Based in South Africa

Werner van der Merwe

Building useful apps that solve real problems. From civil engineering to code — turning ideas into production-ready software.

About

From Blueprints to Code

I started as a civil engineering technician, working five years in construction before finishing my studies. I loved the engineering problem-solving, but not the rigid site conditions. Software gave me that same logical challenge — with the freedom to work from anywhere.

Today, I work as a fullstack developer at a leading South African retail courier company, building the business applications that keep operations running smoothly.

On the side, I'm building apps that help people — starting with tools I wish existed. Every project is an opportunity to learn, ship, and make a difference.

Civil Engineering Background
SA Retail Courier Company
Building Side Projects
Projects

What I'm Building

Three projects, all live. Ecom Core and the tutoring site are early releases, not finished products.

Live

Budget App

Track income, expenses, and savings goals with complete privacy

A straightforward budgeting app that lets you log expenses quickly, see where your money goes, and stay on top of your budget — without the bloat. Built for real people who just want to manage their money better.

VueNuxtSupabaseTailwindCSS +1
Live demo

Ecom Core

One store codebase, reused for every client shop

Ecom Core is one reference store, built once. Each client gets a thin repo that pulls Core in as a Nuxt layer, pinned to a release tag, and overrides files in its own repo rather than editing Core directly.

Built on Core: GDE Leather (soon)

NuxtNuxt UIPrismaPostgreSQL +4
Live · pre-v1

Tutoring site

Work in progress. Tutoring videos for extra classes and practice

This is a work in progress. Learners and tutors share and watch tutoring videos for extra classes and extra practice. Content is organised by phase, grade, subject, topic and subtopic. The first real lessons are in Grade 10 and Grade 11 Life Sciences. There are separate accounts for students, guardians, tutors and schools.

NuxtNuxt UIPrismaPostgreSQL +4

More projects coming soon. Follow along on GitHub.

Tech Stack

Tools of the Trade

The technologies I use daily to build reliable, scalable applications.

Frontend

Vue.js
Nuxt
Angular
Bootstrap
TailwindCSS

Backend

Java EE
JPA/Hibernate
Apache POI
Node.js
PostgreSQL
MSSQL

Platform

Supabase
Prisma
Cloudflare
Linux
Windows

Dev Tools

IntelliJ IDEA
VS Code
DBeaver
SourceTree
Postman
Contact

Let's Connect

Have a project idea, question, or just want to say hi? I'd love to hear from you.

Find me on

Open to Opportunities

Interested in freelance projects in the future. Currently focused on side projects and full-time work.