So this is me, Willem. Hi 👋

I am a cultural historian and a city person who became an all-round web development professional living in the countryside. I created my first website twenty years ago and since then, I have worked on websites for small cultural organizations and large global corporations – and everything in between.

Early in my career, I worked on various online things related to culture and history, like an interactive application for music education and a community platform for the Amsterdamse School architectural style. For larger projects, I often worked together with designers and developers. After that, I began focusing on building things on my own for all kinds of organizations. Most of the things I have built were based on WordPress, the open-source content management system that still powers >35% of the web. As a result, as a programmer, I feel most comfortable working with PHP, HTML and CSS.

At Syde, the enterprise WordPress agency I worked for until the the beginning of 2025, I have switched from development to project leadership, maintaining client relationships and mentoring new developers in the team. Next to these roles, I have led various internal initiatives for cross-team collaboration, hosted and facilitated workshops during management meetings and company offsites, and supported the marketing efforts as an individual contributor.

But starting June 2025, I am available for a new challenge.

So what’s next?

I am looking for a role in which I can use my broad technical experience, as well as my analytical and communicative skills. Finding out the goals and challenges of users, developers or entire organizations; testing and building new features via user research and collaboration; I am keen to get back to technical leadership, product ownership and community engagement.

If you are – or know people who are – currently working on something and could use an extra pair of hands or someone who can write – let me know!

What can you expect when working with me?

My first website was about Dungeons and Dragons and my first character in that game was a bard, a class typically described as the jack-of-all-trades of the fantasy world. In the real world, I am not much different. I am a naturally curious person who easily connects with people and pushes initiatives forward with enthusiasm and perseverance.

I deeply value clear communication, transparent and inclusive processes, and well-written documentation. I thrive in environments where serious writing and joyful banter can go hand in hand. Whether you need a committed individual contributor or a technically versed servant leader, I will bring dedication, versatility and empathy to your team.

If you’re interested in the kind of work have done before, you can read more about some of my projects on the Work page.

What am I doing right now?

On my Now page, you can find an overview of things I am currently focused on.