# Michael Michalak

> Backend Developer, Fractional CTO and AI Consultant. Backend developer and Fractional CTO with 13+ years of experience in Drupal architecture, Drupal Commerce, and AI agent development.

Experienced Drupal consultant and Fractional CTO with over 13 years of expertise in backend development, optimization, and securing Drupal applications, specializing in custom module development, migrations, and enterprise integrations across various industries.

Full Markdown text of every page on this site is available two ways: send
`Accept: text/markdown` when requesting any page, or append `index.md` to its
URL, for example `https://michalak.world/about/index.md`. Both return the same
document. The complete site text in one file is at
`https://michalak.world/llms-full.txt`.

## Areas of expertise

- Drupal
- Drupal Commerce
- Drupal module development
- Drupal migrations
- Backend development
- PHP
- LAMP stack architecture
- REST API development
- Web performance optimization
- Web application security
- AI agents
- LangChain
- CrewAI
- Fractional CTO services
- Technology strategy
- DevOps
- Shopify
- Hugo

## Key pages

- [About](https://michalak.world/about/): Michael Michalak is a backend developer, Fractional CTO, and AI consultant with 13+ years of experience in Drupal architecture, Drupal Commerce, and AI agent development.
- [Resume](https://michalak.world/resume/): Michael Michalak's resume: 13+ years across AI agent development, Fractional CTO work, and Drupal backend and commerce development, with a BS in Computer Engineering from Purdue University.
- [Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/): Services and areas of expertise: Drupal backend development, Drupal Commerce, fractional CTO leadership, AI agent development, hosting and DevOps.
- [Blog](https://michalak.world/posts/): Technical articles on Drupal backend development, Drupal Commerce, AI agents, and technology leadership by Michael Michalak.
- [Contact](https://michalak.world/contact/): Contact Michael Michalak for Drupal backend development, Drupal Commerce, Fractional CTO, or AI agent consulting work.
- [API](https://michalak.world/api/): Every page on michalak.world is published as JSON, Markdown, and plain text over anonymous HTTP GETs, described by an OpenAPI 3.1 document and listed in an RFC 9727 API catalog.

## Services

- [AI Agent Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/ai-agent-experience/): AI agent development and LLM consulting: autonomous agent orchestration with LangChain and CrewAI, Python LLM workflows, observability with Langfuse, and vector database integration.
- [Drupal 10 Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/drupal-10-experience/): Drupal 10 development experience: Drupal 8 and 9 upgrades, custom REST APIs and modules, Drupal Commerce 2.x workflows, GDPR compliance, Apache Solr search, and Pantheon and Acquia hosting.
- [Drupal 7 Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/drupal-7-experience/): Drupal 7 development experience: custom modules and rules, multilingual builds with Transifex, Commerce 1.x and Ubercart, Avalara VAT and sales tax, security remediation, and server optimization.
- [Drupal 8 Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/drupal-8-experience/): Drupal 8 development experience: Drupal 7 migrations, custom modules and REST APIs, Drupal Commerce 2.x carts and checkout, multi-currency and tax handling, and hosting on Pantheon and Acquia.
- [Drupal 9 Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/drupal-9-experience/): Drupal 9 development experience: Drupal 7 and 8 upgrades, custom module and REST API development, Drupal Commerce 2.x workflows, performance tuning, and hosting on Pantheon and Acquia.
- [Drupal Commerce Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/drupal-commerce-experience/): Drupal Commerce experience across Commerce 1.x and 2.x: custom tax resolvers, promotions, multi-currency with GEOIP detection, EasyPost and FedEx shipping, Stripe and Braintree payment gateways, and PDF invoicing.
- [Drupal Healthcare Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/drupal-health-care-experience/): Drupal healthcare project experience: healthcare enrollment and application forms, city clinic information platforms with SMS reminders, and accreditation platforms with scoring and Commerce-based fees.
- [Drupal: Higher Education - University Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/drupal-higher-education---university-experience/): Drupal higher education experience: university bookstore Commerce projects, news platforms, department multisites with custom Pantheon upstreams, Drupal 7 to 8 migrations, and custom learning platforms.
- [Fractional CTO](https://michalak.world/experience/fractional-cto/): Fractional CTO services for startups and small to medium businesses. Senior technology leadership, architecture planning, and technical strategy on a part-time basis.
- [Hosting Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/hosting-experience/): Hosting and DevOps experience across Pantheon, Acquia, AWS, Digital Ocean, Linode, Rackspace, and shared hosts, covering managed Drupal platforms and self-managed cloud infrastructure.
- [Shopify Experience](https://michalak.world/experience/shopify-experience/): Shopify development experience: building apps and app extensions in Node.js, working with the GraphQL, Admin REST, and Storefront APIs, and migrating Drupal Commerce stores to Shopify.

## Articles

- [How to Make Your Website AI-Friendly (What Actually Works in 2026)](https://michalak.world/posts/how-to-make-your-website-ai-friendly/) (2026-08-17): Making a site AI-ready comes down to four things that are actually enforced: let AI crawlers through at the network edge, name them in robots.txt, describe yourself as a resolvable entity in Schema.org JSON-LD, and keep your sitemap and modification dates honest. Most other AI SEO advice is unmeasurable.
- [Behind the Scenes of the GEN Platform Update: Making Engagement Seamless](https://michalak.world/posts/behind-the-scenes-of-the-gen-platform-update/) (2026-02-12): Behind the Scenes of the GEN Platform Update: Making Engagement Seamless
- [Freelancers vs. Agencies: The Quiet Advantage in the Age of AI Coding](https://michalak.world/posts/freelancers-vs-agencies-the-quite-advantage-in-the-age-of-ai-coding/) (2025-05-06): Why a skilled freelancer often outperforms an agency in the age of AI coding: direct communication, faster pivots, no overhead layers, and retained context on your codebase.
- [AI Coding vs. Offshore Outsourcing: Are We Repeating the Same Mistake?](https://michalak.world/posts/ai-coding-vs-offshore-outsourcing-are-we-repeating-the-same-mistake/) (2025-05-05): AI Coding vs. Offshore Outsourcing: Are We Repeating the Same Mistake?
- [Reviewing and Debugging AI-Generated Code & Vibe Coding Projects](https://michalak.world/posts/reviewing-and-debugging-ai-generated-code-and-vibe-coding-projects/) (2025-05-04): 13+ Years as a Developer Consultant: Reviewing and Debugging AI-Generated Code & Vibe Coding Projects.
- [13+ Years as a Drupal Developer Consultant: Jumping Into Projects and Driving Real Results](https://michalak.world/posts/13-plus-as-a-drupal-developer-consultant/) (2025-05-01): 13+ Years as a Drupal Developer Consultant: Jumping Into Projects and Driving Real Results.
- [Best CMS of 2025: A Comparison for Modern Websites](https://michalak.world/posts/best-cms-for-2025/) (2025-04-30): Best content management systems for 2025.  A comparison between: Framer, Drupal, Webflow, Wordpress and Hugo.
- [Webflow and Framer: The Vendor Lock-In Dilemma](https://michalak.world/posts/webflow-and-framer-the-vendor-lock-in-dilemma/) (2025-04-29): Webflow and Framer: The Vendor Lock-In Dilemma and limitations.
- [Is Vibecoding Safe? Understanding the Risks of No-Code and Visual Development](https://michalak.world/posts/is-vibecoding-safe-understanding-the-risks-of-no-code-and-visual-development/) (2025-04-29): Webflow and Framer: The Vendor Lock-In Dilemma and limitations.
- [Fractional CTO: The Strategic Bonus of Hiring an Expert Freelance Drupal Developer](https://michalak.world/posts/fractional-cto-the-strategic-bonus-of-hiring-an-expert-freelance-drupal-developer/) (2025-04-12): An experienced freelance Drupal developer often doubles as a Fractional CTO, providing tech roadmaps, vendor vetting, scalable architecture planning, and team leadership alongside the code.
- [How a Freelance Drupal Developer Improves Security and Site Health](https://michalak.world/posts/how-a-freelance-drupal-developer-improves-security-and-site-health/) (2025-04-10): How a freelance Drupal developer improves security and site health through security audits, proactive patching, hardening, and performance optimization, cutting incidents roughly 70%.
- [Why Hosting and DevOps Skills Matter in Your Freelance Drupal Developer](https://michalak.world/posts/why-hosting-and-devops-skills-matter-in-your-freelance-drupal-developer/) (2025-04-08): Why Hosting and DevOps Skills Matter in Your Freelance Drupal Developer.
- [Beyond Content Types: What Real Drupal Backend Expertise Looks Like](https://michalak.world/posts/beyond-content-types-what-real-drupal-backend-expertise-looks-like/) (2025-04-06): Beyond Content Types: What Real Drupal Backend Expertise Looks Like.
- [The Hidden ROI of a Fractional CTO](https://michalak.world/posts/the-hidden-roi-of-a-fractional-cto/) (2025-04-05): A great Fractional CTO delivers senior-level leadership, scalable architecture, and immediate value — without the six-figure salary and equity package.
- [Why Hiring a Freelance Drupal Developer Could Save Your Business 60%](https://michalak.world/posts/why-hiring-a-freelance-drupal-developer-could-save-your-business-60/) (2025-04-04): Hiring a freelance Drupal developer instead of a full-time hire typically saves 30-60% while giving you senior-level expertise on demand, reducing technical debt and security incidents.
- [The Hidden ROI of a Freelance Drupal Developer](https://michalak.world/posts/the-hidden-roi-of-a-freelance-drupal-developer/) (2025-04-01): Freelance Drupal developers bring deep expertise, flexible engagement, and long-term ROI — especially when you need to move fast, stay secure, and keep costs predictable.
- [Drupal Form API States](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-form-api-states/) (2024-10-16): Drupal 9 Patch htaccess with Composer
- [Shopify Admin REST API Checkout Object PUT Request](https://michalak.world/posts/shopify-admin-rest-api-checkout-object-put-request/) (2023-10-26): Shopify Draft Order Metafields
- [Drupal 9 Patch htaccess with Composer](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-9-patch-htaccess-with-composer/) (2023-09-21): Drupal 9 Patch htaccess with Composer
- [Update UUID in a Drupal Configuration](https://michalak.world/posts/update-uuid-in-a-drupal-configuration/) (2023-08-03): Update UUID in a Drupal Configuration
- [Shopify Draft Order Metafields](https://michalak.world/posts/shopify-draft-order-metafields/) (2023-08-03): Shopify Draft Order Metafields
- [Drupal 8 - Sending Faxes with Twilio](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-sending-faxes-with-twilio/) (2020-12-06): Drupal 8 - Sending Faxes with Twilio
- [iPhone Screen Sizes and Media Queries ](https://michalak.world/posts/iphone-screen-sizes-and-media-queries/) (2019-09-29): When styling mobile-friendly pages I have run into issues between the different iPhone X versions.  Also included: iPhone 7 and 8.
- [PDF Generation in Drupal](https://michalak.world/posts/pdf-generation-in-drupal/) (2019-08-21): Cloning a Pantheon Project
- [Cloning a Pantheon Project](https://michalak.world/posts/pantheon-cloning-a-project/) (2019-08-08): Cloning a Pantheon Project
- [Compromised Drupal 7 Website Recovery Review](https://michalak.world/posts/compromised-drupal-7-website-recovery-review/) (2019-08-01): Help recover a website that might have been exploited by hackers
- [Drupal 8 Commerce Tax Resolvers](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-commerce-tax-resolvers/) (2019-07-31): Drupal Commerce Tax Resolvers
- [Drupal 8 Commerce Promotions - Buy X or more of the same product and get % off that order item](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-commerce-promotions/) (2019-07-31): Drupal Commerce Promtions
- [Drupal 8 - Longer Titles - Entity Title Length/Node Title Length](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-longer-titles/) (2019-07-11): Longer Titles
- [Drupal 8 Configuration Synchronization](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-configuration-synchronization/) (2019-05-29): Drupal 8 Configuration Synchronization
- [Drupal 8 Commerce Tax for VAT and Sales Tax](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-commerce-tax-for-vat-sales-tax/) (2019-05-10): Commerce Tax for VAT and Sales Tax
- [Drupal 8 Commerce - Setting a Default Currency on Product Variations](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-commerce-setting-a-default-currency-product-variations/) (2019-05-08): Setting a Default Currency on Product Variation
- [Drupal: Pantheon Cookies](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-pantheon-cookies/) (2019-05-03): Drupal 8 Performance Tuning
- [Drupal Commerce Multi-currency](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-commerce-multi-currency/) (2019-04-19): Cloning a Pantheon Project
- [Drupal 8 Performance Tuning](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-performance-tuning/) (2019-04-17): Drupal 8 Performance Tuning
- [Exchange Rates API](https://michalak.world/posts/exchange-rates-api/) (2019-04-12): Post about an exchange rates API
- [Drupal and Cloudflare](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-and-cloudflare/) (2019-04-04): Post about Drupal and Cloudflare
- [Drupal 8 - Update Routes](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-update-routes/) (2019-04-01): Update routes with Drush
- [Drupal 8 Performance - Commerce REST API](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-performance-commerce-rest-api/) (2019-03-24): Drupal 8 Performance on a commerce REST API
- [Drupal 7 - Image Styles Not Regenerating](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-7-image-styles-not-regenerating/) (2019-03-22): How to apply and manage patches with composer
- [Drupal 8: Form API Autocomplete Filtering By Role](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-form-api-autocomplete-filtering-by-role/) (2019-03-14): Form API Autocomplete Filtering By Role
- [Drupal 8: Form API - Weight Fields](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-form-api-weighted-fields/) (2019-03-14): Custom weights on Form API Fields
- [Drupal 8: Applying Patches with Composer](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-applying-patches-with-composer/) (2019-03-14): How to apply and manage patches with composer
- [Video Update! Drupal Backend and Commerce Development](https://michalak.world/posts/video-update-drupal-backend-and-commerce-development/) (2019-03-02): Video Update, Drupal Backend and Commerce Development
- [Google Chrome Ignoring Autocomplete](https://michalak.world/posts/google-chrome-ignoring-autocomplete/) (2019-02-02): Google Chrome Ignoring Autocomplete
- [Drupal Vs WordPress](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-vs-wordpress/) (2019-02-01): A comparison between Drupal and Wordpress
- [Drupal 8 Commerce 2.x Order Messages](https://michalak.world/posts/drupal-8-commerce-2x-order-messages/) (2019-02-01): A comparison between Drupal and Wordpress
- [3 Reasons Drupal Development & Management Is Valuable](https://michalak.world/posts/3-reasons-drupal-development-and-management-is-valuable/) (2019-02-01): Drupal Development and Management

## Elsewhere

- Github: https://github.com/mikemichalak
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmichalak