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Jan Zikmund

Freelance web developer

Hi, I am Jan and I develop websites and web applications while surfing the world.
I cooperated with tens of businesses during my 16 years in the field and I still enjoy it.

Background and Workflow

Born in '82, I begged my first Atari at the age of 8 and have been hooked ever since, whether it was flying a spaceship or writing text-based games. Later when the internet stormed the world, there was no going back.

Blog sites collecting guitar riffs and mapping boardriding scene in my town landed me first contract jobs in PHP. Around 2006 I discovered WordPress and took it on board.

After college I started programming full-time, but fixed-hours office routine didn't truly click with my passion for snowboarding and surfing trips. So around 2009 I switched to contracting again, and even though my schedule got way more regular over time and I mostly support clients long-term these days, I still work on contract basis in .

Finally, after six years in Australia, New Zealand and some other travels, I dropped the anchor back home in the Czech republic. We moved to a small mountain town of Vrchlabi, where I've set up my cosy office and from where I commit shorter workations around Europe. In Feb 2022 our baby girl Anika was born, so since then my life has some less sleep, but way more fun.

I work on a 16" MacBook Pro with two external screens, MS Sculpt keyboard, Logitech Ergo trackball and Sony headphones to silence the buzz. Most of my day I spend in VSCode, PHPStorm and iTerm2.

Why would you hire me?

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I am experienced Experienced

WordPress, Magento, custom builds on Laravel and Vue, setting up Linux webservers, security, bug-fixes, APIs, SEO, tailor-made scripts. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

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I am passionate Passionate

I love clean code, follow best practices and enjoy seeking most efficient ways. My work is my hobby, delivering top-class results is my pride. Check some of the testimonials below to see I am not kidding.

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I am organized Organized

I have fluent English, respond within 48 hours, give estimates upfront and suggest alternative approaches where relavant. Clients get real-time dashboard of all tasks done and time spent.

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I evolve Evolving

Paper books, Twitter, StackOverflow, Laracasts subscription and daily coding keep me up to date. Attended a few conferences and will do more. In my free time I tinker with new ideas to expand the toolbox even further.

Skills

I've worked hard to master the tricks involved in modern web development. No matter if you want a website, an e-shop or a custom built application, I got you covered. I can program it, integrate it, host it and keep an eye on it to run nice and smooth.

Core Skills

WordPress / WooCommerce

  • 130+ WordPress sites and e-shops, PSD to WP, complete setup, fixes, maintenance
  • programming and enhancements of plugins, themes and widgets
  • using custom post-types, filters, hooks
  • routing adjustments, imports, api integration, multidomain sites

Magento

  • Setup catalog, products, pricing rules, taxes, multidomain stores, shipping matrixes, transactional emails, product imports, eBay & Amazon sync
  • programming custom features, theme adjustments, maintenance, patches
  • module extensions, observers, non-destructive code overrides

Front-end: JS, SCSS, HTML

  • valid code, cross-browser & cross-device compatible
  • Vue.js, Alpine.js, Webpack/Vite bundles, SPAs, complex front-end apps
  • advanced CSS features, layouts, Tailwind, Bootstrap

Back-end: Laravel, PHP, SQL

  • 13 years active PHP development, custom apps and tools
  • modern approach using classes, namespaces, Composer dependencies
  • advanced database queries, complex table joins, speed optimization

Other Skills

APIs, 3rd party service integration

AWS & Google services. Payment gateways - PayPal, Stripe, Wise, Digistore24.. External booking systems, weather data, timesheet imports, REST APIs, OAuth 1 & 2.

Performance optimization

Browser & server caching, assets minify, concatenate, connect CDNs. Optimised code, srcset, lazy-loading, defer scripts, code review.

Security

Vulnerability fixes, updates, backups, installing patches, malware clean-up.

SEO, Analytics

On & off-page, HTML structure, rel canonical, XML sitemaps, content redirection. E-commerce tracking, custom events, purchase funnels. Google Tag Manager, data layers.

Server management, SSH, SSL

Apache, NGINX, command line Ubuntu. PHP and Node.js hosting, Let's Encrypt, cron jobs, site migration, deployment scripts. Server updates, WHM & Plesk panels.

Back-end JavaScript

Express.js, MongoDB, webserver setup

Scripting

Custom scripts to automate boring and repetitive tasks in Python, Bash, Node.

GIT, code versioning

Bitbucket & GitHub hosted repositories, branching, auto-deploy hooks.

Design, UX, wireframes, prototypes

Small design tasks, mockups, browser prototyping, proofs of concept.

Timeline

2022 - present

Senior software engineer, MissingDots GmbH

  • development of cloud-based SaaS logistics applications
  • development of container depot directory
  • front-end and back-end programming, APIs, client support
2015 - 2022

Freelance full-stack developer, Australia

  • WordPress, Magento and Laravel development, setup, maintenance
  • Servers management, security, speed optimization, SSL certificates, query APIs
2014 - 2015

Web developer - Blacksheepdesign, New Zealand

  • coding WordPress sites, custom templates, plugins
  • switch to macOS, using SASS, GIT, Grunt, Bootstrap
5 - 10 / 2014

Career break - Backpacking Asia

India, Thailand, Philipines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos
2011 - 2014

Lead developer - dotBlue, Netherlands

  • WordPress, Magento, Nette and front-end development
  • participation on 30+ projects, programming, enhancements
2008 - 2011

PHP developer - Turistika / Mediacentrum

  • development and support of web portal with 10 000 registered users
  • PHP programming, database administration, front-end coding
2004 - 2008

Lotus Notes Developer - Generali a.s.

programming internet and intranet applications for Lotus Notes / Domino
2001 - 2007

University of Hradec Kralove

master's degree on Faculty of Informatics and Management

Testimonials

We had a great experience with Jan over multiple web development projects. Highly knowledgeable, skilled, and detail-oriented, he delivered top-notch code and exceeded all deadlines. Communication was excellent, and his insightful suggestions elevated the projects. We would highly recommend Jan for any web development work.

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Ruairí Mac Síomóin
Managing director of Eolas Biosciences

Jan has worked with us on a plethora of various web development projects over many years. He always went above and beyond on every project, sharing his professional opinion and findings in detail so we were always fully informed. His knowledge and experience surpassed any other web developer we have worked with previously. No task was ever beyond his skill set. Highly recommended and I hope we can work together more in the future.

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Tyler Desjardins
Business development manager at M@ Technologies

Jan has that rare combination of both a brilliant developer, and 100% devoted attitude. When it comes to Magento, he's probably one of the best out there. A true professional, always committed to smart and optimal solutions. Working with him has provided me with priceless peace of mind. I will definitely cooperate with him again.

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Yonatan Uzan
Owner of Jonathan

I have been working with Jan Zikmund on various projects for over six years and would highly recommend him. When I started my own marketing company three years ago I approached Jan about being our web development contractor, thankfully he agreed and has been working as a crucial part of my business ever since. Jan is extremely knowledgeable and always offers the best solution for my clients. His communication is second to none and I have complete confidence in his work. I am actually not sure how I would run my business without him.

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Victoria McLoughlin

Jan has provided excellent work and is always reliable, we'd recommend him highly.

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Adam Fowler
Director of AbreIT

I have been working with Jan for over 3 years now and have always found his work to be exceptional. I have no trouble recommending him for web and dev projects and will continue to use his services for years to come.

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Phillip Vella
Director of VIT Consultants

Jan is fantastic to work with. He has helped me develop my website over the last year+, his code has helped implement my ideas which has increased sales. My investment in Jan's assistance has paid for itself easily.

He has always been prompt with his work, provided great documentation, his ideas on how to best implement what I'm trying to achieve are enormously beneficial. I don't need to provide every tiny detail, I can hand him a 'big picture' map and he's great at workout out the details in a smart way, without it taking forever.

I would recommend him my closest friends and colleagues. An absolute gem.

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Scott Sheppeard
Director of photography at Spartan Australia

Jan is fantastic! He is an expert developer who has never let us down. Tasks are dealt with quickly and efficiently. He puts his client's interests first and always provides considered suggestions. With his guidance and skills, we have improved our Magento store which has resulted in increased conversions. We enjoy working with Jan and will be definitely hiring him in the near future. Thank you, Jan!

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Dan Holthouse
Owner of Unirack

Jan is a brilliant coder and a great communicator. Will be booking again on our next project. Highly recommended.

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Andy Barnes
Director of Entourage Live

Jan, I want to give you a huge high-five. I really appreciate the amazing work you have done for us. You have a fantastic way of understanding the customer and translating that to development needs. Thank you for all that, Jan.

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Jesper Lehrmann
Product manager at MindSocial

I have used Jan on a number of projects and I will continue to use him in future. I have always been extremely happy with the quality of Jan's work and his technical knowledge. His communication, in particular, is excellent. He is responsive, friendly, professional, and always takes the time to provide a clear and detailed reply to any questions. I highly recommend Jan as a talented and reliable web developer.

Client preferred to remain anonymous.

Jan was very professional, always contributing his knowledge to the success of the tasks, to make them work better and more professional. He always delivered on time, I highly recommend!

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Ben Harel
CEO at STDClinic

Jan was great to work with. His communication, attention to detail, understanding of code and business case, and ability to suggest changes and improvements made him a great part of our team. We would still be working with Jan aside from COVID and his availability from other client work. I highly recommend Jan as a full stack developer.

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Thomas Bennett
President of Bennett Web Group

Fantastic. I really enjoyed working with Jan and would highly recommend him. Will definitely use again!

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Adrian Grayson-Widarsito
Director of Vokke

It is with pleasure and extremely easy for me to recommend Jan Zikmund. Jan has been invaluable as a lead consultant for our company. Jan has worked with us for approximately 4 years now and his main role is as an overseeing consultant for all things concerning website/s, domains (here and overseas), hosting, server and development. Development in terms of now and in terms of preparing for the future. His knowledge base is vast and his obvious interest and passion means that he is very much in touch with what is coming and what needs to be done to take up and stay at the cutting edge of business Web activity. Jan has very much contributed to the execution of our internet sales, across many platforms and in a number of countries.

I can attest to Jan being a highly committed professional with exceptionally skills and almost magical execution in relation to problem solving and prevention. He is ever reliable and reachable. Jan has rescued us from emergency outages, made daily activities run more efficiently and prepared us for expansion. More importantly Jan has endlessly sort and suggested improvements. I would say his nature is just to do it right and get it right from the start.

Highly recommend and highly skilled.

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William Keeley
Director of Marine Warehouse

Jan is the best freelancer I've worked with. I always get back to him each time I have something that needs to get done. He's at the perfect balance between efficiency and perfectionism. I can only recommend Jan for his excellent work and his warm personality. I will hire Jan again in the future.

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Dimitri Douchin
Co-founder & CTO at ReWildin

Jan was great. Fantastic communication and skills with Wordpress. Always eager to help us out. A pleasure to work with and we'll re-hire for future projects.

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Stephen Woods
Solutions consultant at Deputy

Jan has been a tremendous help and one of the main reasons my project got finally on the way. I am very glad to have found him, because he has not only over the top development skills, but is also one of the most communicative and collaborative business partners I have ever worked with. From the start on I felt very safe about the process of the project!

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Frank Olschewski
Director of Monster Fitness

Jan is an excellent developer and knows Magento inside out. It will be great to work with you again. Highly recommended.

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Tom Hay
Digital growth expert at tomhay.net

Jan has been working with us at Garnish Marketing as a Web Developer for a number of years and during the time he contracted to us he has been an enormous help. Jan has a highly technical set of skills and has an ability to problem solve where most cannot. His ability to read code and fix problems has been really very useful and if I'm honest, I will miss having such a fantastic resource on tap. Jan has a pleasant demeanor and is always very polite.

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Angie Hammond

I have had the pleasure of working with Jan for the last 6 years with the full redesign of my two main websites, that required detailed custom programming and design. Every time I asked for something I thought couldn’t be done, which was also difficult, Jan found a way to do it and come in on time and budget. He has been a true asset to my online business.

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Matt Lauder

We loved working with Jan, he's a real professional, always thorough and very courteous and thoughtful.

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Mark Jones
Strategy director at Your Digital Solution

Working with Jan has been an absolute pleasure! Having worked with several IT companies previously, we can honestly say that Jan is by far the most professional & reliable we have ever used. His knowledge & work is always of the highest calibre & is always performed in a timely manner & without fuss. Nothing is ever a problem, and in suggesting possible solutions, he always takes our cost & budget into account.

Jan is also very proactive in alerting us to possible issues needing to be resolved which have saved us from bigger problems in future. His follow-up in ensuring all required tasks are successfully completed is always appreciated. We highly recommend Jan for all your IT needs. He is truly a cut above all others we have used & will easily justify his cost.

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Jack Retman
Director of WatchPartners

Aside from being a thoroughly pleasant man, Jan really does know his stuff and is a pleasure to work with. He listens carefully to client briefs and is happy to suggest alternative approaches to issues if he feels that it is in the best interest of the project. Jan always produced work of a high standard, on time and within budget. I have no hesitation in recommending Jan. And he can surf.

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Mark Inman

Jan is a frontend legend. Great communication, great skills and puts in big efforts when needed. Will certainly hire again.

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Adrian Anderson
Founder & creative at Delux Design

Jan did a very nice job on the custom PHP script. The code is clean and Jan is a real professional. He communicates well and often, and is truly dedicated. Will definitely hire him again.

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Vincent van Scherpenseel
Co-owner & CTO at dotBlue

I was really satisfied with Jan's job on my website. He was precise, able to see all aspects of my requests and always ready to help. I'm not an easy customer to satisfy and he did it just well.

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Eliska Roos
Owner of JustBecause

True pleasure to work with Jan. Will most definitely work with him again.

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Lars Ettrup
CTO at Nodes

Contact

Enquiry form

Contact details

location icon Jan Zikmund
Vrchlabi
Czech republic

email icon [email protected]

vcard icon vCard

Billing details

ITIN: 762 500 24


  • All the work is done officialy with tax invoices.
  • I am a sole trader registered in Czechia, EU.
  • Invoices can be paid to my local bank accounts in EU, USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
  • Alternative payment methods include Wise, PayPal, Upwork and credit/debit cards.