I'm often asked how I became a WordPress expert. The truth is, I never decided to become one overnight. It was built project by project, country by country, over thirteen years. And along the way, I gained a conviction: a good website isn't just about code and design. You need to know how to conceive it, but also how to manage it. It's this dual expertise that makes all the difference, and here's how it came about.
The designer and the project manager
When a company entrusts me with its website, it's not just looking for someone who can «make a pretty WordPress site». It's looking for someone who understands its objectives, translates its needs into clear specifications, anticipates difficulties, and delivers on time. This is what I bring: the technical mastery of a WordPress expert, combined with the rigour of a project manager with experience at Renault, EDF, and La Poste.
Besides, I often tell my clients: «We'll build the website, we'll sort out the text later,» is exactly what you should never do. Designing a layout without content is like asking an architect to draw a house without knowing who will live in it. I didn't learn this way of thinking from a book. I learned it on the job.
2013-2017: the Breton years
It all begins in Brest. An engaged student, I became vice-president of communications for the Federation of Students of Western Brittany, where I first got to grips with WordPress by running complete campaigns. Three months later, I co-founded agency b., and then, everything speeds up: from the very first year, we deliver nearly 40 websites. I am, in turn, a salesperson, an artistic director, an integrator, and a SEO specialist. I get involved in everything, and that's where I understand that a web project has to be managed from start to finish.
In parallel, I am organising the Festival of Bangs (14,000 festival-goers, 300 volunteers): a large-scale project management school. And I pass on what I learn by teaching WordPress website creation at the University of Brittany Occidentale and Sup de Com’.
2017-2019: Australia, Silicon Valley and the big leap
Then the desire to be elsewhere. I'm going to Australia, initially to enhance my CV. In Brisbane, I joined TyreStock, the country's first B2B2C online tyre sales platform, as Digital Project Manager. I created the website and designed the UX for the website and mobile app. The project won a competition which gave us a week in the Silicon Valley Uber, Airbnb, Salesforce. An unforgettable interlude.
We made it! San Francisco here we come! Ready for one intense week of workshops & meetings in Silicon Valley with @RCLaccelerator & @murudau !
— Tyrestock (@Tyrestock_Au) November 10, 2017
What was meant to be just an experience becomes a way of life. From Australia to New Zealand, I go freelance full-time, working from the other side of the world for a variety of clients. These years of digital nomadism teach me complete autonomy and the daily practice of English, which today allows me to lead multilingual projects without difficulty.
One day, an office!
— Maxime Gourmelen (@MaxGourmelen) March 19, 2019
Today I'm on the edge of Nelson's Lake?
The programme includes web design and the creation of a recruitment website? #freelance
2019-2020: the return and a project that makes its mark
Back in France, I'm rejoining the team at Brest 2020, one of Europe's largest maritime festivals, to create their website. Then came a project that I'm particularly proud of: the redesign of the blog Bruno Maltor, one of the most influential Francophone travellers. A site with a high editorial volume, featuring interactive geographical navigation to explore his destinations. A real technical and editorial challenge.
2020-2023: The major accounts school
This is the turning point that forged my rigour. I became a digital project manager for large companies. At EDF, I am piloting the deployment of new customer journeys, coordinating SEO, content, UX/UI and development experts, using the Agile methodology. At The Post Office, I am working on the 2021 VAT programme, between customer value and regulatory requirements.
Then for nearly two years, in Renault Digital, I support the continuous improvement of applications My Renault, My Dacia and My Alpine : business needs analysis, a 12 to 18-month roadmap, coordination of design and technical teams, and indicator-driven management. Few website creators master these skills. And yet, this is what ensures a project is completed on time and without unwelcome surprises. I also become mentor OpenClassrooms in the field of Digital Project Management, a role I still hold.
2022-2023: creation never stops
Alongside major clients, I've never stopped creating websites, and that’s what keeps me connected to the ground. I’m designing the online booking system for Scuba dive Pei In Réunion, the interactive map of the franchise network Heiko Poké and its twenty-odd sales points, or the ticket office of the OSE Salon Martinique.
In early 2023, a collaboration that I like to cite as an example also began: Left, in Brussels. A project I'm still working on today, and which taught me one essential lesson: translating a website is not duplicating it. Each market has its own codes, and true multilingualism is thought out, not copy-pasted.
2024: a busy year and concrete results
2024 is a pivotal year. I'm signing off on the overhaul of Bustronome, the nomadic gourmet restaurant present in Paris, London and New York, with an immersive storytelling approach that generates 2,000 key events in 28 days. For 2M Furniture & Movement, the redesign has boosted engagement on the catalogue by 92% and conversion on the contact page by 88%. I also work on Laselis (Aesthetic Medical Centre), Blink'n Sun (luxury villas in Phuket) and Decathlon.
2025: e-commerce and high-stakes projects
A year of landmark results. For Capital Air Santé, the redesign of the air purifier e-commerce site, including optimisation of the conversion funnel, has resulted in a 95% increase in total sales and a 153% increase in orders over three months. For Decathlon, I am leading the redesign of the global internal employee website, which is translated into six languages. I am also creating the financial institution's website. IYU with its conversion simulator, the Qualiopi training site Kinesic, and the multilingual redesign of’EAMS Industry in five languages.
2026: Today, and a strong conviction
In this first half of 2026, I am continuing to combine creation and management. Recently: the booking platform Parisian Dream in five languages, the migration to WordPress of the website Mayasquad, and the conversion-focused redesign of the school E2C Paris. In parallel, I ensure web governance of Paris Conservatoire, of’OPmobility and of Praxedo, which I manage the website for in eight countries.
At a time when the creation of a complete website is being sold in three minutes with a well-crafted prompt, I have a strong conviction, born from over 400 sites designed: AI generates a foundation, sometimes an impressive shell. But it doesn't generate the life of the site. Modifying text without breaking the layout, adding a section, publishing an article without upsetting everything: that's the real work. A website is not a deliverable; it's a living system, which must be understandable and editable by someone who didn't build it. This is precisely what I design for my clients.
What my clients say
Rather than describe myself, I'll let those I work with have their say.
«I recommend Maxime because he is a dynamic, proactive, and reliable professional. He knows how to take ownership of projects and translate marketing expectations into precise technical requirements. If you are looking for an effective freelance web project manager, Maxime is the right person to contact.»
Kieran Le Peron, Marketing Director at Praxedo
«He adapted very quickly to a complex environment, was able to identify priorities and integrate into a demanding technical stack without any superfluous warm-up time. Serious, autonomous and responsive, I recommend him without hesitation.»
Emilie Zawadzki, CTO, Augmented Conservatory Project
«Maxime possesses a clear strategic vision and a great ability to bring people together. Beyond his technical skills, he stands out for his human qualities: empathy, active listening and a collaborative spirit.»
Christophe Salliet, Co-founder & CEO of Sinistra
«It was a pleasure to work with Maxime, he has great knowledge, is able to give good advice, and is very fast. Our project finished even before the deadline. The result is perfect, simple, modern and interactive.»
Marie-José van Gasteren, General Manager Vogel's France
Design and drive: the combination that makes the difference
From Breton associative projects to Parisian major clients, and even to the ends of the earth, my career has had but one guiding principle: to design websites that work, and to bring them to fruition. A poorly designed website is a brake on growth. My job is to turn it into a lever: a tailor-made, high-performing, easy-to-administer website, designed with the eye of a WordPress expert and managed with the methodology of a project manager.
Do you have a project to create or redesign a website? Discover my approach and let's talk about it together, the first exchange is free and without obligation.
