About the Designer & Developer

Say Hello
About the Designer & Developer

Lots of Experience. A Values-driven Business.

šŸ‘‹ Hi, I’m Yurij! I’ve been making websites professionally since 2008. Wildflower is my one-person business, and I collaborate on projects with internal teams and sometimes other freelancers.

I’m a trained journalist turned technology agnostic UI developer, later embracing information architecture & UX design while specializing in building bespoke WordPress & Shopify websites. I craft flexible and long-lasting solutions, intentionally balancing efficiency with high-quality standards.

I feel a responsibility to use my communications and development expertise to contribute towards important, dramatic cultural shifts that have positive impacts on public or environmental health.

Core Company Values

Quality Website Ideation, Process & Creation

In an ideal world, all projects I work on uses task management software, like Asana or Trello, to track progress and keep things organized, uses a chat software like Slack to keep quick questions out of email, and move through all the following phases:

Project exploration conversations & research

Create a new, detailed site map

1-2 rounds of review, edits

Phase 1

Information Architecture

Project exploration conversations & research

Create a new, detailed site map

1-2 rounds of review, edits

Take each page or template identified in the site map and create a wireframe, or user experience design

1-2 rounds of review, edits

Phase 2

User Experience

Take each page or template identified in the site map and create a wireframe, or user experience design

1-2 rounds of review, edits

Hand off each wireframe to a designer, who “breathes beautiful life” into the vision of each layout

1-2 rounds of review, edits

Phase 3

Website Design

Hand off each wireframe to a designer, who “breathes beautiful life” into the vision of each layout

1-2 rounds of review, edits

Designs are sent back to develop front-end and back-end, ideally concurrently

After completion, round of “quality assurance” and bug fixes

Phase 4

Development / QA

Designs are sent back to develop front-end and back-end, ideally concurrently

After completion, round of “quality assurance” and bug fixes

Clients are trained how to edit content themselves, or are provided documentation

Afterwards, Wildflower can be called in, every now and then, to add a new feature.

Phase 5

Launch

Clients are trained how to edit content themselves, or are provided documentation

Afterwards, Wildflower can be called in, every now and then, to add a new feature.

Real World Website Situations

I pride myself in being able to balance goals, budgets, and circumstances to find most appropriate solution for any of my clients. When budgets and timelines allow for all of the above, that’s great! But often they don’t – and that’s OK.

To get the best “bang for your buck,” cut some corners, and move a project along as quickly as possible, I often recommend clients choose, say, an existing WordPress theme or Shopify theme that we then customize together.

(Yurij has) mastered the art of listening; a critical component in the success of the project (he) engineered for my firm.

John Donlon, Gold Coast Mortgage

Many other web designers and developers will not be able to customize functionality and features to look the way and do the things you want them to. With my breadth of experience, I’m able to mold the out-of-the-box site into one that still looks like a totally custom site, using the most efficient methods available.

Regardless of the situation, I’m here to help turn your arid digital field into one filled with beautiful wildflowers, that don’t require much water to keep growing and spreading on their own!

Collaborative Network

Wildflower provides most services during normal work hours, and emergency services 24/7. During vacation, it’s likely one of the following similarly-run business collaborators can fill any gaps until Wildflower returns:

DQuinn.net

Daniel Quinn is a former co-worker, current collaborator, and long-time friend of Wildflower Websites. Daniel specializes in bespoke large-scale project WordPress sites.

Arsenal Productions

Wildflower often collaborates on smaller but mighty WordPress sites with Scott Poulin of Arsenal Productions.

More About Me

Born 13 pounds in Newark, New Jersey, as a 3rd generation immigrant I learned Ukrainian before English. My early suburban life was filled with soccer games, playing in the woods, drawing, and reading classic novels.

I matured a bit, went to college in Boston to learn about the world, and ended up a daily bicycle rider – initially because the Green Line was such a disappointment.

Years later my friend exposed me to permaculture, which provided a sense of purpose and shared ideas on how to live my environmentalist philosophies.

These days you’re likely to find me trail running, mountain biking, swimming, or doing Pilates outside of work.

Places I’ve called home


New Jersey

Morganville & Piscataway


Massachusetts

Allston, Brighton, Cambridge, Somerville, & Medford


New York

Cornwall
(current resident)

Hi, I’m Yurij. What’s your name?

By the way, just pretend the “j” at the end of my name is a “y” and you’ll probably say it right šŸ™‚ more about me