Sometimes, the most meaningful shifts in our careers happen quietly — not with promotions or big announcements, but in late nights, side projects, and small victories that eventually reshape the way a team works. This is the story of how I introduced WordPress to a company that wasn’t quite ready for it, and how persistence, patience, and a bit of rebellion helped lay the foundation for growth — both theirs and mine.
In early 2011, the economy was shaky. The housing market was still reeling, and jobs were hard to come by. I landed one as a “web developer,” but from day one, the role leaned more into web design — and even then, within tight bounds. We were a small digital team inside a company trying to balance both print and digital. The digital side was growing, but cautiously. Three web designers, Dreamweaver, raw HTML and CSS. No CMS. No flexibility. We built sites for home builders, and anytime a client wanted an edit, they had to call us.
I was told clearly: “Don’t build anything the others can’t maintain.” That meant no experiments. No complex tools. Just more of the same.
But I saw an opportunity.
I started researching content management systems — Joomla, Drupal, WordPress. WordPress stood out. The documentation was stronger, the plugin ecosystem was active, and the community was huge. Most importantly, I saw the potential: clients could edit their own content. We could break free from static HTML sites and become more efficient.
When I pitched it to my boss, there was hesitation. WordPress had a reputation at the time for being “just for blogs.” And to be fair, the team wasn’t ready yet for a big leap — they had their hands full managing existing workflows. But I couldn’t let the idea go.
So I explored on my own time.
That’s when I found Advanced Custom Fields. It was everything we needed — structured data, content types, reusable components. I asked the team to consider it. When the budget didn’t allow, I purchased it myself.
I spent nights and weekends building a proof of concept. I taught myself how to use custom post types, how to structure fields in ACF, how to theme WordPress from scratch. I created a builder that allowed the team to generate flexible layouts without needing to dive into code. It took months. But eventually, I had something worth showing.
When I presented it, the response changed. We began to adopt WordPress, slowly and intentionally, using my platform as the foundation. Clients could finally make their own edits. Our workflow improved. Our offering evolved.
To their credit, leadership gave it a chance. They saw the impact, and even though the path was unfamiliar, they let us walk it.
The director, who came from a print background, approached all of this with the lens he knew. At the time, the line between design and development wasn’t always obvious — especially when the tools and titles were still evolving. That didn’t come from resistance so much as a different frame of reference. And over time, that understanding grew.
Meanwhile, the industry itself was shifting. Responsive design was replacing the old method of separate mobile sites. Frameworks like Bootstrap were emerging but not yet mainstream. So I taught myself LESS, built a responsive CSS system from scratch, and made it intuitive for the team to adopt. I helped set up local environments, created documentation, and supported the team so we could all move forward together.
The result? We got more projects. We hired more people. The company grew — and so did I.
Titles didn’t always reflect that. I was often still called “just a web designer.”
But the truth is, I was helping shape the digital future of the company. I was a system builder. A developer. A quiet leader.
And if I had to do it again? I’d still buy that ACF license. I’d still stay up late learning the tools that would make a difference. Because sometimes, it’s not about pushing against the system — it’s about building something so useful that the system catches up to you.
If you’ve ever been underestimated, mislabeled, or quietly pushing innovation while others hold to what’s familiar — know this: respectful change can create extraordinary results. Keep building. Your work can shift the course of a company, even if your title doesn’t say so — yet.