WordPress Troubleshooting & Plugin Creator (to support business) | Freelance Sales Specialist
Owner at www.smallbusinessninja.co.uk and www.therichardsmith.com. Tech Consultant...Read moreWordPress Troubleshooting & Plugin Creator (to support business) | Freelance Sales Specialist
Owner at www.smallbusinessninja.co.uk and www.therichardsmith.com. Tech Consultant and Business Development at www.noemptymats.co.uk.
Every job comes with a full money-back guarantee — genuinely. I don't take on work I can't deliver.
Business Development, WordPress, WooCommerce and Practical Problem Solving
I help small businesses fix things, improve things, and sell more.
That might mean sorting a WordPress problem, changing a WooCommerce checkout, writing a bit of code, fixing a weak sales process, or working out why a marketing campaign is going nowhere.
I've been in business for more than 35 years — a large part of it in financial services, sales and business development. For the last 15 or so, I've also worked with websites, e-commerce, online marketing and automation.
So I look at the whole problem. Not just the website. Not just the copy. Not just the ads. If the problem sits between all three, that's usually where I'm most useful.
WordPress and WooCommerce
I build, repair and improve WordPress and WooCommerce sites. Typical jobs include:
Fixing WordPress problems
WooCommerce changes
PHP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript
Custom functions and small plugins
Checkout and My Account changes
Product and page access rules
Membership areas and gated content
Forms, lead capture and email verification
Payment and shipping problems
Plugin conflicts and theme issues
Speed and performance
Customer account problems
I'm also happy taking on the odd jobs that fall between plugins — where one nearly does what you want, but not quite. That last 10% is often the bit that matters.
Sales and Business Development
This is what I've done for most of my working life. I help businesses improve:
Lead generation and sales follow-up
Customer retention, cross-selling and repeat business
Offers, funnels and landing pages
Sales copy
Email and SMS campaigns
Direct marketing and competitor research
Customer journeys and conversion rates
I'm not that interested in vanity figures. Traffic is useful, likes are nice — sales are better.
Digital Marketing
I've worked on online marketing campaigns since around 2009, including:
Google Ads and search marketing
Google Business Profile and SEO
Content and email marketing
Social ads and remarketing
Landing pages and conversion tracking
E-commerce and customer follow-up
Not every business needs every channel. Quite often they need fewer things done better.
AI and Automation
I help small firms work out where AI and automation can actually save time:
Removing repetitive admin
Automating follow-up
Building simple AI tools
Improving internal processes
Linking forms, email and customer data
Using AI for research, coding and content
Cutting down manual work
I'm interested in useful AI. If it saves time, cuts cost, reduces mistakes or helps make money — good. If not, I leave it alone.
My Background
I spent around 25 years as an independent financial adviser, building and later selling my own practice. That taught me a fair bit about sales, trust, client service, follow-up — and the small matter of having to earn enough to pay the bills.
I've also written on marketing and business development for Professional Adviser and Insurance Age, and presented workshops through Sussex Enterprise on direct marketing and business growth.
How I Work
I'm usually brought in when a business has a problem but isn't quite sure where it sits.
It might look like a website problem. It might really be a sales problem. It might look like a marketing problem. It might really be a poor offer.
That's why I ask questions first:
Who is the customer? What are they buying? Why should they use you? What happens after they enquire? Who follows up? What happens next?
Then I get on with the work.
What Clients Say
Nikki Hobbs
"I cannot recommend Richard highly enough. Extremely thorough. Totally professional, with a human touch that is lacking these days."
Elizabeth May, Amazing Diamonds
"Richard is definitely the guy who knows his job, very intelligent in website design and other IT issues. If you really want to find someone reliable — look no further! 5-star service!"
Colin Palmer, Colin Palmer Financial Services
"Pragmatic, realistic, down to earth, no nonsense common sense. Here I was talking to someone who knew what he was talking about, could cut through the white noise and also spoke my language and understood exactly what I wanted. I can do no more than recommend that you speak to Richard."
Good Jobs For Me
Get in touch if:
Your WordPress site is doing something daft
WooCommerce needs changing
You need a bit of custom code
Your website gets visitors but few enquiries
Your sales follow-up is weak
You need better email campaigns
You want to automate admin
You want to use AI without buying into the hype
You need someone who can look at the business problem as well as the technical one
I work on fixed projects, hourly work, day rates and ongoing support. For some jobs I'll also consider performance-based deals.
I'm based in the South East of the UK and work remotely with clients elsewhere.
Send over your problem. Tell me what's happening now and what you want to happen instead — I'll tell you if I can help.
If you only want a coder, there are plenty of them. If you want someone who can work out why the code needs writing in the first place, we should probably talk.
