CakePHP & Laravel Freelance PHP Developer
Introducing Michael Houghton
With 13 years experience as a Full Stack PHP Developer mixed with a business background, I have a great balance of technical and business knowledge. I have 10 years experience with CakePHP along with recent experience with Laravel, Bootstrap and Vue.js.
Having graduated the University of Auckland in 2005 with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Management and Entrepreneurship, I have spent my professional life involved with Internet based companies, Online Start-up's and developing innovative web projects.
I am originally from Auckland, New Zealand. In 2011 I moved to Ireland and now reside in Castleconnell, Co. Limerick. This website gives an over-view of professional background, a chance for me to share code that I have developed and blog about software development and entrepreneurship.
I'm currently working with Laravel and CakePHP. If you are interested in working with me, please click here for more information or see what my clients have to say about me!
Recent Articles
How to Move from Full Time Employment to Full Time Freelancing?
12th December 2016
Are you looking to break into full time freelancing? This article gives advice about how to go from working full time as an employee, and start your own business as a freelance developer!
Read MoreCKEditor Helper for CakePHP 3
22nd November 2016
Are you looking for a CakePHP 3 helper for CKEditor. I am pleased to announce, that I have just completed a CKEditor Plugin for CakePHP 3. It is fully flexible and adaptable, and is fully completed with tests.
Read MoreHow I Freelance? Attributes Required for Full Time Freelancing
10th November 2016
After 6 months on the Toptal core team, I recently went back into full time freelancing - doing PHP development. While being a freelancer does comes with risks and certainly isn't for everyone - I would love to take the time to highlight what I love about freelancing and how I like to work!
Read MoreMy Toptal Adventure: Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina
7th September 2016
I promised an update on my next Toptal Adventure - and here I am - writing this from Split, in Croatia, sharing a house with 10 other Toptal core team members! Read about my working adventure to Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Read MoreToptal - The 2 year update you have been waiting for!
22nd June 2016
It has been over two years since I have joined Toptal. I am now a member of the Toptal Core Team! My role in Toptal is as Director of Engineering - it is my job to match a developer to a project! This includes talking with clients about their project, and finding the perfect developer for their needs.
Read MoreCakePHP Money Helper Plugin
29th January 2015
Looking for a way to make your currency appear neater in CakePHP Views? The Money Helper has been designed to make currency appear as small as possible.
Read MoreMost Common CakePHP Mistakes: A Tutorial for Beginners
11th November 2014
I was asked by Toptal to do an article about common mistakes about CakePHP. This article is a variation on my CakePHP Bad Habits article.
Read MoreToptal - A Follow Up After 6 Months
2nd October 2014
Its been 6 months since I have joined Toptal and while I promised to write a followup article earlier, I can happily say I have been so busy with projects (including Toptal projects) that I simply haven't had the time. Toptal is excellent, particularly if you are a programmer that isn't very business savvy.
Read MoreToptal Review: The Interview Process
20th April 2014
Having been freelancing for a large part of the last decade, I would consider myself an expert as a remote software developer. When I came across Toptal, I was immediately impressed by what I saw. Having spent a large amount of time bidding for projects on Elance and Freelancer.com, I was excited by the prospect of being awarded projects based on my skill set and experience, rather than constantly competing on price.
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