M
marc dumont · 2026
Status
Currently
Working with clients across the UK, US and Europe.
Stats
08+y
Experience
20+
Active clients
$55/h
Flat rate
10+y
Longest
Elsewhere
© 2026Made by hand
About · The person behind the work

Hello, I'm Marc.

I've been building WordPress sites for other people since 2017. Most of my clients have been with me for five years or more, which is either a good sign or evidence that they can't find someone better. I like to think it's the first one.

I started out at an agency in 2017, then realised about three years in that I was happiest when I was actually building things instead of managing teams. So I went freelance. That was January 2020, which turned out to be excellent timing for a career that required clients and terrible timing for basically everything else.

I specialise in WordPress and Elementor. I know that's not the trendy answer in 2026, everyone wants to hear Next.js or Astro or whatever JavaScript framework shipped last Tuesday, but WordPress still powers 40% of the web, and most of the businesses I work with need a CMS their team can actually use. Elementor gets a bad reputation because most Elementor sites are badly built, not because Elementor is bad. Used carefully, it's the most pragmatic tool for the job.

How I work

I work alone. One client, one developer, one point of contact. That has limits, I can't spin up a team for a three-month rush job, but it also means you're never handed off to a junior mid-project or stuck in a ticketing system when something urgent comes up.

I bill hourly, at a flat rate, with a log you can audit. No retainers, no packages, no 'premium tier' with faster response times. Everyone pays the same $55/hour and gets the same attention.

What I'm not

I'm not a designer. I can translate your designs faithfully and make sensible decisions when the spec is ambiguous, but I'll tell you to hire a real designer if that's what you need.

I'm not an SEO consultant, a content strategist, a Google Ads specialist, or a social media expert. I'll set up the technical foundations for those things to work, but the ongoing strategy needs someone whose full-time job it is.

I'm not cheap. $55/hour is reasonable for experienced WordPress work in the UK and US, but I'm not competing on price with developers charging $15 on Upwork. If that's the budget, we're not a fit, and I'd rather say so upfront.

Outside work

When I'm not working, I'm probably drumming in a punk band or out on a run. Neither is particularly good for my hearing or my knees, but both teach you the same lesson: showing up consistently over years is the only thing that produces real work. Same principle I try to apply to clients.

I live in Durban, South Africa. That's GMT+2, which means I overlap with UK mornings and US East Coast afternoons, enough to be present for meetings in both without destroying my sleep. Most of my clients never notice the timezone because I answer email and Slack throughout their working day.

A short timeline

Say hello →
2017

Started at an agency

First real WordPress job. Learned everything the hard way, theme development, performance debugging, how to talk to clients, and why scope creep is a process problem, not a client problem.

2020

Went independent

Left the agency to freelance full-time, about six weeks before the world shut down. Picked up my first three clients, two of whom are still clients six years later.

2022

Committed to Elementor properly

Stopped building custom themes from scratch and went all-in on Elementor Pro with ACF. Halved my build times, doubled client editability, never looked back.

2024

Started taking performance work seriously

Added performance audits and optimisation as a standalone service. Turns out a lot of clients don't need a new site, they need their current site to actually work.

2026

Now

Working with 20+ active clients across three continents. Still one person, still $55/hour, still learning.

What I care about

Get in touch →
01

Honesty over polish

I'd rather tell you something uncomfortable than send you a slick email that glosses over the problem.

02

Patience over speed

Fast work is expensive work. Careful work compounds. I'd rather deliver something in eight weeks that lasts six years than in four weeks that lasts two.

03

Clarity over cleverness

Code should be obvious. Invoices should be plain. Meetings should have a point. Most complication in freelance work is performance.

04

Long games over quick wins

I'd rather have a client for ten years than a deposit today. Every decision I make is weighted toward the version of the relationship that lasts.

Tools I actually use

Read the full stack →

For building

WordPressElementor ProACF ProWooCommercePHP 8.2MySQL

For working

CursorLocal by FlywheelGitHubLinearFigmaNotion

For shipping

KinstaWP EngineCloudflareRank MathWP RocketGA4
Let's talk

Think we'd work well together?

I'd be glad to hear about your project. A rough brief is fine. A finished spec is also fine. A 'not sure yet, want to chat' is also fine. There's no wrong way to start a conversation.

WordPressElementorWooCommerceLong-term partnershipsTransparent hourly pricingWordPressElementorWooCommerceLong-term partnershipsTransparent hourly pricing