordPress plugins to integrate with third-party APIs such as Cloudflare, MailChimp, and Google reCAPTCHA.
Infantry Platoon Leader
US Army
- Led infantry patrols in Iskandariyah and Fallujah, Iraq.
- Managed the logistics for a 170-man infantry company deployed from Anchorage, Alaska, to Iraq.
- Graduated from the US Army Airborne School, Infantry Officer Basic Course, Infantry Mortar Leaders Course, and Ranger School.
Experience
Bootstrap Official Online Store
https://themes.getbootstrap.com/Carnegie Melon University
Speaker, WordCamp Portland, 2018
Masters of Scale
https://mastersofscale.comKast Media
https://kastmedia.comCSS-Tricks: Author Archive
https://css-tricks.com/author/scofennell/A List Apart: Author Archive
https://alistapart.com/author/scott-fennellFantasy Footballers' Start or Sit Plugin
https://www.thefantasyfootballers.com/who-should-i-start/Democracy Docket
https://democracydocket.comWordPress Theme Framework for Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages
Cool Material PSD to WordPress
http://coolmaterial.comBananas: A WordPress Plugin Boilerplate for Mailchimp
https://github.com/scofennell/bananasAnchorage: A Responsive and Accessible WordPress Theme
Dehydrated: A Photo-Blog Theme for WordPress
WP API Shortcode
https://wordpress.org/plugins/json-rest-api-shortcode/University Jobs API
http://hireed.comWordPress Plugin for Managing Commercial Real Estate Locations
Static Website for Oberst
https://www.oberst.com/HTTP Security Plugin


Five Battle-tested Techniques Your WordPress API Developer Isn't Using

Finding a Better Framework than Vue.js, React, and Angular
Skills
Languages
SCSS, Sass, Core PHP, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP, CSS4, SQL, JavaScript 6, JavaScript, HTML, HTML5, CSS, Markdown
Frameworks
Divi, PHPUnit, JavaScriptCore, Bootstrap, Bootstrap 3+, Bootstrap 3, Bootstrap 2, Tailwind CSS, Chrome, Vanilla JS
Libraries/APIs
WooCommerce API, jQuery Easing, HTML5 APIs, jQuery, jQuery Validation, jQuery DataTables, jQuery Plugins, Google Maps API, jQuery Mobile, Twitter API, WordPress API, jQuery CDN, Intercom API, Google Maps, jQuery UI, Shopify API, Stripe, WordPress REST API, Google Analytics API, React
Tools
Sketch, Divi Builder 3, Cron, Sublime Text 3, Timepicker, Cyberduck, Postman, MAMP, Sublime Text 2, Sublime Text, Adobe, Typekit, Photoshop CS3, Photoshop 2014, Photoshop CC, Photoshop CS6, Adobe Photoshop, Terminal, GitLab, GitHub, Git, Bitbucket, PhpMyAdmin, Mailchimp, Figma, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Stripe Checkout, WP eCommerce, Gutenberg Editor, Google Analytics
Paradigms
REST, SMACSS, Agile, Agile Software Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), On-page SEO, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Test-driven Development (TDD), Testing, Class-based OOP, Secure Code Best Practices, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Automation, UI Design, UX Design
Platforms
WooCommerce, Web, WordPress, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Firefox, Safari, WordPress Theme Design, Webflow, Shopify
Storage
WP Engine, JSON, Web Forms, Database Performance, SQL Performance, MySQL, MySQLi, Amazon S3 (AWS S3)
Industry Expertise
Web Design, Teaching, Security
Other
Booking, Front-end, eCommerce, Web Development, Training & Training Content Development, Performance Analysis, Performance Optimization, Icon Fonts, Sauce Labs, Taxonomy, Widgets, Education, Autocomplete, WPMU DEV, Ajax, Web Programming, Forms, FontAwesome, Performance, MacBook, Debugging, Data, Icon Sets, @font-face, Typefaces, Layout Conversion, Layout, Rich Internet Applications, Web App Testing, Blog Design, SFTP, Google Custom Search, Search, Web App Deployment, Blogging, Blog Development, Blog Posting, Websites, Website CMS, Website Setup, Website Migration, Dynamic Websites, Blogs, UI Testing, Mentorship, Writing & Editing, eCommerce Platforms, WordPress Design, Git Forks, Git GUI, GitFlow, Cloudflare, WordPress Themes, WordPress Plugins, HTML to WordPress, HTML UI, Plugins, Plugin Development, Atlassian Plugins, UI Plugins, Theme Development, Theme Customization, eCommerce Development, WordPress eCommerce, PSD to HTML, PSD to Mailchimp, Intercom, Training, APIs, Mailchimp API, Apps, Bootstrap UI, PSD to Bootstrap, Public Speaking, Conference Speaking, Content Management Systems (CMS), User Experience (UX), Technical Writing, Development, Team Leadership, Leadership, Event Planning, Planning, Strategy, Operations, Logistics, PHP Performance, Performance Tuning, Performance Testing, Back-end Performance, Web Security, Secure Coding, Secure Web Development, Accessibility, SEO Tools, Yoast SEO, Google SEO, A11Y, HubSpot, Core Web Vitals, Full-stack, Pixel Perfect, Website Optimization, Software Architecture, Technical Leadership, Third-party APIs, Responsive Design, Page Speed Optimization, Verification, User Authentication, Application Security, Reviews, PayPal, Communication, API Integration, ChatGPT, GPT, OpenAI GPT-3 API, OpenAI GPT-4 API, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), Web Analytics, User Interface (UI), Coupons, Data Scraping, Web Scraping, Redesign, Site Speed Optimization, Auditing, SVG, CSS3 Animation, HTML5 Animations, OpenAI, Sketch to WordPress, WordPress SEO, WordPress Multisite, WordPress Management, WordPress Multi-user, WordPress Optimization, WordPress Installation, WordPress Rescue, WordPress Page Builder, AI to WordPress, Bootstrap to WordPress, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Integration, Google Analytics 4, SaaS, Subscription Processing, Website Performance, Branding, Google Tag Manager, SEO Audits, Web UX, Web UI, Web App UI, Web App UX, Web Server (IIS), IIS, Military, Military Operations, Navigation
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy
University of Utah - Salt Lake City, Utah
Certifications
Mailchimp Expert
Mailchimp
Infantry Officer
US Army