đź‘‹ Hi, I'm Marios Sofokleous
I build and run secure, stable, well-documented systems: servers, networks, email, backups and websites, with respect for privacy (GDPR) and accessibility (WCAG).
Engineering background, hands-on infrastructure
I am a Computer Engineer (BSc, University of Cyprus) and a registered member of the Scientific and Technical Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK), under the branch of Electronic Engineering including Informatics Engineering. I have over 5.5 years of professional experience in agency and enterprise environments, and independently building and maintaining web systems for small businesses.
Across these roles, I have handled the full lifecycle of digital platforms: requirements, design, development, deployment, maintenance and user support. I also improved how teams worked by introducing containerized development environments, Git workflows and technical documentation that made onboarding new developers faster.
Since 2024, I have worked independently. I support long-term clients with their websites, domains and email, build new websites, and run my own self-hosted Linux server with VPN-only access, encrypted backups, monitoring and a documented recovery plan. I care most about systems that are secure, stable and easy for the next person to maintain, with respect for privacy (GDPR) and accessibility (WCAG).
Running, securing and recovering self-hosted systems, alongside client web development
I run a self-hosted Linux server, managed with Coolify, for full data sovereignty. It hosts my public website and custom apps with automatic deployments, alongside private services such as a Git server, password manager, VPN tunnel, AI chat platform, AI automation platform, task manager, and backup solution.
No web or SSH ports are open to the internet. Web traffic reaches the server through an outbound-only Cloudflare Tunnel, and private services are reachable only over the VPN, enforced by firewall rules. Admin panels and public sign-ups are disabled, and every service requires authentication.
I designed a risk-segmented email and account structure on my own domain to limit the impact of any breach. Accounts that control the domain, DNS and hosting use an independent recovery address, so a domain failure can't lock me out. Passkeys and two-factor codes are centralized in my password manager.
Layered backups go to private S3 storage, including AES-256 encrypted volume backups with Duplicati. A custom Bash script copies everything to an encrypted local drive. Healthchecks.io alerts me to both failed and missed jobs, and an offline recovery kit allows a full rebuild from backups.
I build headless websites with Next.js and Astro, using Strapi and Decap CMS, with a focus on performance, accessibility and GDPR-compliant analytics. I also develop client-side rendered React frontends as WordPress plugins, built with @wordpress/scripts, with ACF data models, embedded via shortcodes.
I publish open-source work on GitHub, including a Next.js and Strapi portfolio template with static site generation, JSON-LD and a spam-protected contact form; it also powers this website. I also published JobLister, a React-based job board plugin for WordPress that passed the official plugin review.
Tools and skills across web development, infrastructure and security
Agency, enterprise and independent work since 2018
Self-employed
Paphos, Cyprus
IronFX
Limassol, Cyprus
Webmors
Remote
Enigma Global
Paphos, Cyprus
Selected client and open-source projects
A headless architectural portfolio built with Astro and Decap CMS, with 0ms Total Blocking Time across tested pages, 93–100 Lighthouse performance scores and GDPR-compliant analytics.
Read more, about GK Architects
An open-source Next.js and Strapi portfolio template with static site generation, JSON-LD structured data and a spam-protected contact form. It powers this website and scored 98/100/100/100 on mobile PageSpeed.
Read more, about Next.js, Strapi Portfolio Starter
A React job board plugin for WordPress. It loads job data once, so search, filtering and pagination run in the browser without extra server requests. Includes an application form with reCAPTCHA.
Read more, about JobLister plugin
A landing page for a 26-villa development, with an interactive masterplan and amenity map, a custom GDPR consent manager, spam-protected enquiries and mobile PageSpeed scores above 90.
Read more, about Sentiero Luxury VillasWhat teams and stakeholders say about my work
Marios has been professional, collaborative, efficient, and honest. With strong technical knowledge and natural creativity, he helped us communicate our vision through a streamlined and attractive website.
A great professional, very hardworking and able to tackle any challenge on time. It was a great pleasure working with Marios. He is an amazing person, with top notch technical skills and experience in building beautiful highly responsive web applications. I wish we have the chance to work together in the nearest future Marios. I am sure you will thrive even more in the tech industry. Nowadays, is not so common to find professionals like you. All the best!
An expert in front-end web development with great attention to detail. We have worked together during several projects, and Marios has delivered beautiful and fully responsive UIs every time.
Having worked with Marios for almost a year as a fellow WordPress developer, I must say he instills positive energy in the team and is a true professional. What makes him stand out is his willingness to help others. I am impressed by his work ethic, communication skills and the fact that he easily adjusts to any given situation and can perform under pressure. I am glad to have worked with him!
Marios is one of the most hardworking persons I had the pleasure of working with, always willing to go above and beyond to complete a project assigned to him.
Sharing knowledge & technical insights
Build a secure Netlify serverless proxy to hide API keys from client-side code. Includes cross-domain setup and CORS handling.
Read more, about Protecting API keys in frontend apps with Netlify FunctionsDiscover how to self-host Supabase with Coolify, gain full control of your infrastructure, and migrate your project from the official platform!
Read more, about How to self-host Supabase with Coolify and migrate your project from the official Supabase platformDiscover how I created an interactive masterplan for Sentiero Luxury Villas, blending architectural visualization with web interactivity to elevate real estate exploration.
Read more, about Building an interactive masterplan for Sentiero Luxury VillasHands-on electronics, soldering and firmware configuration
Outside web work, I build custom FPV drones, which involves precision soldering, power protection, RF shielding and firmware configuration. I am an EASA A1/A3 certified pilot registered with the Cyprus Department of Civil Aviation.
Engineered a robust aerial platform optimized for carrying action-camera payloads while maintaining environmental and structural resilience.
Engineered a low-acoustic, sub-250g platform operating under spatial constraints, primarily optimized for ultra-quiet efficiency in urban environments.
How I approach security, reliability and maintenance
I use layered backups: automated copies to off-site storage, encrypted backups of important data, and a separate local copy, so no single failure can destroy everything. A backup is only useful if you know it ran, so monitoring alerts me to both failed and missed jobs. I also keep a written recovery procedure, because restoring a system under pressure is much harder without one.
Admin tools shouldn't be reachable from the public internet. On my own server, no web or SSH ports are open: public traffic arrives through an outbound-only Cloudflare Tunnel, and private services are only reachable over a VPN. I also disable public sign-ups and unused admin panels, require authentication everywhere, and use two-factor authentication or passkeys wherever they're supported.
Lockouts often come from circular dependencies, for example when the recovery email for a domain depends on that same domain. I keep the accounts that control domains, DNS, hosting and email recovery on an independent address, store passwords and two-factor codes in a password manager, and keep offline recovery codes. The same principle applies to any organization: every critical account needs a documented, working recovery path.
I connect a consent management platform to Google Consent Mode v2, so tags only use cookies after the visitor agrees. To protect performance, I load Google Tag Manager only after the first user interaction, such as a scroll or tap. On the GK Architects website, this kept Total Blocking Time at 0 ms across the tested pages.
I start with as little JavaScript as possible, using static generation with Astro or Next.js where it fits, and optimize images and fonts at build time. I also think about the people who maintain the site: validated CMS fields for editors, version control for code, and documentation so the next developer isn't left guessing. When a client's budget or existing setup calls for WordPress, I work within it rather than forcing a rebuild.
I'm looking for a stable role in IT support, systems and infrastructure or web development, and I'm open to selected freelance projects. Send me a message, or email or call me directly.
I'm open to roles in IT support, systems and infrastructure, and web development, as well as selected freelance projects. Based in Paphos and happy to work in Paphos or Limassol.