About // Matthew Gardner
Hi, I'm Matthew. When you hire WebDesign101, you work directly with me.
I started WebDesign101 because small businesses usually get a raw deal when they hire tech help.
Hire a big agency and you talk to a salesperson, get handed to a project manager, and your site gets pieced together by whoever has free hours that week. Hire a cheap template shop and you get a slow site full of fragile plugins — and when something breaks, or the office network goes down, nobody takes ownership.
I run WebDesign101 as a one-person shop in Southern California. When you email me, you're talking to the person who designs your pages, writes your plugins, manages the servers your site runs on and troubleshoots your network.
I genuinely enjoy how systems fit together — a custom order form for a bakery, a Next.js and n8n data pipeline for a real estate agent, a Meraki network for a medical office. The goal is always the same: build it properly so you can get back to running your business.
- Owner
- Matthew Gardner
- Based
- Southern California — Inland Empire, Orange County & remote
- Web stack
- WordPress, Divi, Next.js, Prisma, MySQL, PHP
- Infra & IT
- HostPanel, Linux, Proxmox, Cisco Meraki, Microsoft 365, Active Directory, n8n
- Certified
- CompTIA A+ (lifetime), Network+ & Security+ (CE, valid through 2029) · CSIS & CIOS stackable — verification on request
- Medical clients
- HIPAA BAA available
- mgardner@webdesign101.us
Why one person works
The typical agency runaround vs. working directly with me
Typical agency / template shop
- Sold by a salesperson, handed to junior staff or subcontractors.
- Resold shared hosting — support means someone else's ticket queue.
- Stuck with off-the-shelf plugins; if one can't do it, you're out of luck.
- The web designer blames IT, IT blames the host.
- Security is "someone else's job" — until something happens.
WebDesign101
- One person, start to finish. You talk directly to the builder.
- Hosted on HostPanel, a platform I built and look after.
- Custom code when you need it — plugins, Next.js apps, n8n automations.
- Web, hosting, IT, security and automation under one roof. One person takes responsibility.
- CompTIA A+, Network+ & Security+ certified — security isn't an afterthought.
Ownership & continuity
You own everything. No lock-in, ever.
Working with one person shouldn't mean depending on one person. Here's how I make sure you're never stuck.
You own it
Your domain, your Microsoft 365 or Google account, your admin logins and your website code belong to you from day one.
Standard, portable tech
Sites are standard WordPress or Next.js on standard servers. You can move to any host at any time.
Documented
Networks, accounts and systems are documented as I go, so another technician could pick up where I left off.
Clean hand-over
If we ever part ways, you get the documentation and credentials — no hostage situations.
Credentials
CompTIA certified — A+, Network+ & Security+
Industry-standard certifications covering hardware and support, networking and cybersecurity, plus the two CompTIA stackable specialist certifications they earn. Verification available on request.
The lab // Proxmox & infrastructure
Built on real infrastructure, backed by constant practice.
I run my own Proxmox virtualization lab to test new setups, self-hosted AI models and automation pipelines before they go anywhere near a client. That hands-on habit is how HostPanel, SupportPress and Anvil came to exist. Every firewall rule, backup and automation is proven in that lab before it touches a client network.
Local roots, remote reach
Based in Southern California. Available wherever you do business.
I work on site across Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties — especially for IT and networking — and support web, hosting, security and automation clients remotely anywhere.