James Harland — Head of Technical

01.About Me

A seasoned web developer and technical leader with nearly 30 years of experience building and managing web-based solutions. I specialise in PHP development, with particular proficiency in the Laravel framework and the Magento ecommerce platform.

As Head of Technical at Comtecs, I lead a diverse range of projects — from architecting bespoke web applications and ecommerce stores to managing server infrastructure and providing hands-on technical support.

Working mainly with Linux-based servers in the Apache / PHP / MySQL stack, I'm equally comfortable building elegant front-end interfaces as I am configuring server networks and optimising database queries.

Quick Facts

📍 Based in Kent, UK
💼 Nearly 30 years in web development
🏎️ Owned far too many cars
🦔 Long-suffering Sonic the Hedgehog fan
🎮 Avid retro gamer & Pokémon Go trainer
📻 Still lamenting Invicta FM
🎙️ Alan Partridge Tour veteran

02.Skills

PHP is my web language of choice, usually paired with Laravel. See my LinkedIn for a comprehensive list.

PHP

Laravel

Magento

JavaScript

Discord.js & Bot Dev

CSS3 & SCSS

MySQL

Linux

03.Code Showcase

A glimpse at the kind of clean, well-structured code I write every day.

Laravel — Clean API resource controller with dependency injection & form request validation

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers\Api;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use App\Http\Requests\StoreOrderRequest;
use App\Http\Resources\OrderResource;
use App\Models\Order;
use App\Services\OrderService;
use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\Resources\Json\AnonymousResourceCollection;

class OrderController extends Controller
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly OrderService $orderService
    ) {}

    public function index(): AnonymousResourceCollection
    {
        $orders = Order::query()
            ->with(['customer', 'items.product'])
            ->latest()
            ->paginate(20);

        return OrderResource::collection($orders);
    }

    public function store(StoreOrderRequest $request): JsonResponse
    {
        $order = $this->orderService->create(
            $request->validated()
        );

        return response()->json(
            new OrderResource($order->load(['customer', 'items'])),
            201
        );
    }
}

Magento 2 — Plugin (Interceptor) for shipping validation with constructor injection

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace Comtecs\CustomShipping\Plugin;

use Magento\Checkout\Model\ShippingInformationManagement;
use Magento\Checkout\Api\Data\ShippingInformationInterface;
use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface;

class ShippingValidationPlugin
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly LoggerInterface $logger
    ) {}

    public function beforeSaveAddressInformation(
        ShippingInformationManagement $subject,
        int $cartId,
        ShippingInformationInterface $addressInformation
    ): array {
        $address = $addressInformation->getShippingAddress();
        $method  = $addressInformation->getShippingMethodCode();

        $this->logger->info('Validating shipping', [
            'cart_id'  => $cartId,
            'method'   => $method,
            'postcode' => $address->getPostcode(),
        ]);

        return [$cartId, $addressInformation];
    }
}

Magento 2 — Dependency injection config (di.xml) wiring the plugin

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:ObjectManager/etc/config.xsd">

    <type name="Magento\Checkout\Model\ShippingInformationManagement">
        <plugin name="comtecs_custom_shipping_validation"
                type="Comtecs\CustomShipping\Plugin\ShippingValidationPlugin"
                sortOrder="10" />
    </type>

</config>

04.Projects

Personal & open-source projects I've worked on.

YouTuber Gaming Discord

redhotsonic

Developed a fully integrated website for gaming content creator redhotsonic, including the design and development of his custom Discord bot using Discord.js. Unified his multi-game server ecosystem — Minecraft, OpenRCT, SRB2Kart and Garry's Mod — into a single web experience with live server status, player stats and community features.

Visit site

YouTuber

Furious Driving

Built a full website for automotive YouTuber Matt after he featured my Nissan Stagea 350RX. Designed and developed over a few evenings as a thank-you.

Visit site

Fansite

chrismoyles.net

Redesigned the go-to Chris Moyles fansite for his Radio X launch. Integrated the new design with phpBB and MediaWiki — many late nights involved!

Visit site

Forum

Micra Sports Club

The UK's only Nissan Micra car club. As Chairman since 2012, I manage the community of 28,000+ monthly visitors running on xenForo.

Visit site

Open Source

PMSF

Developer for the open-source PokeMap Standalone Frontend for Pokémon Go mapping.

View on GitHub

Open Source

xenForo Backup Script

Automated backup script for xenForo databases with optional Amazon S3 upload.

View on GitHub

View my GitHub Profile

05.Experience

Head of Technical

2005 — Present

Comtecs

Involved in a myriad of computer-oriented solutions, ranging from building web solutions from scratch in PHP/HTML/CSS/JavaScript, visiting clients on-site to provide face-to-face IT support, providing remote support, or installing new servers and networks for clients.

Chairman / Website & Server Admin

2005 — Present

Micra Sports Club

Manage everything, from the memberships to making sure the server is in tip-top condition and up to date.

Website Developer

2003 — 2005

Dyebrick

Managed the website, including a Magento online shop.

Website Developer & Technical Support

2000 — 2005

Colourite

Managed the website, online shop and assisted with day-to-day technical support queries.