Senior Creative Developer – Bespoke WordPress, GSAP, Motion & Interactive Experiences

RELOVE TECHNOLOGY Bespoke WordPress Website Design, Creative Development & GSAP Please read the full brief before applying. This is not a standard WordPress project. We are looking for an exceptional senior creative developer / digital designer or small specialist team to create the next evolution of the Relove Technology website. We are not looking for an off-the-shelf theme, modified template, generic corporate website, or an Elementor build with animation plugins added afterwards. We are looking for exceptional digital design, sophisticated GSAP and scroll-driven interaction, strong AI image art direction, and a robust bespoke WordPress implementation that remains secure, maintainable and updateable long after launch. If your portfolio primarily consists of conventional WordPress websites, templates or standard corporate builds, this project is unlikely to be the right fit. The finished website needs to feel designed, art-directed and engineered, not assembled. --- ABOUT RELOVE Relove Technology is a mobile-industry-led circular recovery business. We work with technology businesses to recover greater value from devices and accessories through reuse-first recovery, testing, grading, data wiping, parts recovery and compliant recycling. The website must communicate: * Technology * Recovery * Value * Scale * Control * Traceability * Accountability * Physical operations * Product lifecycles Relove is not a recycling company or sustainability consultancy, and the website must not fall into the conventional visual language of green leaves, recycling symbols and generic environmental imagery. The commercial story is stronger: TECHNOLOGY ISN'T THE PROBLEM. WHAT HAPPENS TO IT IS. Where technology still has value, Relove exists to recover it. --- WHAT ALREADY EXISTS We already have an advanced staging version of the Relove website. This establishes much of the current digital direction, including: * Brand typography * Black, white and red visual language * Large editorial typography * Device-led graphics * Page structures * Content hierarchy * Brand messaging * Existing animation concepts * Responsive direction Shortlisted applicants will be provided with recordings of the existing website. This is not a commission to throw everything away and redesign Relove for the sake of change. We expect you to critically assess the existing work and determine: RETAIN → REFINE → REPLACE → CREATE Where something is already excellent, keep it. Where it can be materially improved, improve it. Where the existing solution is weak, replace it. Where there is an opportunity to do something genuinely exceptional, create it. The new website must be demonstrably better, not simply different. --- WHAT WE WILL PROVIDE We will provide: * Relove logo and brand assets * Brand colours * Thunder and Public Sans fonts * Existing website * Existing page structure * Final website copy * Business information * Certifications and accreditations * Creative direction and feedback We will provide the written content. We will not provide all of the finished imagery required for the website. --- THE CREATIVE AMBITION We want the website to combine exceptional contemporary digital design with sophisticated motion and scroll-directed storytelling. Apple's current product websites are a useful benchmark for the quality of interaction, motion, transitions and visual storytelling we are interested in. Reference: (https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone-17-pro/) We are not asking you to copy Apple. The reference is a benchmark for creative thinking, interaction quality and execution, not a request to reproduce Apple's visual identity or production approach. The reference demonstrates the level of thinking we value: content, imagery, products, typography and movement working together rather than animations simply being applied to static website sections. Relove must develop its own distinctive visual and interaction language. --- THE EXPERIENCE SHOULD FEEL CONNECTED We want to move beyond: SECTION → TEXT ANIMATES → IMAGE ANIMATES → NEXT SECTION and towards: SCENE → TRANSFORMATION → STORY → TRANSITION → NEXT SCENE Where appropriate, the end of one experience should become the beginning of another. For example, imagery might transform into a device display. A device might rotate and transition into another section. Typography might become part of the transition rather than simply disappearing before another heading appears. The experience should feel choreographed. However: NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO MOVE. Restraint is important. We want moments of visual calm followed by carefully selected moments of significant impact. The objective is not to demonstrate how many GSAP effects can be added to a website. The objective is to make the Relove story more powerful. --- SIGNATURE INTERACTION IDEAS The following are examples of the creative territory we are considering. They are not mandatory specifications. We want the successful candidate to challenge these ideas and bring better ones where possible. 1. DEVICE RECOVERY A used or damaged smartphone appears within the experience. It may show: * Cracked or damaged glass * Cosmetic wear * Scratches * Marks * Evidence of previous use As the visitor scrolls, the device progressively moves through the Relove recovery process. The device could visually move through stages such as: RECEIVED → IDENTIFIED → WIPED → TESTED → GRADED → RECOVERED Its condition progressively improves until it emerges ready for its next lifecycle. The visitor is effectively controlling the recovery of the device through scrolling. This could communicate the Relove proposition visually without requiring large amounts of explanatory copy. --- 2. DEVICE / COMPONENT RECOVERY A smartphone could begin vertically. As the visitor scrolls, it rotates into landscape orientation before separating into an exploded view. Components could move apart to reveal elements such as: * Display * Battery * Cameras * PCB * Enclosure * Internal components The interaction could communicate that even where whole-device reuse is not possible, value still exists inside the technology. Usable components can be recovered. Remaining materials can move into appropriate recovery streams. The device could eventually reassemble or transform into the next section. --- 3. DEVICE SCREEN TRANSITION A visitor could initially see full-screen photography, video or another visual sequence. As they scroll, the image begins to scale down. A smartphone frame gradually appears around it. The visitor realises that the full-screen experience they were viewing is actually content displayed inside a device. The device can then move, rotate or transition before its screen eventually expands again and becomes the next full-screen section. The objective is visual continuity between sections, rather than a collection of unrelated animations. --- TECHNICAL APPROACH TO SIGNATURE INTERACTIONS We are interested in the result, not unnecessary technical complexity. Potential technologies may include: * GSAP * ScrollTrigger * SVG * Canvas * CSS transforms * Video * Image sequences * Pre-rendered 3D * Three.js * WebGL However, Three.js or WebGL should not be introduced simply because they are technically impressive. For example, a photorealistic device transformation may be more effectively produced as an optimised pre-rendered 3D sequence controlled through GSAP and scroll position. We expect the developer to recommend the simplest robust solution capable of achieving the required creative result. Visual ambition must not come at the expense of performance, stability or long-term maintainability. --- MOTION DESIGN Strong GSAP / scroll-based interaction capability is essential. We are interested in sophisticated use of techniques such as: * Scroll-driven storytelling * Pinned sections * Image scaling * Masking * Typography transitions * Kinetic typography * Parallax * Horizontal movement * Device transformations * Image-to-interface transitions * Controlled reveals * Micro-interactions * Navigation interactions * Hover states * Statistics * Page/section transitions Again, these should be used selectively. QUALITY BEATS QUANTITY. Motion should strengthen the story, hierarchy and experience. It should not exist simply because it can be created. --- IMAGERY & AI ART DIRECTION This is an important part of the project. We will provide copy but will not provide a complete photographic library. The successful candidate/team must demonstrate strong commercial AI image-generation and image-production skills. We are not looking for someone who simply knows how to prompt an image generator. We need imagery capable of sitting within a premium international technology brand. Potential subject matter includes: * Mobile devices * Technology recovery * Testing * Grading * Device handling * Components * Warehousing * Logistics * Data and traceability * Scale * Reuse * Technology lifecycles * People working with technology The imagery across the website should feel as though it belongs to one deliberately art-directed Relove campaign. Consistency of lighting, environment, composition, colour treatment, lens language and visual quality is important. Strong Photoshop, compositing and image-editing skills are highly desirable. Raw AI-generated images should not simply be placed into the website. --- WORDPRESS ARCHITECTURE The website must be built in WordPress. Our preferred approach is: BESPOKE RELOVE THEME + NATIVE WORDPRESS / GUTENBERG + CUSTOM RELOVE COMPONENTS + GSAP CREATIVE LAYER + MINIMAL THIRD-PARTY DEPENDENCIES We do not want the website's design recreated through dozens of third-party widgets, animation add-ons and page-builder extensions. The front-end experience should be properly engineered. We are open to alternative architectures if there is a compelling technical reason. If proposing Elementor Pro or another page builder, explain why it is preferable for this project and how you will prevent it compromising: * Performance * Security * Update resilience * Maintainability * Animation quality * Long-term development --- CMS & INTERNAL EDITING This is extremely important. The website cannot become dependent on a developer for routine content changes after launch. Our internal team must be able to: * Add new pages * Add news/blog articles * Add case studies * Add sector pages * Add service/capability pages * Change copy * Replace imagery * Update statistics * Change CTAs * Reorder appropriate content * Update normal website information We favour a system of carefully designed reusable Relove components. For example: * Hero * Intro * Text + Image * Full-screen Media * Statistics * Process * Quote * Case Study * Sector Grid * Logo / Accreditation Grid * CTA * FAQ * Related Content * Other appropriate reusable content sections These components should automatically preserve the correct Relove typography, spacing, responsive behaviour and appropriate animation. We want content flexibility without allowing the design system to deteriorate over time. Highly bespoke signature experiences can remain more tightly controlled, but their appropriate copy, imagery and content should still be editable through WordPress wherever practical. New standard pages should be capable of being created internally without requiring developer involvement. News/blog content should have a straightforward publishing workflow using WordPress's native content-management capabilities. --- MOBILE & RESPONSIVE DESIGN Mobile cannot simply be the desktop website stacked vertically. Interactions must be considered specifically for: * Desktop * Tablet * Mobile * Touch interfaces Where a desktop interaction does not translate effectively to mobile, an appropriate alternative should be designed. Typography, spacing, imagery, navigation and motion should all be intentionally considered for smaller displays. Performance on mobile is particularly important. --- PERFORMANCE Performance is non-negotiable. A beautiful website that becomes slow, unstable or difficult to maintain is a failed project. The website should use appropriate: * Asset optimisation * Responsive images * Modern image formats * Lazy loading * Font optimisation * JavaScript optimisation * Animation optimisation * Caching * Code splitting/loading strategies where appropriate * Core Web Vitals consideration Complex creative sequences should only load where required. The website should not load unnecessary animation libraries, assets or components globally simply because they are used on one page. --- SECURITY, UPDATE RESILIENCE & LONG-TERM MAINTAINABILITY THIS IS A NON-NEGOTIABLE REQUIREMENT. We are not commissioning a website that only works correctly on launch day. The site must be architected to remain secure, maintainable and updateable throughout its operational life. WordPress, PHP, plugins, GSAP, JavaScript dependencies, browsers and security requirements will change. Routine updates must not create an unacceptable risk of breaking the design, animation system or website functionality. We specifically want to avoid a fragile website that works for several months and then fails because a third-party plugin, WordPress update or security patch changes. Likewise, visual ambition must not create an unnecessarily large attack surface. The website will not be considered complete simply because it functions correctly against the software versions present at launch. Maintainability, update resilience, security architecture and recovery capability form part of the project deliverable. --- DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES The developer must: * Follow current WordPress development standards * Use actively maintained dependencies * Minimise third-party plugins * Avoid unnecessary animation add-ons * Avoid unsupported or abandoned dependencies * Never modify WordPress core * Never directly modify third-party plugin files * Keep bespoke functionality appropriately isolated * Follow appropriate data validation, sanitisation and escaping practices * Maintain sensible compatibility with WordPress and PHP * Follow appropriate WordPress security practices * Keep bespoke code version controlled * Document important external and technical dependencies The architecture should be **engineered for change**, rather than frozen around the software versions available on launch day. --- STAGING, UPDATES & ROLLBACK There must be separate **staging and production environments**. Significant updates should be capable of being tested safely before deployment to the live website. This includes: * WordPress updates * Plugin updates * PHP changes * GSAP/dependency updates * Security patches * Significant theme changes There must be a documented and practical rollback process if an update causes unexpected problems. We do not want routine production updates performed without the ability to recover the previous working version. --- SECURITY Security must be considered as part of the architecture rather than solved by installing a security plugin immediately before launch. The final solution should appropriately address: * WordPress hardening * User permissions * Authentication * Brute-force protection * Forms and public inputs * Dependency vulnerabilities * File permissions * Secure configuration * HTTPS * Security headers where appropriate * Logging * Vulnerability monitoring * Malware monitoring * Backup integrity We understand that no developer can guarantee a website will never be compromised. We require an architecture that **materially reduces the risk and allows the website to be maintained, patched and recovered properly.** --- BACKUP & DISASTER RECOVERY The final website must have an appropriate automated backup strategy covering: * Website files * Database * Essential configuration Backups should not exist solely on the live web server. Appropriate backup frequency, retention and off-site storage should be recommended as part of the solution. Most importantly: THE RESTORE PROCESS MUST BE TESTED. We do not want backups simply assumed to work. A successful restoration should be demonstrated before final project sign-off. --- SEO & ACCESSIBILITY The build should provide strong technical foundations including: * Semantic HTML * Correct heading structure * Editable metadata * Clean URLs * Sitemap compatibility * Social metadata * Image alt-text management * Search-engine crawlability * Appropriate structured data capability * Keyboard accessibility * Appropriate contrast * Reduced-motion behaviour SEO requirements should be considered within the architecture rather than added as an afterthought. --- QUALITY ASSURANCE The completed website must be properly tested before launch. This should include: * Desktop * Tablet * Mobile * Major modern browsers * Responsive behaviour * Touch interactions * Animation * Forms * CMS functionality * Internal page creation * Performance * Accessibility * Links * Error states * WordPress administration * Backup and restore We expect the finished website to be production-ready, not simply visually complete. --- HANDOVER At completion we require: * Full ownership of bespoke website code * WordPress theme * Custom components * Design source files * Final website imagery/assets * Appropriate AI-generated assets * Relevant licences where required * Technical documentation * Dependency information * CMS guidance * Backup/restore instructions * Deployment information We should not require the original developer's memory to understand how the website works. --- POST-LAUNCH SUPPORT Please separately provide your proposed cost for ongoing maintenance following launch. We are interested in support covering: * WordPress updates * Security patches * Plugin updates * Dependency updates * Staging testing * Compatibility testing * Backup monitoring * Security monitoring * Uptime monitoring * Performance monitoring * Bug resolution Please quote ongoing maintenance separately from the initial website design and development cost. We are interested in establishing a longer-term relationship with the right developer/team, but the website itself must remain maintainable and documented rather than creating artificial dependency on the original developer. --- WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR You may be: * A senior creative developer * A senior digital designer/developer * A specialist WordPress developer with exceptional creative capability * A small specialist digital design/development team We are open to applicants worldwide. We care about **the quality of your work, thinking and execution**, not where you are located. You should be as comfortable discussing typography, composition, interaction and visual storytelling as you are discussing WordPress architecture, JavaScript and performance. --- APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS Please start your proposal with the word: RELOVE This confirms that you have actually read the brief. Do not send us a generic agency or freelancer introduction. Please provide: 1. YOUR THREE BEST LIVE WEBSITES Not your three most recent. Not necessarily WordPress. Show us the **three websites that best demonstrate the creative quality you or your team can genuinely deliver.** For each project, explain exactly what you were responsible for. --- 2. YOUR BEST MOTION / GSAP PROJECT Show us the strongest example of sophisticated scroll interaction or motion design you have personally developed. Explain: * What you created * What you personally contributed * How it was built * Which technologies were used --- 3. AI IMAGERY Provide examples of premium commercial AI imagery you have personally created and art-directed. We are interested in photorealistic, brand-quality work rather than obviously AI-generated artwork. Please explain which aspects you created and how the final imagery was produced and finished. --- 4. WORDPRESS Show us an example of a genuinely bespoke WordPress implementation. Explain: * How the theme was built * How content is managed * Which major plugins/dependencies it uses * How the client creates new pages/content * How you approach updates and maintainability --- 5. YOUR PROPOSED APPROACH & COST Based on this brief, tell us how you would approach the project and provide your proposed fixed project cost. Please identify: * What you would prioritise * Where you would create the greatest visual impact * Which signature interactions you believe are achievable and appropriate * Where you would deliberately keep the solution simpler * Any elements you consider optional or better treated as a second phase * Your total fixed project cost We would rather receive a considered proposal with clear priorities than be told that every possible feature should be included. --- 6. LONG-TERM MAINTAINABILITY Imagine the website has been live for 18 months. WordPress has received major updates. PHP has moved forward. GSAP and JavaScript dependencies have changed. Plugins have received security patches and browsers have evolved. Explain how you would architect the Relove website so that it can be safely maintained and updated without compromising the experience. Answers consisting simply of "we keep all plugins updated" will not be sufficient. --- 7. WHO WILL ACTUALLY DO THE WORK? If you are an agency/team, identify: * Who will design the website * Who will develop it * Who will create the motion * Who will produce the imagery Provide relevant work from those individuals where possible. We are not interested in reviewing an agency's best portfolio and then having the project passed to a junior production team. --- 8. TIMESCALE Provide: * Earliest start date * Estimated duration * Proposed project stages * Revision process --- SHORTLIST STAGE Shortlisted candidates will be provided with recordings of the existing Relove website. We will then ask you to answer three questions: WHAT WOULD YOU RETAIN? Identify something within the existing site that is already strong and explain why it should survive. WHAT WOULD YOU FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE? Identify something that is limiting the current experience and explain what you would do differently. WHAT WOULD YOU CREATE? Propose one new interaction or creative treatment that would materially improve the way Relove communicates its proposition. We are testing your **creative judgement**, not your ability to criticise someone else's work. We do not require free speculative designs at this stage. --- FINAL POINT We are not looking for someone who can make WordPress look good. ## WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN CREATE AN EXCEPTIONAL DIGITAL EXPERIENCE AND ENGINEER IT PROPERLY WITHIN WORDPRESS. Relove already has a strong visual foundation. Your job is to take it further. Not through more effects. Not through more plugins. Not by following whatever web-design trend happens to be fashionable. Through stronger ideas, better interaction, exceptional execution and robust engineering. CREATE A RELOVE WEBSITE PEOPLE REMEMBER.