Statamic Developer Brisbane
Statamic is a modern, clean, and highly adaptable content management system that can run full-stack, headless, on flat files or databases, & as an static site generator. WordPress is targeted at simpler informational sites, while Statamic is designed specifically to build and manage bespoke (custom) websites, and can scale beautifully when integrated as part of an existing Laravel web application. I am an active member in the Statamic development community and have also lead and developed large Statamic sites such as Brisbane South PHN's latest website redesign, and the website you're browsing right now.
Capabilities - What I build with Statamic
A snapshot of the kinds of Statamic projects I most often take on. If yours sounds like one of these, we should talk.
Modern-day Wordpress
The internet wouldn't be where it is without Wordpress, but with the direction they've chosen to go with their site builders, it's clear that Wordpress is furthering itself into the space of entry-level websites and build-your-own rather than high quality sites. Statamic is built upon Laravel - the leading PHP framework - it doesn't get much better than that.
Built on top of Laravel
One of the biggest challenges with WordPress is that it's difficult to build custom functionality well, so you end up with poor quality and often insecure plugins. With Statamic built upon Laravel, the number one PHP framework available today and the most popular backend framework on Github, this gives you access to the entire framework to build anything you want.
Flat-File Structure
Statamic utilises a flat-file structure, which means that content is stored in simple files and folders rather than a traditional database. This naturally leads to significantly faster loading times and simplified management of content.
Extensive Add-On Marketplace
Extend Statamic by building your own add-ons or using ones from the marketplace. Everything from SEO add-ons, through to 2FA and Redirects. Having a quality ecosystem means you can rely on the code that you're putting in your website.
Secure by Default
94% of the websites hacked are running WordPress (source). It is the most targeted and vulnerable content management system (CMS) on the market. Flat files can't be hacked. Quality ecosystem means quality code. And built on top of Laravel, the most secure and well-maintained PHP framework today.
Content Flexibility
Statamic provides flexible content modeling, allowing me to structure all content in a way that suits the specific needs of the project and design. This flexibility is beneficial for creating unique and tailored content structures.
Case Studies - Featured Case Studies that use Statamic
These showcased projects serve as a window into my expertise in the realm of Statamic Developer Brisbane. Carefully selected to represent a variety of solutions, they demonstrate the diverse capabilities I bring to the table.
Brisbane South PHN Website Refresh
Brisbane South PHN required a website refresh that would allow the health professionals in their region to easily find the information required, which involved a sitemap and menu overhaul, full content rewrite and refreshed design.
Pasifika and Māori Health and Wellbeing Strategy Website
A website that provides online strategy updates, a services search engine and resources for local community service providers to support Pasifika and Maori peoples.
The Difference - Senior Statamic work. None of the agency layers.
Most agencies that touch Statamic sell a senior name on the proposal and put a team of intermediates on your code. I do it the other way around. Same person quotes the project, writes every blueprint, Antlers template, and addon, makes every architectural call, and stays with you for the years of maintenance that follow.
Your current agency
Senior names on the proposal. Juniors on the code.
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Junior and intermediate developers write your Statamic build, loosely supervised by the senior who is too busy and the sales team who sold the project.
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Communication is routed through account managers who filter what gets asked and what answer you receive.
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Architectural decisions are made in meetings by people who never open your codebase.
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Work is scoped by people who won't be writing the code, and the actual build gets handed down to juniors still learning Statamic on your project.
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After launch, you are handed to a maintenance team you have never spoken to and have to re-explain the project.
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“Maintenance” means automated bulk addon updates pushed without reviewing changelogs or testing compatibility.
Working with me
The senior on the proposal is the one writing the code.
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I am the senior. I write every line of your Statamic site personally, from blueprints and Antlers templates through to deployment.
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You talk to me directly. No account manager filtering questions on the way in or answers on the way back.
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Architecture and trade-offs are decided by the person implementing them. The thinking and the typing happen in the same head.
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I scope it, design the architecture, and write the code myself. The decisions that shape the build are being made by the person who will have to live with them for the next five years.
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The same developer who built it stays with you. Most of my clients have been around for five to seven years.
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Each update is reviewed against your stack, tested in staging, and logged. No silent breakage two weeks after the invoice.
“We have used Jonathan for a number of years to develop and maintain our rather complicated Online Portal and website. Jonathan is always extremely responsive to requests and proactive in ensuring our online presence is safe, presents well and is functional to our customers needs. We would definitely recommend Jonathan for your custom web development needs.”
“Digital Bird is my first pick for delivering web projects on time, on budget and to the brief — every time. Beyond being a delight to work with, Jonathan Bird is that rare breed of developer who is both masterful on the tools (an absolute Laravel whizz!) while also being adept at engaging the client in UX-thinking, to which he applies expert insights, gained through years of experience, to help further improve the end design for the target user’s experience. This powerful combination of skills means that 4 years on and a variety of projects later (from search directories to corporate website developments), Digital Bird firmly remains my first pick for developer.”
“We’ve been working with Jonathan Bird for our website maintenance, and he has been nothing short of exceptional. Jonathan consistently goes above and beyond, responding quickly whenever we need help and resolving issues with impressive turnaround time. His communication is clear and thorough — he always explains what the problem was, how he fixed it, and provides helpful recommendations for long-term solutions. It’s rare to find someone this reliable and proactive. Highly recommend!”
“Digital Bird has had a huge influence on our business providing many solutions besides just a fantastic reliable website. Jonathan is great to work with and has a solution to every challenge. Jonathan also has the ability to “dumb it down” and provide timely advice and assistance if something goes astray. With Jonathan we have in excess of 99% uptime on all three websites.”
“Velg Training has had an excellent experience working with Digital Bird. Jonathan has supported us with a complex Laravel/PHP website and has brought a rare mix of deep technical knowledge, practical problem solving, and clear communication. He has assisted with major infrastructure and platform work across AWS, Laravel Forge, Cloudflare, Redis, S3, Sentry, PayWay, Mailchimp/Mandrill and related integrations. His work has included setting up and migrating infrastructure, improving performance, resolving production issues, monitoring errors, modernising legacy code, and strengthening the reliability of key business workflows such as checkout, invoicing, membership exports, PDF generation, transactional emails and background queues. What stands out most is that Jonathan does not just “fix the ticket”. He investigates properly, explains the cause in plain language, and looks for the right long-term solution rather than quick patches. He has helped us move away from fragile legacy processes, improve automated testing, reduce errors, improve email reliability, address performance bottlenecks, and make the platform easier to maintain into the future. He is responsive, thorough and highly professional, with an obvious understanding of business-critical websites and custom web applications. We would happily recommend Jonathan to any organisation needing a skilled, reliable and commercially minded Laravel/PHP web developer.”
“Was an absolute pleasure to work with Jonathan. Could not be happier with our new website! Professional, responsive, brilliant communication from the beginning to go live. If you are fortunate enough to be in a conversation with Jonathan for a new site - just do it!”
“I’ve worked with Jonathan from Digital Bird for several years and found him to be a highly competent developer who often exceeds expectations. Together, we’ve collaborated on a number of medium-sized platforms serving hundreds of thousands of users, including learning management systems, a widely-used school well-being platform, trade promotion competition sites, and more. Jonathan is very skilled in API and platform integration, payment systems (such as Stripe), AWS, internet security, and more. As a Project Manager/Product Owner, I feel very confident working with Jonathan and recommending his services to our clients.”
“Highly recommend Jonathan for anything web development in Brisbane and Australia-wide. Have worked with a lot of developers over the years and Jonathan’s work and communication on projects has been a clear standout. A very talent developer if you’re looking for anything from WordPress, Shopify, Laravel, or anything in-between.”
“Jonathan Bird is one of the best I have worked with in this space. He is responsive, clever and contributes to the brief, and most importantly, he is a great person to work with. It can be hard to find the right people who can take on something and lift it to another dimension. Jonathan does that and more.”
“Jonathan Bird was instrumental in redesigning my business’ website and provided invaluable feedback throughout the entire process. The results far exceeded my expectations. They then went above and beyond and met all deadlines in revamping the site again, when we re branded our business. Jonathan has been managing our website updates and hosting ever since and, with more than 10 years industry experience, is always able to add value, solve problems and exceed expectations. I highly recommend him.”
You’re in good company
Website Project Process
My website project process includes a comprehensive approach encompassing phases for website discovery, design, development, quality assurance, training, and post-launch review.
From the Blog - Statamic articles from a specialist Brisbane developer
I write regularly about Statamic development, sharing practical fixes, deep dives, and lessons from building and maintaining production Statamic sites. These articles cover the same kind of work I do for clients every day.