Designer. Builder.

Gerasimos Tsiamalos

I design and build for the web. I've been doing it for 25 years.

Gerasimos Tsiamalos

I'm the co-founder and designer at CSSIgniter, where we built WordPress themes and plugins used on thousands of sites, and at TrulyFinePixels, where I design Shopify themes. Between the two, our work powers more than 150,000 websites.

I'm also building Widgetizer, a visual static website builder for people who just want a solid, good-looking site without fighting the tools.

I care about the open web. I care about open source. Mostly, I care about building things that respect the people using them.

I love ecommerce. I love seeing a small shop get its first sale and knowing the theme didn't get in the way. And I think a lot about the people behind the screen. The store owner staying up late trying to get things right. The developer who just wants things to work without jumping through ten layers of configuration.

I don't have much patience for overengineering. I like simple tools that do what they promise and keep doing it for years. That mindset is probably the only reason I'm still around after 25 years.

Background

I started my career in 2000 at an agency in Nottingham, UK, working with brands like the Department of Education, Lotus Cars, L'Oréal, and the BBC.

By 2003 I knew I wanted to build something of my own, so I moved back to Greece. I spent seven years freelancing, designing websites, slicing PSDs into HTML and CSS, and learning first-hand that not every client pays on time.

Then WordPress came into my life. That introduction came from someone I never met and never got to thank. It led to CSSIgniter, and eventually to a business built around themes, products, and the communities that grow around open source.

Years later Shopify pulled me into ecommerce, and it opened up a whole new world. Helping merchants build their stores, obsessing over conversion details, watching a well-crafted theme turn into someone's livelihood. I'm still deep in it and loving every bit.

All of that eventually led me to Widgetizer, a visual static website builder I've been working on for a while now. It comes from the same instinct: give small businesses a beautiful site without burying them in complexity.

Speaking & Workshops

If you build on top of platforms like WordPress and Shopify, you give back. At least that's how I see it.

For me, that usually means getting on stage.

Selected talks and workshops:

  • WordCamp Greece, Thessaloniki (2010): Using WordPress as a CMS
  • WordCamp Greece, Thessaloniki (2011): Pros and cons of WordPress frameworks
  • UpNorth Conference, Thessaloniki (2012): Curator & organizer
  • JoomlaDay Greece, Athens (2013): Web Typography
  • Digitized, Athens (2013): Workshop, Building a WordPress theme
  • The Cube, Athens (2014): The premium WordPress themes market
  • WordPress GR Community, Athens (2014): Building & selling themes
  • UpNorth Conference, Athens (2014): Curator & organizer
  • Found.ation Workshop, Athens (2015): Choosing an e-commerce theme
  • UNCONF, The Cube, Athens (2015): Curator & organizer
  • WordPress GR Community, Athens (2016): Running a themes business
  • WordCamp Athens (2016): UX for theme & plugin developers
  • WordPress GR Community, Larisa (2016): Theming workshop
  • WordCamp Athens (2016): Dashboard UX tips
  • Design Athens, Athens (2018): WordPress workshop
  • Vakalo Art & Design College, Athens (2018): WordPress workshop
  • WordCamp Thessaloniki (2018): Gutenberg and the next 15 years
  • WordPress GR Community, Larisa (2018): Gutenberg
  • V as in Metaverse (2022): Keeping up with Web3 without losing your mind
  • Athens Shopify Meetup (2025): 1st Athens Shopify meetup

Beyond Work

When I'm not designing, I'm usually messing with old hardware.

At 18 I helped rebuild a BMW R25 motorcycle. Ten months of work for one ride I'll never forget. That was probably the moment I got hooked on fixing things that shouldn't work anymore.

That turned into a collection of vintage computers and consoles. Amigas, Spectrums, old Macs, cartridge-based systems. I like the constraints. You had almost nothing to work with, so you had to think.

These days I also spend time with Raspberry Pis and small boards. There's something satisfying about a full system on something the size of a credit card. I use them for experiments, small servers, and random ideas that don't need a business plan.

Myst is still my favorite game. No combat, no noise, just a world that expects you to pay attention and figure things out. That probably says everything about how I approach design.

If any of this sounds familiar, or you just want to talk shop, find me online: