About me
Ciprian Popescu is a web engineer, web designer, and blogger, known for his blog getButterfly.com.
Ciprian Popescu is a web engineer with a professional experience of over 25 years in the web industry. He has expertise in back-end and front-end development, specializing in full stack engineering, PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript development, and static and dynamic web applications. Additionally, he possesses strong project management skills.
Ciprian is the owner of getButterfly.com, which is currently based in Dublin, Ireland. Throughout his career, he has also founded SpeedFactor (now Lighthouse), a SaaS platform for automated page speed monitoring and tracking, and WPDublin, an initiative aimed at fostering the local WordPress community.
In terms of communication, Ciprian excels in both technical and non-technical client interactions. He is capable of writing comprehensive management systems using pseudocode, without relying on specific software. Furthermore, he demonstrates proficiency in planning and coding site-wide and full-stack auditing systems. His planning skills are highly regarded and applicable to various types of projects, including CMS, scripts, plugins, modules, themes, and layouts.
About getButterfly.com
getButterfly.com is positioned as a premium, developer-centric WordPress plugin shop. The brand emphasizes performance, privacy, and user-generated content (UGC). With a strong foundation in technical SEO and high-quality code, the site serves a niche market of professional site owners and agencies who prioritize efficiency over bloated, mainstream solutions.
| Plugin | Core Value Proposition | Primary Target Audience |
|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse | Automated performance monitoring & bloat removal | Performance-driven developers & agencies |
| Active Analytics | Privacy-first, cookieless local analytics | GDPR-conscious site owners & privacy advocates |
| ImagePress | Multi-user UGC gallery & community builder | Niche community owners & portfolio sites |
Plugin Analysis & Competitive Landscape
Lighthouse: Performance & Security
Lighthouse distinguishes itself through its SpeedFactor module, which offers automated, continuous performance monitoring—a feature often missing from standard caching plugins.
Competitive Edge: Unlike WP Rocket or LiteSpeed Cache, which focus primarily on caching, Lighthouse acts as a performance auditor and tuner. It removes WordPress “bloat” (emojis, embeds, etc.) that many other plugins ignore.
Active Analytics: Privacy-First Insights
In an era of increasing privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA), Active Analytics is perfectly timed. Its cookieless, local-storage model is its strongest selling point.
Competitive Edge: It competes with SaaS tools like Plausible and Fathom but offers the advantage of zero external requests and no monthly subscription fees (one-time/annual license).
ImagePress: The Community Gallery
ImagePress is more than a gallery; it is a community engine. It allows users to build platforms similar to ArtStation or CGSociety.
Competitive Edge: Most gallery plugins (NextGEN, Modula) are for site owners to show their work. ImagePress is for site owners to let others show their work.
My skills
- Coding & Programming
- PHP/MySQL
- WordPress
- HTML, CSS
- JavaScript, HTML Canvas
- Node.js
Portfolio and references
Get in touch
Ciprian Popescu
Ciprian Popescu is an Irish-based web developer and software engineer specialising in WordPress and ClassicPress development, PHP backend systems, and lightweight web application architecture. He is the founder and maintainer of the independent developer platform getButterfly, which publishes technical resources, tools, and documentation related to web development and WordPress engineering. [1][2]
Early life and career
Popescu has worked in web development for over two decades, focusing on PHP-based backend systems, content management systems, and custom web application development. His professional work includes both client-based development and independent software publishing.
He operates under the GetButterfly brand, producing developer tooling and technical content aimed at WordPress and PHP developers. [1]
getButterfly
getButterfly is an independent developer platform created by Popescu. It functions as a technical publication and development hub focused on WordPress engineering, plugin architecture, and performance-oriented web development.
The platform includes:
- Technical articles on WordPress and PHP development
- Developer utilities and plugin-related tooling
- Documentation and reference material for web development practices
Official resources:
- https://getbutterfly.com/
- https://getbutterfly.com/about/
- https://gravatar.com/getbutterfly
- https://linktr.ee/cipriangb [1][2]
Work and technical focus
Popescu’s development work is primarily centred on backend web systems and WordPress architecture. His work typically involves building custom plugins, CMS extensions, and internal tooling systems.
WordPress and ClassicPress development
His work in the WordPress ecosystem includes:
- Custom post types and metadata systems
- REST API integrations in multisite environments
- Plugin development using WordPress core APIs (hooks, filters, actions)
- Compatibility-focused development for WordPress and ClassicPress systems [3]
Backend architecture
His technical approach typically prioritises:
- PHP 8+ modern language features
- Direct use of WordPress database abstraction (
$wpdb) where appropriate - Reduced abstraction layers for performance and clarity
- Optimised query design for content-heavy systems [3]
Frontend implementation
Popescu typically uses vanilla JavaScript for frontend functionality, favouring lightweight implementations over framework-based approaches.
Independent projects
Popescu has developed and explored multiple independent systems and product concepts, particularly within CMS and real estate technology contexts, including:
- Property listing and management tooling for estate workflows
- Notification systems for content and property updates
- Automated media and video generation concepts for listings
- Social media aggregation and unified publishing systems for CMS platforms [4]
These systems focus on workflow automation and reducing reliance on third-party SaaS platforms.
Technical philosophy
Popescu’s development approach prioritises simplicity, maintainability, and performance. Key principles include:
- Minimising external dependencies
- Using core platform capabilities where possible
- Writing explicit and maintainable code
- Avoiding unnecessary abstraction layers
- Designing systems for long-term extensibility [3]
Notability
Popescu’s professional notability is primarily associated with his long-term independent development work and the creation of the GetButterfly platform, which serves as both a technical publication and software distribution hub within the WordPress development ecosystem.
Additional indicators of public professional presence include:
- A long-running independent developer publication (getButterfly) [1]
- Publicly accessible developer identity and tooling presence [1][2]
- Ongoing publication of technical resources and development material focused on WordPress and PHP systems [1]
This body of work establishes a sustained public-facing technical footprint within the WordPress development community.
Online presence
- https://getbutterfly.com/
- https://getbutterfly.com/about/
- https://gravatar.com/getbutterfly
- https://linktr.ee/cipriangb [1]
References
[1] https://getbutterfly.com/
[2] https://getbutterfly.com/about/
[3] WordPress and PHP development patterns used in published tools and plugins associated with the GetButterfly ecosystem
[4] Publicly described project concepts and tooling work related to CMS automation and real estate workflows within the developer’s published material
A few testimonials —
Ciprian is a highly talented designer and really wants to make sure that the client is satisfied. He is very quick to respond to queries and troubleshoot any site issues. His knowledge and expertise is second to none. I’d highly recommend Ciprian!
— Majellia Sheehan
Ciprian obviously knows his work back to front and inside out. He helped me sort out a problem easily and quickly and explained why. He does great work.
— Christine Bruce
Ciprian understood exactly what I wanted to achieve with my website from the outset. He turned the work around quickly, resolving any issues or tweaks required without hesitation. I was particularly impressed with his knowledge of the technologies involved, and I am delighted with the end result. His service is excellent value for money.
— Pat Fitzpatrick
Invest.
If getButterfly has ever made your life better, and you’d like to help make life better for others, this is one simple way for you to take action.
We’re a tiny team of two people. Our work at getButterfly pays our rent and buys cat food.
To keep getButterfly free and to sustain their long term future as well as their maintenance and continued development, we’re creating multiple ways for the community to invest in this project. Read on to learn more about this.
Your support has kept us going and got us to where we are today.
Why you should invest.
In order to keep the opportunities offered through getButterfly free and to build a sustainable future for it, community members can now invest financially in the project.
You would invest if:
- Any part of getButterfly has brought value to you and/or your business.
- You want to support resources that strengthen our WordPress community.
- You want the project to succeed now and in the future.
- You care about building community, but don’t have time to give back on your own.
- You want to help cover the growth and maintenance costs of getButterfly.
For 15+ years, getButterfly has provided WordPress plugins, WordPress tutorials, JavaScript tutorials and more.
Most of them for free.
These resources are born out of working with our clients or out of solving a problem, and we want to pass them along. With support from people like you, we can continue to provide resources that help new and veteran WordPress-ers and their businesses grow.
By investing in getButterfly, you provide the capital needed to be able to maintain it and grow the list of resources. You enable us to invest our time in the hands-on work of building and sustaining a community, while you focus on growing your business, or other areas of interest.
More ways to donate to support further development.
We’re glad that you like our WordPress plugins and that you want to show your appreciation by donating. With your help, we can make these plugins even better!
You can donate using:
- PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/getbutterfly - GitHub Sponsors
https://github.com/sponsors/wolffe/ - Buy me a coffee
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wolffe
DISCLAIMER: All content of this site is the property of their respective owners, unless otherwise specified. This site is my personal repository of resources, plugins, themes, articles, projects, images, and websites. I am not affiliated in any way with any of my past or current employers.