Functional webapplications
Designed for clarity, maintainability and long-term use.
— Jan-Henk Gerritsen
What I build
I build functional applications with clear responsibilities, such as:
- Process and workflow automation
- Internal tools and dashboards
- System integrations
- Data and business rule handling
- Application workflows and state-driven logic
- Background processing and scheduled tasks
How I work
I work best when the scope is clear and requirements are well thought out and clearly defined.
My focus is on setting up a solid technical foundation from the start:
- Clear structure and maintainable code
- Avoiding unnecessary complexity by building what is needed, not everything that might be needed
- Performance where it matters
- Attention to security
- Automated testing where it adds value
- Predictable, automated deployments
This usually takes more time upfront, but avoids shortcuts that cause problems later.
Fit and expectations
This approach works well when:
- Your project has clear requirements and is manageable for a single developer
- You care about long-term maintainability
- You prefer async communication (email or chat, with meetings kept to a minimum)
It is less suitable for:
- Design-led projects or marketing websites
- Projects with unclear scope that changes frequently
- Work where short-term delivery speed matters more than long-term maintainability
Technology
A few notes on how I approach technology:
- I work across two ecosystems: PHP-based applications (such as Laravel and WordPress) and JavaScript-based applications (using Node.js with TypeScript and frameworks like React or Next.js).
- Tools are selected based on the problem, not the other way around.
- I prefer well-established technologies over the latest new tools, because this leads to more stable and maintainable systems over time.