Portfolio – 2026

About

I’m a full stack developer with eight years in the IT industry, working across agencies, in-house teams and my own clients. I build fast, accessible, production-ready sites and applications with React, Next.js and TypeScript on the front end, and PHP, Laravel and WordPress behind them.

I started in QA in 2018, which taught me how software really gets built and where it breaks. From there I moved into development and spent several years building bespoke WordPress for agencies and their clients: custom themes, Gutenberg blocks, plugins, WooCommerce and API integrations, written by hand rather than assembled from page builders.

Today I run my own company, Bloom Desktop Ltd. Through it I build microsites for clients in the culture and arts sector, and I designed, built and launched My Days Abroad, a SaaS product that tracks days abroad against UK naturalisation, Schengen and tax-residency rules. I own it end to end: a front end in five languages, a Laravel API, Stripe billing, automated tests and the infrastructure it runs on.

Before tech I spent seven years as a tour guide in London, which is where I learned to explain complicated things clearly. It still helps with clients.

I’m currently open to new opportunities: front-end and full stack roles with React, Next.js and TypeScript, as well as senior WordPress development and consulting.

Permanent or contract, remote or on-site. If you think I could help your team, get in touch.

Skills

Programming Languages

JavaScript TypeScript HTML CSS3 Sass PHP SQL

Frameworks & Libraries

Next.js React jQuery Bootstrap Tailwind CSS Laravel

WordPress Development

ACF AJAX Custom Plugins Custom Post Types Custom Themes Elementor Gutenberg Taxonomies WooCommerce

Testing & Code Quality

ESLint PHPUnit WordPress Coding Standards (WPCS) Git Hooks (Husky) GitHub Actions (CI) Vitest

Developer Tools & Ecosystem

Astro Expo Gulp Webpack Composer phpMyAdmin Git GitHub Asana Claude Code Cloudflare Figma FileZilla Jira Linux/SSH Postman Sentry

Backend & Data

PostgreSQL OAuth 2.0 REST APIs Stripe

Experience

Aug 2026 — Present
Founder & Full Stack Developer · My Days Abroad

Designed, built and launched My Days Abroad, a SaaS web app that helps people track their days abroad against UK naturalisation, Schengen and tax-residency rules. I own the product end to end: a Next.js and TypeScript front end localised in five languages, a Laravel REST API on PostgreSQL, Stripe subscriptions and one-off payments, Google sign-in, and PDF/Excel exports. It is covered by around 400 automated tests with CI on GitHub Actions, and runs on a Linux server behind Cloudflare that I deploy and maintain myself.
- TypeScript
- Next.js
- Tailwind CSS
- PHP
- Laravel
- PHPUnit
- REST APIs
- OAuth 2.0
- PostgreSQL
- Stripe
- Vitest
- Cloudflare
Jul 2026 — Present
Freelance Full Stack Developer · HdK

Build bespoke microsites for HdK's clients in the culture and arts sector, working as an independent contractor through my own company, Bloom Desktop Ltd. I develop custom blocks and front-end components tailored to each campaign's branding and content, and manage scope and delivery directly with the HdK team.
- React
- JavaScript
- PHP
- GitHub
- WooCommerce
- Tailwind CSS
- Cloudflare
- SQL
- phpMyAdmin
- Composer
Jan 2026 — Jul 2026
Web Support Developer · HdK

Delivered technical support and development services for a variety of clients in the culture and art sector, troubleshooting and fixing CMS, DNS, and hosting issues, supporting customizations and integrations, and ensuring smooth system operation while delivering clear guidance to clients.
- PHP
- Custom Themes
- Custom Plugins
- JavaScript
- React
- SQL
- phpMyAdmin
- GitHub
- FileZilla
- Postman
- Asana
Nov 2022 — Nov 2025
Web Developer · MAKE AGENCY

Built and maintained high-quality WordPress platforms for diverse client projects, delivering custom themes, plugins, and API integrations. Partnered with design and cross-functional teams to ship scalable features, improve performance, and develop flexible block-based systems aligned with client and business goals.
- PHP
- WPCS
- Custom Plugins
- ACF
- Gutenberg
- WooCommerce
- Composer
- React
- jQuery
- Tailwind CSS
- Git Hooks (Husky)
- GitHub
- Postman
- Figma
- Asana
Apr 2022 — Oct 2022
Web Developer · Eventogy

Maintained and enhanced an in-house CRM platform using PHP and JavaScript, improving functionality and implementing WCAG accessibility standards to support client acquisition and retention, while providing first-line technical support through Zendesk, resolving client issues and performing ongoing QA testing to ensure platform stability.
- PHP
- WPCS
- JavaScript
- Gulp
- Bootstrap
- Sass
- GitHub
- Postman
- Jira
Sep 2021 — Feb 2022
Web Developer · Blubale

Conducted pre-development design analysis and developed a dynamic landing page by translating Figma specifications into production-ready code, while optimizing the development workflow to deliver the project two months ahead of schedule and enable earlier business value delivery.
- HTML
- CSS3
- Sass
- JavaScript
- ESLint
- GitHub
- Figma
Jun 2019 — Aug 2022
Web Developer · Tour Londres

Maintained and optimized the company WordPress website, implementing UI improvements and custom solutions using Gutenberg, ACF, and Elementor.
- HTML
- CSS3
- Sass
- Bootstrap
- JavaScript
- jQuery
- PHP
- Gutenberg
- ACF
- Elementor
Oct 2018 — Apr 2019
QA Manual Tester · Amelco

Executed manual testing across multiple devices and browsers within an Agile Scrum environment, collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure product quality, resolving over 400 Jira tickets and producing more than 200 structured bug reports across a range of client projects.
- HTML
- CSS3
- SQL
- Browser Developer Tools
- Jira

Download my full résumé

Projects

Desktop Productivity Wallpaper Tool

A React application for generating customisable desktop wallpapers designed to support focus and daily productivity. Built as a hands-on project to apply component-driven architecture and modern front-end development practices in a real-world context.
- React
- Tailwind CSS
Universal Store Locator WP Plugin (in progress)

Universal Store Locator is a WordPress plugin for creating fully customizable store locators with interactive maps, country filters, and address search. Users can add locations via CSV, style the interface with CSS, and display results using Leaflet and OpenStreetMap. Built for any theme without third-party dependencies, it showcases advanced PHP and WordPress development, plugin architecture, and user-focused customization.
- PHP
- WPCS
- Custom Plugins
- JavaScript
- jQuery
- Tailwind CSS

Julian Cantera

Full Stack Developer