WordPress & Data Architecture Consultant / Developer

BOOKNOOKWORKSHOP WordPress & Data Architecture Consultant / Developer Project: Building the technical foundation for the BookNookWorkshop knowledge platform Location: Remote — UK preferred but not essential Engagement: Initial paid technical audit, with potential for ongoing development Website: BookNookWorkshop.com ⸻ About BookNookWorkshop BookNookWorkshop is an independent website and growing community focused on the book-nook hobby. The site combines: * Independent kit reviews * Genuine hands-on builds * Original photography and video * Manufacturer and brand research * Buying guides * Technical/building advice * Community knowledge * Affiliate/referral opportunities * A growing structured product database The strategic objective is to develop BookNookWorkshop into an independent knowledge, review and discovery platform for the book-nook hobby. We do not want to become an online retailer or a generic hobby content site. The long-term platform should help visitors: Discover → Identify → Evaluate → Buy → Build → Modify → Return ⸻ The opportunity We have started building a structured product database and have already begun defining relationships between manufacturers, brands, models, products and reviews. The current master data is being maintained in Excel while we establish the correct long-term architecture. We deliberately do not want to decide the technical solution ourselves. We are looking for an experienced WordPress developer/architect who can examine what we have built, understand where we are trying to go and recommend the best technical architecture. The eventual system needs to be scalable, maintainable and usable by a non-technical editorial team. ⸻ Initial engagement — Technical Audit & Architecture The first stage of the project is not to rebuild the website. We want a paid technical assessment of the existing BookNookWorkshop site and the work already undertaken on the structured database. The successful candidate will: 1. Audit the existing WordPress installation Review: * Current WordPress architecture * Theme * Plugins * Custom post types * Custom fields/meta fields * Existing taxonomies * Existing review structure * Current database approach * Search functionality * Performance considerations * Existing integrations * Overall maintainability 2. Assess the proposed data model We currently envisage relationships broadly along the lines of: Manufacturer → Brand → Model → Product → Review → Retailer The system may also need to accommodate: * Alternative model names * Duplicate/identical kits sold under different names * Manufacturer/OEM relationships * Parent and child brands * Product specifications * Difficulty * Build time * Lighting * Moving parts * Materials * Scores * Reviewers * Original media * Buying options * Community-derived information We want your professional opinion on the best way to implement this. 3. Recommend the technical architecture We want a written recommendation covering: * Recommended WordPress architecture * Database/data structure * Custom post types, taxonomies and/or custom tables where appropriate * Custom fields * Relationships between entities * Search and filtering * Future comparison functionality * Scalability * Performance * Security * Maintainability * Data migration/import strategy * Recommended plugins or custom development We do not want the developer to simply implement our current design without challenging it. If there is a better way of achieving the objective, we want to know. ⸻ 4. Future user experience The eventual system should allow visitors to do things such as: * Find a particular kit * Search by manufacturer * Search by brand * Search by model number * Identify potentially duplicate kits * Filter by difficulty * Filter by theme * Compare products * View reviews * See specifications * Find buying options * Discover related kits * Eventually see community-derived information The system should also allow the editorial team to add information without needing a developer for routine work. ⸻ 5. Existing and future reviews BookNookWorkshop is standardising its review process. Every future review will capture structured information such as: * Kit name * Manufacturer * Brand * Model number * Dimensions * Number of pieces * Materials * Difficulty * Actual build time * Lighting * Moving parts * Build quality * Instructions * Engineering * Design/appearance * Value * Overall score * Problems encountered * Build tips * Original photographs/video The architecture should allow this information to become structured data without turning the review-writing process into a complicated technical exercise. ⸻ 6. Migration and future data The current master database is being developed in Excel. We expect the eventual system to be capable of importing or migrating structured data from this source. The successful candidate should therefore consider: * CSV/Excel import * Data validation * Duplicate prevention * Relationships * Future bulk updates * Data export * Backup/recovery * Long-term portability We do not want the data locked into an unnecessarily proprietary solution. ⸻ 7. Search and discovery Search is a major part of the long-term strategy. The eventual platform should be capable of supporting: * Keyword search * Model-number search * Manufacturer filtering * Brand filtering * Difficulty filtering * Product attributes * Category filtering * Comparison * Related products * Potential duplicate-kit identification The developer should advise whether existing WordPress search technology is sufficient or whether a more sophisticated solution is required. ⸻ 8. What we are NOT asking for initially We are not asking the successful candidate to immediately: * Rebuild the entire website * Replace the theme * Rewrite all existing content * Build an e-commerce store * Turn BNW into a retailer * Build every planned feature * Create unnecessary custom software The objective is to establish the correct technical foundation first. ⸻ 9. Deliverables from Stage 1 We expect the initial engagement to produce: A. Technical audit A clear assessment of the current site and database implementation. B. Recommended architecture A practical explanation of how the long-term system should work. C. Data model A proposed structure showing the relationships between: Manufacturer → Brand → Model → Product → Review → Retailer and any additional entities you believe are required. D. Technology recommendations Recommended WordPress technologies, plugins, custom development and/or database architecture. E. Migration plan How the existing Excel data and future review information should be brought into the new system. F. Development roadmap What should be implemented: Now → 3 months → 6 months → 12 months → 24 months G. Cost estimate A realistic estimate for: * Stage 2 implementation * Any necessary migration * Future development * Ongoing maintenance We would prefer staged estimates rather than a single large, open-ended project. ⸻ Essential experience We are looking for someone with demonstrable experience in: * Advanced WordPress development * WordPress architecture * Custom Post Types * Custom fields * Taxonomies * Relational data structures * WordPress database design * PHP * MySQL * JavaScript * WordPress REST API * Search/filter systems * Data migration/import * Performance and scalability Experience with tools such as ACF, Meta Box, Toolset, FacetWP or similar systems is useful, but we are not prescribing a particular technology. ⸻ Particularly valuable experience Candidates will be especially interesting if they have built: * Product databases * Catalogue systems * Review platforms * Directory websites * Comparison websites * Knowledge bases * Marketplaces * Search-heavy WordPress sites * Custom WordPress applications Experience designing systems that non-technical editors can maintain is highly desirable. ⸻ The person we are looking for We are not simply looking for someone who can make WordPress pages look good. We need someone who can think like a software architect as well as a WordPress developer. You should be comfortable saying: “I understand what you’re trying to achieve, but I think there is a better way of building it.” We value: * Good communication * Clear explanations * Practical solutions * Long-term thinking * Clean, maintainable development * Documentation * Challenging assumptions when appropriate * Working collaboratively with a small team ⸻ What to include in your proposal Please provide: 1. A brief description of your relevant experience. 2. Examples of WordPress projects involving structured data or relational relationships. 3. Examples of search/filter/database projects you have built. 4. Your experience with custom WordPress architecture. 5. Links to relevant projects or portfolio examples. 6. Your preferred approach to the initial technical audit. 7. Your estimated time required for Stage 1. 8. Your hourly/day rate or fixed price for Stage 1. 9. Your availability. 10. Your location/time zone. 11. Whether you would be interested in continuing with Stage 2 development if both sides are happy. Please do not send a generic WordPress portfolio. We are particularly interested in seeing evidence that you have solved data architecture and WordPress scalability problems, not just built standard brochure websites. ⸻ Proposed engagement structure Stage 1 Paid technical audit and architecture Short, defined engagement. Stage 2 Implementation Subject to approval of the Stage 1 recommendations. Stage 3 Ongoing development and optimisation Potential longer-term relationship as BookNookWorkshop grows. ⸻ Important BookNookWorkshop is an evolving project with significant potential. The database and technical platform are intended to become one of the foundations of the business, so we are looking for a long-term technical partner rather than the cheapest developer available. The first objective is to get the architecture right.