Patrick Pittman

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Software & Web Development

For nearly 25 years, I’ve been quietly crafting enterprise-grade software and web applications for a diverse range of organizations, delivering innovative solutions tailored to their unique needs.

I speak several dialects of code almost as flu­ently as I do English. Core contemporary fluencies include Node/React/Next.js, Python and Swift but I can also work comfortably in Ruby, PHP, and any scripting language you care to throw at me. I develop regularly on both front and backend for platforms including Ghost, Shopify, and Wordpress. I can also optimize a massive Postgres database to within an inch of its life. Generally if it's necessary for a project, I'll figure out how to speak it (I'm looking at you, Salesforce Apex).

My passion lies in developing solutions for the media industries, from creating intricate web front-ends for publications and publishing houses to eBook development for Kindle and beyond. I specialize in building subscription management systems and business tools for magazines and other print publications, ensuring they meet the real-world needs of editorial and production teams. My approach is user-focused—I prioritize what’s best for your team, leveraging the most effective technologies, whether cutting-edge or time-tested.

Some of my standout projects include:

  • Developing turnkey systems with open-source components to empower community radio stations to provide automated, cost-effective online audio streaming, from audio capture to end-user delivery—without ongoing client intervention.
  • Extracting valuable data from legacy 1980s databases and connecting them to modern, open systems.
  • Integrating complex API connections across modern cloud services, streamlining workflows and boosting operational efficiency.

While I take on projects selectively, I’m always intrigued by challenging opportunities. If you have a project in publishing technology, media systems, or custom software development, feel free to reach out. Through No Media, we can assemble the right team to deliver and support your project.

By its nature, a lot of this work is hidden away in non-public backends, but here's a few recent projects that I can share.

Most of my Github is private but here it is anyway
 

Three Magazine

Working with designer Chris Lange, end-to-end development of the website for St Joseph Communications' latest print magazine, 3, a magazine "for those who live beyond borders and boundaries". Enterprise-grade pure Wordpress built using the Roots stack.

The Picton Gazette

A state of the art website for Canada's oldest continuously published weekly newspaper, in collaboration with designer Chris Lange. Headless Wordpress on the backend allows the edit team to use the tools they love, while a next.js frontend keeps this lightning fast, fully accessible, and joyful as a reading experience.

Arcade

An award-winning online magazine and monthly email, built using a self-hosted install of the marvellous Ghost CMS. All email and member management is handled directly by Ghost, integrating with Mailgun.

The Nor Collection

A living and open commons of Canadian design, featuring more than 13,000 entries. Super fast and delightful to rummage, built entirely in next.js on top of a bespoke and open GraphQL API. Submit, build and publish public playlists and even export them as nice research PDFs. Version 2.0 coming early to mid 2025. The magazine component is built using Ghost.

Stack Magazines

This one's almost entirely behind the scenes. A bespoke suite of tools and a lean, API-driven interface to implement the business logic that brings together this amazing magazine provider's customer-facing web subscription tools with their backend provider. The focus of this ground-up rebuild of their backend was to provide their small team with precisely the control they needed, as minimally and securely as possible, while accounting for complex real world needs and intricate specific offerings, controlled using everyday tools that make sense in their workflow.