Muhammad Ali Request a review

Portrait of Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali Lead web engineer, Islamabad

Web engineer for Shopify, WooCommerce and WordPress stores.

I fix slow pages and broken checkouts, build the custom features a theme can't handle, and set up tracking you can rely on. Nine years as a Shopify, WooCommerce and WordPress developer, for e-commerce brands and agencies.

Request a technical review See selected work

Taking on new projects. Replies within one business day.

  • 110 jobs completed on Upwork
  • 5,900 hours billed
  • 97% job success score
  • 4.9 average rating across 102 reviews
See the Upwork profile

What I do

Most work starts with something specific: a slow store, a broken feature, a design that needs building. These are the areas clients usually hire me for, with examples of things I've built in each.

  1. Shopify and Shopify Plus

    Custom themes and sections on Online Store 2.0, features written in Liquid, and headless storefronts in React when a theme isn't enough. I've owned the theme of a Shopify Plus store and led the developers working on it.

    • Open Box upsell and a Shop Build section
    • Predictive search and search ranking
    • Product fitment wizard
    • Bundle, checkout and Recharge plan validation
    • Inventory updates by CSV and API
    • Headless storefront work with React

  2. WordPress and WooCommerce

    Custom themes and plugins, Elementor and Gutenberg builds, WooCommerce stores, and rescue work when an update breaks something. I extend third-party plugins without editing their core files, so updates stay safe.

    • WooCommerce SmartCollection plugin
    • Elementor Pro landing, course and sales pages
    • WPForms, Elementor forms and Typeform
    • Site audits and clean rebuild plans for large WooCommerce builds
    • Wix to WordPress migrations with membership integrations
    • Long-term WooCommerce maintenance

  3. Speed, SEO and tracking

    Core Web Vitals and PageSpeed work, technical SEO fixes, and GA4 and Tag Manager setups that match what customers actually do on the site. Optimization work at Creative Dreams Agency cut page load times by 30%.

    • Render-blocking scripts, image and theme bloat
    • H1 corrections, schema and robots.txt
    • Google Search Console issues
    • GA4 and GTM e-commerce event tracking
    • Cookie consent with Complianz
    • Yoast SEO configuration

  4. Figma to code

    Responsive builds that match the design, from Figma files, screenshots or a style guide. Plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, WordPress pages or Shopify sections, with GSAP animation when the design calls for it.

    • Pixel-accurate HTML from Figma
    • Scroll and product animation with GSAP
    • Shopify 2.0 theme conversion
    • Design systems and page templates
    • Marketing and landing pages

  5. Custom tools and integrations

    PHP and MySQL tools for the back-office work around a store, and the integrations that connect it to other systems. I also build AI chatbots and workflow automations for repetitive office tasks.

    • Inventory sync and price comparison with supplier APIs
    • Spreadsheet imports with PhpSpreadsheet
    • REST and GraphQL integrations
    • ActiveCampaign and CallRail
    • A Shopify app with background jobs and an audit trail
    • WordPress plugins for form sync and contact bars

  6. Hosting and ongoing support

    Migrations, staging and production workflows, DNS and SSL, and monthly support for stores that need someone to call. I also review code and lead small teams.

    • WP Engine, SiteGround, AWS and DigitalOcean
    • cPanel and VPS setups
    • Git-based deployments
    • Plugin and theme conflict debugging
    • QA and code review
    • Leading a team of three developers

Selected work

Four builds I've spent the most time on. Each one links to the live site, so you can see the result rather than take my word for it.

Shopify Plus Sep 2025 to Jun 2026

Cosmo Together

I took over storefront engineering for a Shopify Plus store that sells the JrTrack smartwatch for kids, and led the three developers working on it.

Client
Kids' smartwatch brand
My role
Lead web engineer, team of three

What I did

  • Owned the Shopify Plus theme: custom sections and Online Store 2.0 templates for product, collection and landing pages.
  • Built the JrTrack 5 product and activation pages, plus collections and add-ons.
  • Set up Recharge subscriptions and checkout validation.
  • Worked on the headless activation flow and its API integrations.
  • Handled GA4 and Tag Manager tracking, consent, SEO, conversion tests and performance work.
  • Ran code review and QA before each release, and handled production issues.
  • Shopify Plus
  • Liquid
  • Online Store 2.0
  • React
  • Recharge
  • GA4
  • GTM
Visit cosmotogether.com

WordPress and WooCommerce Oct 2026 to present

HotTub.com

A large WooCommerce site whose pricing, sale and discount logic had grown hard to change. I audited all of it, wrote the plan for a clean rebuild, and I'm building the new pricing system alongside the old one.

Client
Hot tub and swim spa retailer
My role
Technical lead for the audit and rebuild

What I did

  • Audited the theme, plugins, hosting and integrations, and wrote the findings up for the team and the CEO.
  • Mapped how prices, sales and discounts flow from the product page through the cart to checkout.
  • Wrote a clean rebuild plan, and rebuilt the in-house plugins in a clean copy with a handbook and a test guide.
  • Designed a new pricing table with monthly finance payments, built beside the current one so the live site can roll back at once.
  • Built a nearest-store locator for product pages.
  • WordPress
  • WooCommerce
  • Elementor
  • PHP
  • JavaScript
  • WP Engine
Visit hottub.com

Shopify Ongoing

Freedom Gorilla

A Shopify store with a wide product range. I built its theme and the custom features around search, filtering and upsells, and cleaned up how inventory is imported.

Client
Optics and accessories retailer
My role
Theme developer

What I did

  • Theme development, including a custom Shop Build section.
  • Open Box upsell on product pages.
  • Predictive search and product filtering.
  • Swiper-based sliders for products and promotions.
  • Inventory and warehouse imports, and vendor cleanup in the catalog.
  • robots.txt, metadata and product schema validation.
  • Shopify
  • Liquid
  • JavaScript
  • Swiper
  • Schema.org
Visit freedomgorilla.com

WordPress Sep 2024 to present

Dewitt Law Firm

I run web engineering for the firm's WordPress and Shopify sites: fixes, new pages, tracking, SEO and the daily work of keeping them stable.

Client
Personal injury law firm, Central Florida
My role
Web engineering lead

What I did

  • WordPress development, theme and plugin work, landing and service pages.
  • Technical SEO: H1 corrections, Search Console issues, robots.txt and call-to-action improvements.
  • Analytics and tracking setup, speed and Core Web Vitals work.
  • Hosting support, migrations and production issue resolution.
  • AI-assisted workflows and automations to cut manual work. An intake system for legal leads, built on RAG and n8n, exists as a concept build.
  • WordPress
  • Elementor
  • Shopify
  • GA4
  • GTM
  • n8n
Visit dewittlaw.com

What clients say

Selected reviews from my Upwork profile, word for word. My average there is 4.9 from 102 reviews, and you can read all of them on Upwork.

  • 5.0

    We have had the pleasure of working with Ali as our web developer, and he has consistently exceeded our expectations. His expertise, dedication, and attention to detail have been invaluable to our projects. Ali continues to deliver high-quality work, and his professionalism makes collaboration effortless. We are extremely happy with his contributions and look forward to our ongoing partnership. We highly recommend Ali to anyone seeking a talented web developer.

    Client on Upwork WordPress and Shopify theme developer Aug 2021 to Sep 2024
    • Committed to Quality
    • Detail Oriented
    • Collaborative
    • Professional

  • 5.0

    I have been dealing with Ali for around one month now and the improvement in my primary website has been first class.

    Not only have we managed to get the site looking a lot more professional and user friendly, we are improving our google search profile stats on a daily basis.

    I will continue to work alongside him for the [foreseeable] future.

    Client on Upwork Web development Jan to Feb 2025
    • Collaborative
    • Committed to Quality
    • Professional

  • 5.0

    I had an excellent experience working with M. They made some modifications to my WordPress website and delivered exactly what I needed with great attention to detail. Their work was not only top-notch, but they were also incredibly kind, patient, and communicative throughout the entire process. I truly appreciated their professionalism and willingness to go the extra mile to ensure everything was perfect. Highly recommend!

    Client on Upwork WordPress website adjustments and optimizations Jan 2025
    • Detail Oriented
    • Committed to Quality
    • Professional
    • Clear Communicator
    • Reliable

  • 5.0

    M is an exceptional WordPress developer who delivered a stunning, user-friendly website that exceeded expectations. They combined technical expertise with a keen eye for design, handling customizations and challenges with ease. Communication was seamless, revisions were quick, and the final result was both beautiful and high-performing. Highly recommended!

    Client on Upwork WordPress website development Jan 2025
    • Clear Communicator
    • Committed to Quality
    • Reliable

  • 5.0

    We continue to invest into Ali. His talent is second to none for UpWork.

    We will continue to employ him with our organisation.

    Client on Upwork Web development and digital ecosystem manager Apr to Nov 2020
    • Committed to Quality
    • Reliable

Read all 102 reviews on Upwork

More projects

A wider look at the stores, plugins and tools I've worked on. Live sites link out. The rest is client work without a public page, or projects that are still in progress.

Recent stores and sites

All projects 46

  • HotTub.com WordPress, WooCommerce, Elementor

    A full technical audit written for the team and the CEO, a map of how prices, sales and discounts work, a clean rebuild plan, rebuilt in-house plugins, a monthly-payment pricing table and a nearest-store locator.

    In progress

  • Cosmo Together Shopify Plus

    Theme ownership, custom sections, JrTrack 5 product and activation pages, Recharge subscriptions, checkout validation, headless integrations, GA4 and GTM.

    Live

  • WhisperOutdoor.com WordPress, WooCommerce, Elementor

    The group brand behind HotTub.com and Golfcarts.com, on the same stack. The new pricing system is designed as a shared plugin so it can roll out across all three sites.

    Planned

  • Builder Alumni WordPress, Elementor, Wild Apricot

    An alumni association's site moving from Wix to WordPress, built from a Figma design. Includes a Wild Apricot membership integration: a member list with quick filters, renewal reminders with safety limits, and a three-step join page.

    In progress

  • MarginPilot Shopify app, React Router, PostgreSQL

    A Shopify app that imports supplier inventory and costs, maps SKUs, calculates margin-safe prices and applies only merchant-approved updates through the GraphQL Admin API, with an audit trail.

    In progress

  • Freedom Gorilla Shopify

    Theme development, Open Box upsell, Shop Build section, predictive search, product filtering, inventory and warehouse imports, schema validation.

    Live

  • Dewitt Law Firm WordPress, Elementor

    WordPress development, technical SEO, H1 corrections, Search Console fixes, robots.txt, call-to-action work, and an AI intake concept.

    Live

  • Comedy Jam Custom WordPress theme

    A custom theme for a benefit comedy show: home, photo gallery and sponsor pages, editable theme options and social share cards.

    Live

  • Discount Spa Covers WordPress, WooCommerce

    A WooCommerce store for spa covers. Diagnosing a cart crash and checking WordPress core files and plugins.

    In progress

  • Firnovex Sync for ActiveCampaign WordPress plugin, ActiveCampaign API

    Sends Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Elementor and custom form submissions to ActiveCampaign with tags, lists and automations, and retries when the API is slow.

    In progress

  • ContactLift WordPress plugin, Freemius

    A floating contact bar with call, message, booking and callback channels. A free plugin plus a Pro add-on sold through Freemius, with PHPUnit tests.

    In progress

  • MoeMart Shopify

    Storefront development and redesign, product presentation and performance work for the Just Call Moe merchandise store.

    Live

  • My Healthy Penguin Shopify

    Shopify store development and customization for a meal prep service.

    Live

  • Spirited Shipper Shopify

    Shopify store development and customization for a wine and spirits packaging supplier.

    Live

  • Reflux Gourmet Shopify

    Shopify store development and customization.

    Live

  • Just Call Moe WordPress

    Development, optimization and redesign work. A redesign with PageSpeed improvements is in progress on a staging site.

    Live

  • Moe Eats Parm WordPress on WP Engine

    Redesign with the Hello theme and Elementor: forms, popups, sticky navigation, Typeform and responsive CSS.

    In progress

  • Nova WordPress, Elementor

    GA4 and Tag Manager event tracking, analytics configuration and e-commerce measurement for a kids' phone brand.

    Live

  • Salty Tub WooCommerce

    WooCommerce store development and customization. The live store has since moved to Shopify.

    Live

  • Vacation Injury Law theme Custom WordPress theme

    A law-firm design converted into a WordPress theme: Customizer settings, custom post types for attorneys, case types, testimonials and FAQs, and schema.org markup.

    Past work

  • MoeBiker giveaway WordPress theme

    A giveaway campaign landing page converted from a design into a WordPress theme with editable prize, film, how-it-works, winner and FAQ sections.

    Past work

  • Plot Deal Desk Web application

    A web application with a dealer app and an admin desk, three permission levels, and a database with row-level security.

    Past work

  • Chilla Figma, HTML, GSAP, Shopify 2.0

    A pixel-accurate responsive build from Figma with GSAP scroll animation, product motion and sliders, now being converted into a Shopify 2.0 theme.

    In progress

  • Optics Ready WooCommerce, Elementor

    E-commerce build and store customization.

    Live

  • Mil Spec Mule WooCommerce, Elementor

    WooCommerce development, store customization and product functionality.

    Live

  • PA Sport Shop WooCommerce, Elementor

    WooCommerce development and customization.

    Live

  • Long-term WooCommerce support Client retainer

    Ongoing maintenance, debugging, customizations and feature development.

    Past work

  • Motionaire Shopify theme

    Theme development and customization for a Shopify Partner theme.

    Past work

  • Wellness and coaching website WordPress, Elementor Pro

    Homepage, landing, course and sales pages, ACF layouts, a Gutenberg resource hub and responsive optimization.

    Past work

  • Creative Dreams Agency clients WordPress

    WordPress development, SEO and customization for the Melbourne agency's clients, across seven years.

    Past work

  • Murray Fitzpatrick WordPress

    Website development and customization.

    Past work

  • G Stock PHP, MySQL, PhpSpreadsheet

    Inventory management with RSR synchronization, price comparison and spreadsheet imports.

    Past work

  • RSR Inventory Tracker PHP, MySQL, APIs

    Supplier inventory and pricing synchronization over external APIs.

    Past work

  • Website Details Scraper Custom web app

    A web application that collects website and business information.

    Past work

  • AI School Management System Web application

    An AI-supported school management application with an admin dashboard.

    Past work

  • Dewitt Law AI Intake RAG, n8n, AI

    Automated legal intake, document knowledge and lead qualification.

    Concept

  • WooCommerce SmartCollection Custom plugin

    Product-collection filtering on optimized WP_Query, with pre_get_posts conflicts resolved.

    Past work

  • WordPress Collections Custom plugin

    Collection management and product filtering for WooCommerce.

    Past work

  • CallRail integration WordPress

    Call tracking setup and integration across WordPress sites.

    Past work

  • Form integrations WPForms, Elementor, Typeform

    Form builds, validation and submission workflows, Typeform embeds with prefilled values, and AJAX submission without a page reload.

    Past work

  • Consent, SEO and image tooling Complianz, Yoast, Imagify

    Cookie consent for analytics compliance, technical SEO configuration, and image compression for speed.

    Past work

  • Plugin extensions WordPress

    Extending third-party plugins through hooks, without editing their core files.

    Past work

  • Clean Marketing Design system

    Homepage and two inner-page templates, followed by a complete design system.

    Past work

  • byLuka Redesign proposal

    A four-page redesign using the Just Call Moe redesign as its reference.

    Concept

  • Premium Shopify website Design and animation

    A luxury e-commerce design with animation and interactive product presentation.

    Concept

  • Landing pages and a video-led site HTML, CSS, JavaScript

    Responsive marketing pages built for conversion, and a website designed around embedded video.

    Past work

How a project starts

Most work begins the same way: something is slow, something broke after an update, or the checkout is losing people. I find the cause, fix it, and show you the before and after.

  1. Review

    I look at the store, its theme and apps, and find what is causing the problem.

  2. Plan

    You get a written list of what is wrong, in priority order, with an estimate for each item.

  3. Build

    Changes are made on a staging copy, reviewed, and then released.

  4. Check and hand over

    I measure again, send before and after numbers, and document what changed.

Who it suits

  • Shopify and Shopify Plus brands with a live store and real orders
  • WooCommerce and WordPress sites that have outgrown their build
  • Agencies that need a senior engineer behind their designs

The usual first step is a fixed-scope technical review plus the top-priority fixes, delivered in one to two weeks. Larger builds and ongoing work follow from there.

Request a technical review

From the blog

Practical guides on store speed, tracking, migrations, custom features and AI, written from real projects. All posts

Portrait of Muhammad Ali

Islamabad, Pakistan UTC+5, working with teams across time zones

About me

I'm a web engineer in Islamabad. I started in 2016 as a WordPress developer, spent two years on front-end work at an agency, and since 2018 have worked mostly on e-commerce: first as a freelancer on Upwork, then as a full-stack developer for Creative Dreams Agency in Melbourne, and lately as a lead engineer.

Today I lead web engineering at Dewitt Law Firm and take on freelance projects through Upwork, where I've been a Top Rated Plus freelancer for five years. Until June 2026 I led the Shopify team at Cosmo Together, a Shopify Plus store.

Most of my work is specific problems: a slow product page, a checkout that loses people, a plugin conflict nobody can find. I test on staging before anything goes live, write down what I changed, and leave the code in a state the next developer can pick up. I work in English with teams across time zones, mainly in the US and Australia.

hi@m-ali.dev LinkedIn GitHub

Experience

  1. 2024 to now

    Web engineering lead Dewitt Law Firm

    WordPress and Shopify platforms for a personal injury law firm: design implementation, theme and plugin work, technical SEO, tracking, hosting and production support, plus AI-assisted workflows and automations.

  2. 2025 to 2026

    Lead web engineer Cosmo Technologies Cosmo Together

    Ran Shopify engineering for a Shopify Plus store: theme work, new features, QA and production support. Managed three developers and worked with marketing, product and leadership.

  3. 2019 to 2026

    Full-stack developer Creative Dreams Agency Melbourne, Australia

    Custom WordPress and Shopify themes and plugins, plus work in React, Webflow, Framer and Go High Level for the agency's clients. Optimization work improved page load times by 30%.

  4. 2018 to now

    Independent web developer Upwork

    Top Rated Plus for five years. 110 jobs and 5,900 hours billed at a 97% job success score, on new builds, migrations, integrations, hosting and production debugging.

  5. 2017 to 2019

    Senior front-end developer Immentia Islamabad

    PSD to HTML and WordPress builds, responsive front ends in Bootstrap, Material UI and Ionic, and page speed optimization.

  6. 2016 to 2017

    WordPress developer EverSpark Interactive Remote, USA

    Website speed optimization.

Tools

Platforms
  • Shopify and Shopify Plus
  • WordPress
  • WooCommerce
  • Elementor
  • Gutenberg
  • ACF
  • Webflow
  • Framer
  • Go High Level
Front end
  • HTML
  • CSS and SCSS
  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • React
  • Angular
  • GSAP
  • Swiper
  • Figma
Back end and data
  • PHP
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • REST and GraphQL APIs
  • Shopify Storefront and Admin APIs
  • n8n
  • Composer
Analytics, SEO and hosting
  • GA4
  • Google Tag Manager
  • Search Console
  • Yoast
  • Core Web Vitals
  • WP Engine
  • SiteGround
  • AWS
  • DigitalOcean
  • cPanel
  • Git and GitHub

Credentials

Certified

The 19 skills verified by micro1
  • Candidate's Experience
  • Software Testing
  • JavaScript and core programming fundamentals
  • Problem solving and system thinking
  • Frontend architecture and UI
  • Backend and API design
  • JavaScript and framework proficiency
  • HTML, CSS and responsive design
  • Programming and code quality
  • Data structures and algorithms
  • Debugging and code quality review
  • Git version control and collaborative workflows
  • PostgreSQL data modeling and performance
  • TypeScript front-end development
  • Design systems and component style guides
  • UI performance optimization
  • JavaScript (ES6+) and TypeScript
  • Web performance and cross-browser compatibility
  • Frontend debugging and troubleshooting

Courses

  • Shopify Theme Development
  • WordPress Theme Development
  • HTML5 and CSS3
  • JavaScript: fundamentals, advanced and OOP

Recognition

  • Top Rated Plus on Upwork, five years
  • Top UI/UX Developer, 2017

Education

  • MSc in Information Technology, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi (2016)

Languages

English, Urdu and Punjabi

Tell me what's not working.

Send the store address and a few lines about the problem. I'll reply with what I think is causing it, what I'd do first, and whether I'm the right person for the job.

Email
hi@m-ali.dev
Based in
Islamabad, Pakistan, UTC+5. I usually reply within one business day.

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