About

Hi, I’m Michael, a web developer (and EV enthusiast). I have been building and hosting websites and web apps for over a decade now. I reside and work in the beautiful Napa Valley.

Gotta Start Somewhere

I’ve been interested in computers, technology, and fixing stuff since I was just a little boy. Sometime in high school, I wanted to try combining my passion for technology with another thing i enjoy – writing. So, I started a site reviewing computer hardware. That’s when I touched WordPress for the first time!

And, of course, websites need hosting, so I purchased some cheap web hosting. Eventually, the traffic to my website increased, and I outgrew that hosting plan. I learned the difference between shared hosting, virtual servers, and dedicated servers.

I found managing such servers fun, so I took it a step further, and started reselling hosting services. Unfortunately, without a clear business plan, no experience managing something as complex as a hosting company, and trying to juggle business and school, and then that business a job, it didn’t work out.

A Different Route

For a while, I pursued a different career: retail management, at one of the largest auto parts chains in the US. While it had no relation to web development or web hosting, I learned a lot. I learned about profit and loss, generally managing a business, and most important of all – how to resolve customers issues in a mutually beneficial way.

But, I never truly felt at home there, and in my time off, I kept an eye on the website world. I had retained a few local clients, and in the process of maintaining their sites as well as some projects of my own, I stayed up to date with the industry.

Consolidation Frustration

Web hosting used to be a fun industry full of small and medium sized companies innovating to make the internet a better place. Now? The biggest shared hosting provider has about 35% of the market and the second biggest has about 25%. That’s crazy.

Anyway, a couple years ago, a friend and I were lamenting about how horrible small business customers had it at some of these big brands. Issues like overloaded servers, incompetent outsourced support, and misleading pricing practices basically rule the industry, and so we decided to do something about it.

Customers First

We launched a company focused on the customer, with local values, straightforward pricing, and a friendly helping hand from someone who actually knew what they were talking about when you needed guidance.

As lead web developer, I built and launched the company website, integrated the billing system, and handled almost all the website client work, from consultation to completion. I got the opportunity to work with some awesome local clients. But, some life changes later, I made the decision that it was time to go back into business for myself, and do things my own way.

And so, in 2025, Wag Websites was born. It’s a combination of everything I’ve learned, and my many years of experience, with one goal: to deliver affordable, quality website solutions to the small businesses that need it the most.

And Cars

Yep, I’m not just into computers and websites, but also into cars. And what better combination of computers and cars, than an EV? While I still have a soft spot in my heart for some of the fun older vehicles I’ve owned and the memories I created with them, from retired cop car Crown Vics to lifted Suburbans to a diesel F-550 bucket truck, I don’t think I would ever want to trade my Tesla in for an internal combustion car again.

In the meantime, if enough people buy a website from me, maybe I can upgrade from a Model 3 to a Cybertruck? If you don’t want a website right now, that’s fine… can you at least use my Tesla referral link to schedule a test drive and experience the magic of Full Self-Driving so I can get a few bucks of Tesla account credit? PS: If you do order a car through my referral link, you’ll get three free months of FSD!