
Sean Wilson • Edinburgh, UK
I can take your web or mobile project
from concept to delivery — without the jargon
I'm a freelance software consultant with 10+ years of experience: I've worked with well known names like Just Eat and Triumph Motorcycles, created my own successful paid apps and have a PhD from Edinburgh University.
Solutions I've delivered
I've successfully delivered web and mobile projects to companies from all over the world.
I've also independently created apps that have been commercially successful.

Checkbot - Website auditor Chrome extension
I’m the creator of Checkbot, a Chrome extension that tests 100s of pages at a time against 50+ SEO, speed and security web best practices. Checkbot automates website optimisation audits that normally have to be done manually such as finding broken links, duplicate page content and insecure password forms. Everything was done by myself including the website, the graphic design and logo, the UX design, the custom subscription payment solution and the comprehensive 10K word web best practices guide that accompanies the extension. Checkbot has a 4.9 out of 5 average user rating and has 20K+ active users with 100s of paying customers.
Skills: Chrome, browser extension, JavaScript, TypeScript, Vue, ag-Grid, Paddle, Netlify, Node, Express, Firebase, Firestore, Firebase Cloud Functions, SaaS


Fresco - Android digital painting app
I’m the creator of Fresco for Android, an easy to use yet feature packed digital painting app for Android phones and tablets. Fresco was one of the first Android apps to feature layers, and comes with configurable brushes, custom implemented image filters and robust undo/redo/autosave. The code was highly optimised to run on low-end devices: it has low memory usage, painting feels responsive with limited processing power and only requires 0.3MB to install. On release, Tested said Fresco was “the best drawing app on Android” praising its intuitive interface and the realism of the digital paintings produced. Fresco has sold 10K+ copies and has 500K+ free downloads.
Skills: Android, C, Java, JNI, UX, optimisation, computer graphics


AV Search - iOS & Android apprenticeship search
I was lead developer on the team that made AV Search for the UK government’s National Apprenticeship Service. The publicly available iOS and Android mobile app lets you search and apply for apprenticeships. The project included writing a web service that lets you search through live apprenticeship data that were synchronized from another database. A core challenge of the project was managing the complexity of multiplatform and multidevice development. We used extensive automated testing to reduce defects and improve code maintainability. The app was successfully launched to the public without a single major bug needing to be fixed.
Skills: PhoneGap/Cordova, JavaScript, Backbone.js, Android, iOS, iPhone, Heroku, Python, Flask, CouchDB, Bamboo, Flurry analytics, Lucene, TDD

Cloudreach - Corporate WordPress website
I was the core developer responsible for enhancing and optimising the website for Cloudreach, a cloud computing consultancy who have a revenue of $1B+. My role included adding a complete multilingual solution, dynamic content that changed based on the perceived interests of the user, SEO auditing and optimisations, Salesforce integration, cloud hosting setup, analytics for visitor behaviour, optimising performance, theme customisation and creating product landing pages.
Skills: Heroku, AWS RDS, WordPress, Django, PHP, jQuery, Salesforce, PostgreSQL, S3, Google analytics, SEO, HTTPS, Bootstrap

Triumph Motorcycles - map interactive
Working with Freak Films, I developed an interactive map experience for a Triumph Motorcycles visitor centre. The map was projected on to a 170 inch screen and displayed map pins for brand related Instagram posts and information on Triumph dealership locations. A nearby large touchscreen display let visitors pan, zoom and explore the projected map. I had to develop a custom CMS that let staff curate the Instagram posts shown and automate pulling in dealership data from an existing live database. The map display also had to function if it went offline. The experience this project was part of won a Scottish Design Award.
Skills: Chrome, PostgreSQL, Python, Django, D3.js, Dropbox, Heroku, Javascript, Windows

Old Low Light - Touchscreen game
In collaboration with film production company Freak Films, I created a large screen touch input game for the Old Low Light nautical museum. I worked closely with the museum to create a game design that taught players how light houses are used by sailors to steer to shore. I then worked with graphic designer Andrei Staruiala to create an inviting faux 3D gaming experience that worked within the budget we had.
Skills: Heroku, Cocos2d, JavaScript, Chrome, Windows, 3D, game design
Solutions I can offer you
Starting with your initial web or mobile app concept, I can take you through the stages of requirements gathering, design and development all the way to final delivery.
Web apps & web services
Includes single page apps, REST APIs & service integrations using modern web frameworks
Websites & landing pages
Includes multilingual, responsive mobile/desktop designs & CMS setup for self-managed content
Mobile & tablet apps
Includes Android, iOS, iPhone, iPad, native, HTML5, PhoneGap & Cordova apps
Interactives, kiosk apps & games
Includes interactive slideshows, touchscreen maps, visitor guestbooks & animations
Code quality & training
Help with test suites, code reviews, source control, staging servers & Continuous Integration
UI & UX design
Designing feature-rich modern interfaces that are easy to use on both mobile & desktop
Cloud hosting & migrations
Includes Amazon Web Services (AWS), Heroku & Google Cloud Platform for scalability & costs
SEO, speed, security & analytics
Includes on-page audits, technical SEO, HTTPS setup, CDN setup & conversion tracking
My background
- Education: I grew up in Edinburgh and have loved coding from an early age where I’ve been self-learning since before high school. I backed up my self-taught skills by earning a Software Engineering degree at Edinburgh University in 2004 where I finished top of my year.
- Research: I completed a PhD in software verification at Edinburgh University in 2010. During this I published papers, gave presentations and taught courses. I then worked as a postdoctoral researcher doing semantic web research and development. This period in research heightened my writing and communication skills.
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Industry: I joined a cloud computing consultancy in 2012 as a senior software engineer where I lead projects from concept to completion. I was involved in development, requirements gathering, architecture design, UX design, team leadership, mentoring, giving training courses and recruitment.
- Freelance: I’ve now been a freelance software consultant full-time for over 5 years working with individuals and large companies from all over the world. I also work on my own apps that have paying customers where everything from the idea, coding and marketing is done by myself.
Technical expertise
I'm a full stack developer (frontend + backend) with UX design skills. I quickly adapt to new technologies and I'm practical in picking the best tool for the task at hand.
Education
PhD in Software Verification, Software Engineering Degree
Languages
JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, PHP, C, OCaml, Coq, Prolog
Frontend
HTML5, CSS3 (Sass, SCSS), Vue, Angular
Backend
Node, Express, Django, Flask, CodeIgniter, WordPress, Hugo, Jekyll
Mobile
Android, iOS, PhoneGap, Cordova
Frameworks
Shopify, JAMstack, Chrome/Firefox browser extensions
Cloud hosting
AWS, Heroku, Netlify, Digital Ocean, Docker
Storage
PostgreSQL, MySQL, Firebase, Dropbox, Google Drive, CouchDB, S3
Design tools
Sketch, Affinity Designer, Inkscape, Pixelmator, GIMP
Collaboration
Slack, JIRA, Trello, Asana, Google Drive, Dropbox, GitHub, Bitbucket
Development practices
Software testing, code reviews, source control (Git Flow)
Continuous Integration
Jenkins, Bamboo, CircleCI, Docker
Endorsements
Some kind words from amazing people I've worked with on projects in the past.

Charlotte Poynton
Marketing Lead, Cloudreach
Sean supported us and the growth of our website for a number of years, and we’ve found his work and advice to be of the highest value. He has a reliable and thoughtful approach and is a proactive problem solver.

Toby Trueman
Creative Director, Heehaw
For people without a head for coding and programming, Sean made the process quite straightforward, and because of that we’d definitely work with him again.

Lindsay Kennedy
Marketing Director, Blue Alligator
Sean’s skills and professionalism has helped to project Blue Alligator into global markets, by developing multi-lingual facilities into our Wordpress website. The door is now open and we’re look forward to having Sean help us make the most of it!

Stephen Mew
CTO, Nordcloud Ltd
His professionalism, reliability and ability to stay the course whilst always offering quality delivery and very practical solutions I think makes him an asset to any team. Sean is truly a great engineer and I would work with him again.

Simone Cohen
Founder, Too Big For That
Sean manages to resolve any issue/make any update for our website, no matter how complicated! An absolute pleasure to work with!
Working with Sean was a great experience! He resolved all the issues I faced with my website while upgrading the security and speed. He is very professional and organised! Looking forward to our next cooperation!

Robin Smith
Senior software developer, Freelance
Sean is always meticulous in considering the various design aspects of the work that he does, so the end result is of a very high standard. On top of this he is personable and easy to work with.
Let's work together
To discuss your project and get a free quote, use the form below or email me at sw@seanw.org. I'll get back to you within one working day.