About
I build software. I understand the business around it.
I work on software and the business around it: websites, integrations, SEO, advertising and measurement. Running my own webshop and niche websites meant dealing with traffic, customers, orders and the systems behind them.
I'm Carsten, a senior full-stack developer, working mostly in PHP and Laravel.
I trained to sail the world’s oceans on large cargo ships, and went on to do just that. After that, I worked in industrial automation and engineering. Alongside that work, I kept coding and building websites for fun, a hobby I’d started at 16. Eventually it became my full-time work, with PHP, ecommerce, Laravel and custom software for businesses.
I still like the same part of the work: understanding how something works, finding the problem and building a practical solution.
I care about clean code, but the code is not the point. If the software handles orders, leads, billing or customer communication, those things have to keep working. I think about migrations, monitoring and what happens after launch because I've had to deal with them in my own businesses and client systems.
The useful history
How I ended up doing this.
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Industrial automation and engineering
I worked in production automation, designed robots and machines, worked in a research lab and held a product specialist role. I enjoyed understanding how the different parts worked together. That is still the part of software I enjoy now.
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Ecommerce
I ran my own Magento store and later worked on established Magento and Shopware stores for clients. When software sits underneath a live store, changes affect real orders, customers and revenue.
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Niche websites
I grew a niche website to 2,000–3,000 visitors a day and an email list of 20,000 people. That meant learning SEO, content, email, products and how to turn traffic into income by doing the work myself.
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Five years with one client
A small Laravel project for a Belgian company became five years of work. I wasn't handed isolated tickets; I learned how the business worked and kept changing the software as the company changed.
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Building products now
I’m building SitePerfector for SEO research and content planning, and Outreachd for personal outreach. Both bring software, marketing and my own daily work together. I still design and write the software myself.
The work I like most
I enjoy working with owners who know what they want the business to do, even if they haven’t worked out what needs to change yet.
That might involve software, a better website, more useful measurement or help finding customers. I like understanding how the pieces fit together, then getting on with the work.
We can start with one project and finish there, or keep working together. Longer relationships help me get to know the business and make each next piece of work easier to pick up.
How I work
- You work with me
- You discuss the problem directly with me. I work out what is needed, do the work and keep you involved. That applies to software, a campaign or an SEO plan.
- We can start with one thing
- We can start with one feature, integration, campaign or SEO plan. If there is more to do and the relationship works well, we can continue.
- I can work with what you already have
- Not every codebase needs to be rewritten. I'm comfortable getting into an existing PHP/Laravel application, understanding it and improving it in steps.
- I think beyond launch
- Deployment, monitoring, data migrations, support and the awkward cases that appear after software goes live are part of the work.
Get in touch
Have something you need help with?
Tell me what you want to achieve, what is not working or where you need a hand.
Most things start with a short email — info@pawon.dev. I usually reply within one working day.