A predictable path into web development

It started with computers and games, the way it usually does. In 2015 I wanted to earn some extra money, so I taught myself WordPress and found my first small clients through people I knew.

I built my first website that summer. None of those early sites are still online, which is probably better for everyone involved.

One website, one year, one very patient client

In 2016 I got the chance to build a website for Annick Hens. I was completely obsessed with Awwwards at the time and became far too perfectionistic: I learned React, rebuilt the entire site with Gatsby and finally launched it almost a year later. Annick deserves a lot of credit for waiting that long.

That project also exposed something I still struggle with today: a website that just works is not finished. It also has to look and feel right.

Awwwards at home, Microsoft Visio at school

At sixteen I started studying software development at KW1C. The contrast was painful: my evenings were spent taking apart award-winning websites, my school days were spent designing apps in Microsoft Visio.

The real learning happened at my first internship, at DPDK in Rotterdam. I woke up at five, travelled around three hours every day and learned more about React, design and creative teamwork than I ever had in a classroom.

Everyone there had a MacBook. I had a gaming laptop roughly the size of a small suitcase. I sold it, bought my first MacBook and almost completely stopped gaming — building things had become more fun than playing them.

Paying for Thailand

Around the same time I wanted to travel through Thailand by myself. There was only one problem: I needed money.

I applied to agencies near me and ended up at Jarpis. I arrived feeling fairly confident about my coding skills and quickly discovered that building real software was harder than I thought. Instead of letting me go, they gave me sixteen paid hours a week to learn. I am still incredibly grateful for that.

Mustard, socks and headless Shopify

For my second internship I did what I always did: scroll through Awwwards until I recognised an agency. That is how I found Ask Phill, where I got a lot of freedom and started building headless Shopify Plus websites for brands such as Maille by Unilever and STOX Energy Socks — selling mustard and socks with very serious JavaScript.

They also let me keep working remotely during my final exams, which made finishing school a lot more bearable.

Vision, table football and cappuccinos

After graduating I received several job offers. Some paid more, but I chose Gewest13 because their vision was closest to mine — I wanted to work somewhere I could genuinely stand behind the work.

I stayed for five years and had a great time. We were a small team of designers, developers and project managers working closely together. I learned a lot, stayed active in development communities and became surprisingly good at table football and making cappuccinos.

During four of those years I also freelanced for Tweek-Eek. They are still my longest-standing and most loyal client.

Out on my own

Since January 2026 I have been working full-time as an independent developer through Uprounded, building websites, headless webshops and digital products for agencies and businesses.

AI is changing this industry fast and I have no idea exactly what the next ten years will look like. Luckily, not knowing what comes next is what made this fun in the first place.