Hey there! Let’s kick this off with a quick introduction. I’m Orestis Samaras. Born, raised and based in Greece.
I enjoy traveling, cooking (and tasting stuff), having good coffee, spending time with my wife and friends and reading about coding (yes, nerdy; I know).
Now let’s jump to the details! Read on; it’s fascinating 😝
I love creating reliable, intuitive, self-explanatory and fully-accessible experiences to simplify everyday tasks and workflows. My goal is to empower people to do more things, faster, easier and without unnecessary friction.
How it all began
Back in 2006, I had to do some homework as part of my CS class. The task was simple: create an HTML page, add an image, list your full name and your favourite class. The end result was super basic and looking back at it, it was definitely uggly.
But when I built that small and simple HTML-only page, I realized for the first time that I could make a computer (or better yet, a browser) do exactly what I told it to; and that was magical!
I caught the bug – and instead of fixing it, I turned it into a career in software engineering.
Education and early years
In 2011 I was accepted into the CS department of the Technological Institute of Thessaloniki.
During my studies there, I had already started experimenting with web development in more depth. I crafted some websites for friends and online communities and that was when I gained some hands-on experience with PHP, CSS and Javascript.
In 2013, I used WordPress for the first time, and it was love at first sight (don’t judge)! Since then, I ‘ve crafted numerous websites using WordPress, developing custom themes and plugins to fulfill unique needs and deliver awesome experiences.
After my internship and graduation in 2016, I worked with clients directly as well as for agencies. During my time there I came across various technologies, hosting environments, different CMSes and frameworks, further broadening my expertise.
Nowdays
Since 2020, I ‘m working at Syde – Europe’s biggest WordPress agency – as a web developer. Together with my team we ‘ve been crafting enterprise websites, e-commerce solutions and custom integrations with SaaS platforms, payment gateways and third-party APIs.
Since my first steps with programming and software engineering, I ‘ve developed a lot, and more “nerdy” terms have been added to my vocabulary and most probably you will hear me talking about load balancing, containers, ElasticSearch, caching, monitoring, observability and such when discussing implementations or improvements.
Code design and architecture have become one of my favourite topics to discuss. Traveling is another topic in case you were wondering 😁✈️
Web Accessibility
Apart from elevating my coding skills and expertise, in 2023 I was also certified as a Web Accessibility Professional, after diving into the super important and really interesting world of web accessibility.
I don’t consider myself to be an expert in the field, however I keep reading and practicing every day. I believe that it’s the small changes that fuel improvement and make things better for everyone.
Open-source contributions
I’ve been active in the WordPress open-source community for years. I’ve contributed code to core, reported bugs, and helped improve the platform. Also I’ve added translations, answered questions in the support forums, and done my part to make WordPress more welcoming for everyone.
Offline, I co-organize Thessaloniki’s WordPress meetup, where we exchange tips and stories, and occasionally fight whether it’s better to use a page builder or the Block Editor. In 2024 I co-organized the WordCamp Larissa – nothing like planning a tech event to sharpen your multitasking skills..
Giving back to the community that’s been part of my career for so long just makes sense. Plus, it’s a great way to stay sharp, meet smart people, and keep the spirit of open-source collaboration alive.
Closing words
I’ve seen a lot of code, solved even more bugs, and learned that the best solutions are usually the simplest. I write clean, testable code, build with purpose, and never stop learning. If that sounds like someone you’d want to collaborate or simply have a chat with, just contact me.