Nicky Richardson

2026 — Present · Astro, SCSS, TypeScript

• Design Tokens: Built a two-layer system that separates primitives (colours/spacing) from semantic tokens (brand-primary, surface-main) for effortless site-wide updates.
• Modern Layouts: Implemented modern CSS layouts utilizing Subgrid and Sticky positioning to solve UI alignment challenges.
• View Transitions API: Used transitions to give the site a native app feel, including animations that change based on which page you're coming from.
• Performance: Used Astro’s build-time tools to pre-render the site, easily hitting 100/100 Lighthouse scores.

2025 · WordPress, Elementor

• Component Library: Introduced component-based structure to the build, to improve maintainability and deployment speed.
• IA & SEO: Restructured page flow and content hierarchies to improve user conversion and SEO visibility.
• Performance: Implemented performance optimizations to re-gain competitive PageSpeed scores.

2024 — Present · WordPress, Elementor, Apify

• Component Library: Collaborated with client to translate pages into reusable component libraries.
• Lead Generation: Built a custom, multi-step conversion funnel that captured over 500 validated leads in the first month.
• Data Modeling: Designed a relational data model using 6+ interconnected post types to create a "Single Source of Truth" for client data items.
• Review Importing: Wrote a plugin to pull Google Reviews from an Apify script and store them in a post type. This replaced slow third-party widgets and reduced costs.
• Custom Admin UX: Customized WordPress dashboard with brand-specific icons and colours to help make the client more comfortable in their space.
• Performance: Achieved 99/100 Desktop and 96/100 Mobile PageSpeed scores through optimization and aggressive asset management.

2024 · WordPress, Elementor

• Website Migration: Rebuilt legacy site as a modern Elementor build, keeping the overall look/feel of the site the same while fixing string/layout issues.
• UX Improvements: Refined UI layouts and responsive breakpoints to resolve alignment issues and improve the mobile booking experience to strengthen leads.
• Performance: Optimized frontend performance and asset delivery to achieve Lighthouse scores in the high 90s, significantly reducing bounce rates.

2022 — Present · Full-Stack PHP Application

Inherited after a decade without developer involvement.

• Query Optimization: Fixed a massive performance bottleneck in the admin dashboard, reducing data-heavy query times from several minutes to just seconds.
• Legacy Codebase: Bugfixed/maintained a decade old mission-critical system, safely adding new features without breaking core legacy PHP code.
• Certificate System: Re-coded from the ground up as an SVG based system with a cleaner look and QR Codes for instant verification.
• Mailgun Migration: Migrated the entire mail system from PHPMailer to the Mailgun API and ensured high-volume certificates don't end up in spam.
• Bolt-on Features: Developed a privacy-first system to meet 2026 government certification rules, allowing instructors to "opt-in" to show their credentials publicly.
• Excel Import/Export: Implemented secure system for the bulk import/export of students and bulk certificate validation via. Excel upload.

2020 — 2022 · WordPress, Elementor, Custom Addons

• First Elementor Build: Recreated an old Divi website in Elementor and ensured smooth transition to the new system/structure.
• Asset Improvements: Recreated legacy raster assets (logos, separator flourishes) as SVGs, ensuring the site stays sharp on high-res screens and loads faster.
• Custom Application: Built a specialized property inspection web application to streamline on-site report generation and image capture.
• Listings API Import/Caching: Interfaced with ShowMojo Listings API to prototype a WordPress plugin with an integrated server-side caching layer. (not yet live)
• Performance: Achieved 99/100 Desktop and 93/100 Mobile PageSpeed scores through optimization and aggressive asset management.

2008 — 2012 · WordPress, Custom Theme & Addons

• Data Structure: Implemented early version of custom post types to organize complex relational data (hosts, guests, games, and mods).
• Theme Development: Wrote a personal WordPress starter theme with full Separation of Concerns between HTML and CSS, incl. a layered set of stylesheets.
• Event Microsites: Built several bespoke, hand-coded microsites using PHP or Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS for high-profile events and milestones.
• Content Parsing: Built a custom shorthand parser that turned simple text notes into structured HTML shownotes for podcast episodes.