FAQ
How I work.
Straight answers on time zones, code ownership, NDAs, agency work, retainers, migrations and payment.
- What time zones do you cover?
- I am based in the Philippines on UTC+8. That gives me a full overlap with European business hours, mornings with Australia and the Gulf, and evenings with US Pacific. I keep flexible hours around my clients' working day, so most get a reply the same day.
- Who owns the source code you write?
- You do. Every line I write for your project is yours, handed over on final payment. I may reuse my own generic helpers and techniques on future work, but never your business logic, content, branding, or data.
- Do you sign NDAs?
- Yes, gladly. A good part of my work is under NDA and stays private. Send yours and I will sign it before we get into the specifics of your project.
- Do you work through agencies?
- Yes. A lot of my work is white label for agencies in the US, UK, and Europe. I can stay behind the scenes, use your process and tools, and join client calls as part of your team if that helps.
- Do you offer retainers?
- Yes. Besides one off projects, I offer monthly retainers for ongoing maintenance, updates, and support. It is a simple way to keep a site healthy and have a developer on call without hiring full time.
- What is a typical engagement length?
- It depends on the work. A small plugin or fix can take a few days. A full WordPress or Shopify build is usually two to six weeks. Larger custom apps and SaaS run longer and are split into milestones. Retainers are open ended, month to month.
- Can you work on code you did not write?
- Yes, I do this often. I can take over a site or app someone else built, read the existing code, and work with it. I start by reviewing what is there and flagging any risks, then make changes carefully so nothing breaks.
- Do you handle platform migrations?
- Yes. I have moved sites between hosts, upgraded PHP versions, migrated WooCommerce to HPOS, rebuilt apps from CodeIgniter 3 to 4, and rebuilt CodeIgniter apps on Laravel. I test on a staging copy first, keep backups, and aim for zero downtime on the switch.
- How do you handle revisions?
- Each milestone includes a round or two of revisions so we get it right. Small tweaks are expected and fine. If the changes turn into new features or a different direction, I treat that as added scope and we agree on it first.
- What happens if the project goes over scope?
- If something falls outside what we agreed, I tell you early, explain why, and give you an estimate. Then we decide together before I build it. You will not get a surprise invoice from me.
- How do invoicing and payment work?
- I usually split a project into milestones, with a deposit to start and the balance on delivery. For longer work I bill per milestone as we go. I take payment through Wise, PayPal, or bank transfer, in USD, GBP, EUR, or your local currency where it works.
- What is your stance on AI assisted code?
- I use AI tools to move faster, the same way I use an IDE or a linter. But I read, test, and understand every line before it ships. You get clean code I can explain and maintain, not black box output I cannot stand behind.