Publication
My Five Worst WordPress Development Mistakes
https://www.toptal.com/wordpress/worst-wordpress-mistakes
Scott is available for hire
Hire ScottScott Fennell
Verified Expert in Engineering
WordPress and UI Developer
Location
Portland, ME, United States
Toptal Member Since
February 20, 2017
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.
Front-endWeb DevelopmentDebuggingWebsitesDynamic WebsiteseCommerce DevelopmentWordPress eCommerceCodingFull-stack DevelopmentBack-endSoftware DevelopmentWeb ProgrammingWebsite CMSWebsite MigrationWordPress ThemesPerformance TestingADA ComplianceEnfold WordPressjQuery MobileDatabase CachingBug FixingAjax4JSFOffshore WebFTPBitbucket
Portfolio
Bootstrap
WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, Websites, Front-end, MySQL, eCommerce...
LexBlog
WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, Websites, Front-end, CSS, jQuery, PHP...
Miscellaneous Freelance Web Development
WordPress Plugins, jQuery, CSS, PHP, REST, JSON, APIs, Mailchimp, WordPress...
Experience
Availability
Part-time
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
2019 - PRESENT
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.
Technologies: WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, Websites, Front-end, MySQL, eCommerce, WordPress, PSD to Bootstrap, WooCommerce API, WooCommerce, Full-stack, Pixel Perfect, Software Architecture, Technical Leadership, Responsive Design, User Authentication, Application Security, Security, Reviews, WordPress REST API, UI Animation
Lead Developer
2011 - PRESENT
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.
Technologies: WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, Websites, Front-end, CSS, jQuery, PHP, WordPress, Dynamic Websites, Web Programming, Website Migration, HTML to WordPress, UI Plugins, Apps, Web, jQuery Validation, jQuery DataTables, jQuery Plugins, Mailchimp API, Timepicker, Performance Analysis, Performance, Leadership, Team Leadership, Content Management Systems (CMS), jQuery CDN, Bootstrap, Bootstrap 3+, Bootstrap 3, Bootstrap 2, Git Forks, Git GUI, WPMU DEV, Website Performance, UI Testing, PHP 5, JavaScriptCore, SQL, Git, Google Maps, HTML5, Test-driven Development (TDD), PHPUnit, Google Maps API, jQuery Mobile, HTML5 APIs, CSS4, JavaScript 6, Divi, PHP 7, GitLab, User Experience (UX), Core PHP, Web Design, Web Forms, jQuery Easing, SQL Performance, Agile, Agile Software Development, Sass, Divi Builder 3, Debugging, HTML UI, Website Setup, Theme Customization, Forms, Web App Deployment, Blogging, Blog Development, Blog Posting, Website CMS, Plugins, PSD to HTML, Icon Fonts, Widgets, FontAwesome, Autocomplete, Atlassian Plugins, Intercom, Testing, PhpMyAdmin, Bitbucket, Intercom API, SFTP, Education, Training & Training Content Development, Training, Google Custom Search, Search, Mentorship, Sauce Labs, Ajax, MySQLi, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), On-page SEO, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), GitFlow, Teaching, Twitter API, Data, Typefaces, Layout, Blog Design, Layout Conversion, Rich Internet Applications, Web App Testing, Performance Optimization, MacBook, Icon Sets, @font-face, Conference Speaking, Cyberduck, MAMP, Adobe, Typekit, Photoshop CS3, Database Performance, Adobe Photoshop, Terminal, SCSS, SMACSS, Cron, Sublime Text 3, Postman, Class-based OOP, Sublime Text 2, Sublime Text, Photoshop 2014, Photoshop CC, Photoshop CS6, Public Speaking, Sketch, Booking, Taxonomy, PHP Performance, Performance Tuning, Performance Testing, Back-end Performance, Web Security, Secure Coding, Secure Web Development, Secure Code Best Practices, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Accessibility, SEO Tools, Yoast SEO, Google SEO, A11Y, HubSpot, Google Analytics API, Google Analytics, Full-stack, Pixel Perfect, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Website Optimization, Technical Leadership, React, Verification, Security, Chrome, Firefox, Stripe, PayPal, Communication, Automation, ChatGPT, GPT, OpenAI GPT-3 API, OpenAI GPT-4 API, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), Data Scraping, Web Scraping, OpenAI, Gutenberg Editor, WordPress REST API, WordPress SEO, WordPress Multisite, WordPress Management, WordPress Multi-user, WordPress Optimization, WordPress Theme Design, WordPress Installation, WordPress Rescue, WordPress Page Builder, AI to WordPress, Bootstrap to WordPress
Mailchimp/WordPress Developer
2008 - PRESENT
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.
Technologies: WordPress Plugins, jQuery, CSS, PHP, REST, JSON, APIs, Mailchimp, WordPress, Web Server (IIS), IIS, Stripe, API Integration, Web Analytics, User Interface (UI), Coupons, WP eCommerce, Redesign, Site Speed Optimization, Auditing, Markdown, CSS3 Animation, HTML5 Animations, Shopify, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Integration, Google Analytics 4, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), SaaS, UI Design, UX Design, Subscription Processing, Branding, Gamification, HubSpot CRM, Stripe API, Strip, HubSpot Marketing Hub, HubSpot COS, Data Management, Data Integration, Data Analysis, Data Analytics, Coding, Deployment, Full-stack Development, App Integration, App Maintenance, Lazy Loading, Dashboards, Scheduling, Scripting, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Models, Technical Architecture, Architecture, Revamps, Databases, Relational Databases, Booking Systems, Membership Sites, MemberPress, Core Web Vitals, Tailwind CSS, UI Components, Robust Web Development, Custom Themes, Google Fonts API, Graphs, Data Visualization, Tables, Content Marketing Platforms, Back-end, Geolocation, Payment Gateways, Design, Customer Portals, Parallax, Parallax Design, REST APIs, Web Scalability, CSS3, Responsive Web Apps, WooCommerce Subscriptions 2, Presentation Design, Surveys, Content Writing, Test Automation, XML, Pop-ups, Marketing, Bug Fixes, Best Practices, Software Development, Appointment Booking, Mobile First, Payment APIs, Stripe Payments, SMS Gateways, Landing Pages, Responsive UI, ADA Compliance, SVG Animation, Algorithms, Database Caching, Mobile Navigation, Mobile UI, Mobile UX, Typography, UX Flows, WCAG 2, Google Ads, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Rapid Prototyping, Task Scheduling, Front-end Development, News, Social Media APIs, Social Media
Developer
2019 - 2021
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 3rd-party APIs such as Cloudflare, MailChimp, and Google reCAPTCHA.
Technologies: PHP, jQuery, JavaScript, jQuery UI, CSS, Tailwind CSS, HTML, WordPress, WordPress API, WordPress Themes, WordPress Design, Figma, WordPress Plugins, Core Web Vitals, Website Optimization, Third-party APIs, Responsive Design, Page Speed Optimization, Safari
Infantry Platoon Leader
2004 - 2008
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.
Technologies: Team Leadership, Leadership, Event Planning, Planning, Strategy, Operations, Logistics
Experience
Bootstrap Official Online Store
https://themes.getbootstrap.com/Led a refactoring and migration of the WordPress codebase for themes.getbootstrap.com, the official online store for Bootstrap themes. I used PHP, MySQL, CSS, and JavaScript. My work significantly improved this popular website's stability, performance, and maintainability.
Carnegie Melon University
Created a custom WordPress site for the Carnegie Melon University Database Group. This site includes a custom WebGL animation on the homepage, various custom CMS components for the interior pages, and an API integration with the BibTeX academic research platform.
Speaker, WordCamp Portland, 2018
I recently experienced the most significant honor of my professional career when I spoke at WordCamp Portland 2018. The topic of my speech was "To Dev or to Download," a discussion on the power and perils of third-party solutions.
Masters of Scale
https://mastersofscale.comArchitected a podcast network platform using WordPress multisite. Each podcast is a subsite on the network, using a child theme based on a network-wide parent theme. Implemented custom designs and exceeded strict performance requirements on Core Web Vitals.
Kast Media
https://kastmedia.comA WordPress website for Kast Media, a podcast network that produces a variety of popular shows, including The Sarah Silverman Program and The Fighter and the Kid. This website was based on a custom design and included a job board.
CSS-Tricks: Author Archive
https://css-tricks.com/author/scofennell/My author archive for css-tricks.com, where I've written about interesting challenges and solutions I encounter in my work building WordPress plugins. At one point, I had authored more guest articles there than any other author.
A List Apart: Author Archive
https://alistapart.com/author/scott-fennellMy author archive page for "A List Apart," where I had the honor of being published several years ago. "A List Apart" explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a particular focus on web standards and best practices.
Fantasy Footballers' Start or Sit Plugin
https://www.thefantasyfootballers.com/who-should-i-start/Built a WordPress plugin to gather fantasy football ranking data from a Google Docs spreadsheet and output the results of player comparisons. This combines many professional WordPress plugin development aspects, including custom post types and post metadata.
Democracy Docket
https://democracydocket.comWrote custom WordPress themes and plugins and managed the WordPress platform for the leading progressive media platform dedicated to providing information, opinion, and analysis about voting rights, elections, redistricting, and democracy.
WordPress Theme Framework for Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages
I recently authored an open-source port of the Bootstrap front-end framework, customizing it to be compatible with Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) format. This serves as the front end for a parent theme framework that now can easily escort thousands of live blogs and websites into becoming AMP-ready.
Cool Material PSD to WordPress
http://coolmaterial.comImplemented a robust WordPress theme and several custom plugins for a boutique men's shopping blog. I integrated it with several third-party APIs, including the Google Analytics API in order to provide custom feedback on popular articles and authors.
Bananas: A WordPress Plugin Boilerplate for Mailchimp
https://github.com/scofennell/bananasMy ongoing, constantly improving WordPress plugin boilerplate for third-party API integrations, with the nominal example being for the Mailchimp API. I use this as a template for various WordPress/API projects.
Anchorage: A Responsive and Accessible WordPress Theme
I wrote one of the few accessibility-ready WordPress themes for WordPress.org. This theme was approved for inclusion on the WordPress site, which involves quite a rigorous review process for various best practices.
Dehydrated: A Photo-Blog Theme for WordPress
My custom WordPress theme for sharing photos of dogs and skiers. This theme incorporates custom post meta for managing image EXIF data and also makes use of the jQuery Masonry.js plugin for the front-end display.
WP API Shortcode
https://wordpress.org/plugins/json-rest-api-shortcode/A shortcode plugin for auditioning the WP API. The WP API is a critical component for delivering modern websites and replaces several outdated approaches. However, many developers still are not familiar with it, so I wrote this simple demo tool.
University Jobs API
http://hireed.comFor this project, I created a custom REST API endpoint within WordPress to allow 3rd-party job boards to send university job openings to our platform. I implemented robust security and authorization based on WordPress' "Application Passwords" feature.
WordPress Plugin for Managing Commercial Real Estate Locations
I wrote a custom WordPress plugin for managing commercial real estate locations. It provided an admin UI for managing the locations and their metadata, as well as a variety of methods to output the listing on the front end. The client was a subsidiary of CBRE, one of the largest brands in commercial real estate.
Static Website for Oberst
https://www.oberst.com/A static website for an online discount platform, active in over 30 countries. I used Tailwind CSS for styling and wrote Vanilla JS for interactive elements. Also, I carefully integrated an SVG map of the world to depict customer locations.
HTTP Security Plugin
Delivered a custom WordPress plugin to provide secure HTTP headers for the customer's website. These headers included a strict CSP (Content Security Policy), making the site more resistant to code-injection attacks.
Optimism.io NFT Contest
http://welovetheart.optimism.ioThis project was a contest website where users could submit their NFT artwork. Security was of paramount importance because unauthenticated visitors were able to complete form submissions and upload files.
Skills
Languages
SCSS, Sass, Core PHP, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP, CSS4, SQL, JavaScript 6, JavaScript, HTML, HTML5, CSS, Markdown, CSS3, XML
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, Mailchimp API, Shopify API, Stripe, WordPress REST API, Stripe API, Google Fonts API, Parallax, REST APIs, Social Media APIs, 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, ChatGPT, WP eCommerce, Gutenberg Editor, HubSpot COS, 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, Gamification, Test Automation, Best Practices, Rapid Prototyping, UI Design, UX Design
Platforms
WooCommerce, Web, WordPress, Amazon Web Services (AWS), HubSpot, Firefox, Safari, WordPress Theme Design, Blogger, Webflow, Shopify
Storage
WP Engine, JSON, Web Forms, Database Performance, SQL Performance, MySQL, MySQLi, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Data Integration, Databases, Relational Databases, Database Caching
Industry Expertise
Web Design, Teaching, Social Media, Marketing
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, 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, 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, Security, Reviews, PayPal, Communication, API Integration, 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, HubSpot CRM, Strip, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Data Management, Data Analysis, Data Analytics, Coding, Deployment, Full-stack Development, App Integration, App Maintenance, Lazy Loading, Dashboards, Scheduling, Scripting, Technical Architecture, Architecture, Revamps, Booking Systems, Membership Sites, MemberPress, Recurring Payments, UI Components, Robust Web Development, Custom Themes, Graphs, Data Visualization, Tables, UI Animation, Content Marketing Platforms, Back-end, Geolocation, Payment Gateways, Design, Customer Portals, Parallax Design, Web Scalability, Responsive Web Apps, WooCommerce Subscriptions 2, Presentation Design, Surveys, Content Writing, Pop-ups, Bug Fixes, Software Development, Appointment Booking, Mobile First, Payment APIs, Stripe Payments, SMS Gateways, Landing Pages, Responsive UI, ADA Compliance, SVG Animation, Algorithms, Mobile Navigation, Mobile UI, Mobile UX, Typography, UX Flows, WCAG 2, Google Ads, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Task Scheduling, Front-end Development, News, 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, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Models, Symbolic Logic
Education
2000 - 2004
Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy
University of Utah - Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Certifications
JUNE 2016 - PRESENT
Mailchimp Expert
Mailchimp
JANUARY 2014 - PRESENT
WordPress.org Theme Author
WordPress
MAY 2004 - MAY 2008
Infantry Officer
US Army
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