RH

Richard Henney

Web & Technical Lead · digital designer & web developer

LinkedIn Staffordshire, UK

Summary

Web & Technical Lead with 10+ years at a Staffordshire creative agency, leading digital delivery across WordPress client work and modern static stacks (Astro, Cloudflare). I build the sites, the internal tools, and the infrastructure that sits behind them, from attribution dashboards and CRM data pipelines to performance under real campaign pressure. Lately that's meant leaning into AI-assisted workflows wherever they earn their place in the process.

A proven track record across education, e-commerce, manufacturing, and creative industries. I'm happiest finding the workflow that's quietly costing a team hours every week and fixing it properly: internal tools, automation, better defaults, so the actual work gets easier, not just faster.

Experience

Web & Technical Lead

Ellodave Creative Agency · Jan 2025 — Present

  • Sole technical lead for agency web delivery — standards, hosting, tooling, and developer support across 20+ client sites.
  • Built DataShed, an in-house attribution platform that replaced spreadsheet-based reporting — giving the team per-client dashboards, UTM hygiene, and CRM outcome tracking on Cloudflare.
  • Built Flux, turning product photography into short-form branded video for social and paid when location shoots weren't practical — proof-first workflow on Cloudflare Workers, R2, and FFmpeg.
  • Built a QR code generator so offline touchpoints (brochures, POS, flyers) feed the same attribution picture as web campaigns.
  • Led a full SEO content architecture rebuild for a garden buildings client — CPT structure in Bricks, templated product and location pages, and catalogue-wide on-page optimisation to scale organic coverage.
  • Conducted a GDPR and UK data compliance audit across the agency's internal reporting and data stack — closing gaps before they became client-facing risk.
  • Set AI-assisted development guidelines for the team — balancing productivity, code quality, and security.
  • Partner with design and marketing on analytics and reporting, turning GA4 and platform data into insight the wider team can act on weekly.

Web Developer

Ellodave Creative Agency · Jul 2019 — Jan 2025

  • Scaled hosting ahead of high-traffic campaigns and implemented virtual queuing during peak demand — keeping client sites stable under promotional traffic.
  • Built custom WordPress plugins to streamline agency workflows and client delivery, reducing repetitive manual steps across projects.
  • Led agency-wide VPN infrastructure during COVID-19, enabling secure remote access and ongoing hybrid working.
  • Managed Cloudways and Rocket.net environments across 20+ client sites — backups, restores, updates, and user permissions.
  • Drove performance optimisation and security hardening across client websites, improving Core Web Vitals and hardening against common attack vectors.
  • Produced GA4, GTM, and Looker Studio reporting; helped marketing turn client data into actionable insight for account reviews.
  • Shaped development and deployment processes, project estimations, and CMS training for colleagues — raising consistency across builds.
  • Partnered with project leads and SLT on feasibility, timescales, and technical planning for new builds.
  • Developed pre- and post-launch checklists covering content, performance, security, and SEO — adopted agency-wide to catch issues before go-live.

Digital Designer & Web Developer

Ellodave Creative Agency · Jul 2017 — Jul 2019

  • Built, customised, and maintained WordPress sites from agency design specifications — shipping responsive client work on schedule.
  • Ensured cross-browser performance and diagnosed bugs on live sites before they reached client review.
  • Collaborated with designers to implement visual and interactive elements true to the creative concept.
  • Created SVG/Lottie animation, infographics, and motion assets that extended campaign creative beyond static layouts.
  • Produced Mailchimp email campaigns and Adobe Premiere edits for social, PMax, and client promotional video.
  • Flagged technical and accessibility considerations early in the design phase — before they became delivery blockers.

Junior Designer

Ellodave Creative Agency · Jan 2016 — Jul 2017

  • Assisted with InDesign editorial projects and print-to-web asset preparation.
  • Produced promotional graphics for digital channels.
  • Supported senior designers with basic HTML and CSS on client sites.

Education

  • 2016 — 2017

    BA (Hons) Visual Communication

    University of Wolverhampton

  • 2015 — 2016

    Foundation Degree, Graphics & Digital Design

    Staffordshire University

  • 2014 — 2015

    BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma, Art & Design

    Newcastle-under-Lyme College · Graphics & Interactive Media

Technical skills

Development & technical

  • WordPress development
  • Plugin development
  • WooCommerce
  • Astro
  • Page speed optimisation
  • Server maintenance
  • DNS management
  • Cross-browser testing
  • GA4
  • Looker Studio
  • Google Tag Manager

Design & creative

  • Figma
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Premiere
  • Adobe After Effects

Key strengths

  • Explain technical concepts clearly to non-technical colleagues — in client meetings, project tools, and cross-functional design sessions.
  • Raise technical and accessibility considerations early in the design phase, before they become delivery blockers.
  • Navigate client feedback rounds while balancing creative direction, stakeholder requests, and technical best practice.
  • Foster knowledge sharing across departments through CMS training, checklists, and practical documentation the wider team actually uses.

Writing

Beyond work

I'm a coffee enthusiast, a keen Fantasy Premier League player, and an occasional travel filmmaker. I also share life with Mabel, our labradoodle — documented on Moments with Mabel.

On the side, I've helped small businesses and friends build an online presence — including Design by Women and Dual Works.