Hi, I'm Alex 👋
I'm a freelance full-stack developer who loves building Rails apps. Here you'll find my latest projects, blog posts, and tutorials to help fellow devs learn something new.
Portfolio
View My Favorite Projects
Below are a few of my favorite rails apps that I've built.
88 Restaurants
88 Restaurants is an all in one restaurant management platform. With over 100 restaurants it is currently processing over seven figures in annual revenue. I built it as a Rails 6.1 application using PostgreSQL, Bootstrap, Stripe, and is deployed on a custom Nginx/Passenger server configuration.
While the app has many features, it handles three core functions: table management, online ordering, and reservations. The most complex feature was the table management system, which lets restaurants draw their actual floor plans and manage seating in real-time. I solved this using Fabric.js for the interactive floor plan editor and Stimulus.js for front-end interactions, backed by a Rails API.
Stripe integration handles all payment processing across the platform. After 12 months of initial development and 4 years of continuous improvement (including managing a junior developer), the system has proven to be reliable and scalable.
Austin City Guide
Austin City Guide is a content management system that achieved #1 Google ranking for multiple high competition keywords such as "things to do in Austin" and now attracts 100,000+ unique visitors monthly. Built with Rails 6.1, MySQL, and deployed via Dokku.
The platform manages local business listings across categories like attractions, restaurants, and nightlife, plus a targeted blog strategy for long-tail keywords. The event calendar integration uses FullCalendar.js to showcase local happenings. Revenue is generated through a pay-per-click model where featured businesses pay negotiated fees when visitors click through to their booking pages.
Custom analytics built with Ahoy.js track detailed user behavior including page traffic, referral sources, time on page, and all click-through events. The dashboard provides comprehensive insights into both content performance and revenue generation.
Reservation Genie
Reservation Genie is a streamlined ticket sales and reservation management system for tour operators, processing over 7 figures in revenue. Built with Rails, MySQL, and deployed on Nginx/Passenger infrastructure.
The platform handles online ticket sales, reservation management, and seasonal schedule creation. Tour operators can set up inventory management for different tour types and time slots, while customers book directly through the system. For payments, I used Active Merchant, allowing tour operators to use whichever payment processor they prefer.
After 6 months of development, I've maintained and updated the platform for 5 years, serving tour companies with a reliable booking solution that scales with their business needs.
Testimonials
Hear from the Clients I've Helped Grow
“We initially built our site on WordPress, but it became a hassle to manage. Alex revamped the website, making it look better and rank higher on Google. Now, he handles everything, so we can focus on running our haunted tours without any tech worries.”
“Alex didn't just deliver a great looking website; within six months, our Google ranking jumped from 11 to 1! Thanks to that Austin City Guide transformed from a side hustle into my main business.”
“Our bookings increased by 30% in the first summer after our website was built. Working with Alex has been fantastic—He handles everything, allowing me to focus on running the campground.”
“I’m a farmer, not a tech guy. Alex set me up with a plan to reach more customers and turned my website into something that really works for the business. Sales have gone up, and I get to focus on what I’m best at—growing great garlic.”
“Alex built our entire web app, from a custom reservation system to table management and online ordering. Just the online ordering has brought in over seven figures in revenue. His work has made a huge difference in how we run things.”
“Alex built our ticket sales system, which has made handling bookings way easier for our clients. His work has been a big part of our platform’s success and has really helped us stand out.”
