About Jason Heien
Meet Jason Heien: Navy Veteran, Detroit WordPress Developer and the guy Who Answers Your Call
U.S. Navy Veteran
Fire Controlman 2nd Class, Persian Gulf War era
Designing and building for the web
Built, managed or maintained
National and World Champion
Styled Mustache, Natural Beard
Level 9, 81 million+ photo views
From a Navy Weapons System to WordPress
I was born and raised in Farmington, Michigan. As a high school senior, I spent six months as an exchange student on a 50-acre dairy farm in Denmark. My host family barely spoke English, so I had to learn Danish fast. Within three months I was thinking and dreaming in Danish. Farm chores started before school. It gave me a deep respect for hard, year-round work, and it taught my brain to solve problems in more than one language. I still use that skill every day. PHP, CSS, and JavaScript are just more languages.
After graduating, I joined the U.S. Navy as a Fire Controlman. I trained at Great Lakes and worked on the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), a radar-guided defense system where “close enough” doesn’t cut it. I became a Work Center Supervisor, read schematics and ladder logic, and learned to lead under pressure. I also ran my first side hustle on the ship: cutting hair. I made enough doing it that I barely touched my paycheck in port. That was the start of my entrepreneurial streak.
How MindChip Industries Started
Back home in Metro Detroit, I worked in electronics and engineering by day and designed flyers, album art, and websites for local bands by night. That portfolio grew into MindChip Industries, founded in the late ’90s because I was disappointed by the web and graphic design I saw around Detroit. I knew local businesses deserved better.
In 2010 I was an elite Flash developer. Then Steve Jobs announced the iPhone wouldn’t support Flash. I tested HTML, Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress, and WordPress won. I took themes apart, learned PHP, and haven’t stopped building since. Today there hasn’t been a single WordPress request I couldn’t deliver.
Where I've Built Websites (and What I Brought Home)
Before working with you, I sharpened my skills inside some of Michigan’s best-known companies and agencies. Every one of them made MindChip better
Cars Commerce (DealerInspire)
Team Leader and Production Front-End Developer. Maintained 600+ websites from car dealerships and law firms to pizza franchises, local news, and The Skydeck in Chicago. Served on the Kubernetes team.
WorkWave
Lead Developer. Built a four-in-one custom WordPress theme with built-in automation that saved at least five development hours per site, managed 170+ client sites, and raised PageSpeed scores by 50%.
GalaxE.Solutions
Part of an elite Agile WordPress team in downtown Detroit, for a large mortgage company building internal apps with UltiPro and single sign-on integrations.
Compuware
Senior Website Developer. Built the global corporate website in 10 languages, created a custom Bootstrap WordPress theme, and led SEO strategy. Named Employee of the Quarter within my first year.
Unified Business Technologies
Created technical illustrations for military vehicle manuals and ran web design and SEO for the company, including nooffshorejobs.com. That’s fitting, since I’ve never outsourced a project.
Jacobs Technology
Training System Administrator and Supervisor. Selected and branded a full learning management system, led a team that hit a 98% test-efficiency record, and saved more than $24,000 in a single year.
Now all of that experience goes into one place: your website.
Why My Clients Work Directly With Me
When you hire MindChip, you get me. No account managers or sales team, and your project never gets handed off overseas. I build every site myself, in Michigan, on US-based servers.
I specialize in custom WordPress development, Bricks Builder, Advanced Custom Fields, Gravity Forms, technical SEO, and automation that saves you time. My sites are built so you can update them yourself, without the extra code that slows them down.
I also built my own AI chatbot for WordPress. Most chatbots are pushy and hide answers until you hand over your email. Mine answers first and keeps your data on your website, not a third-party server. I call it “selling without selling.
Three Rules I Live By
Never stop learning. The more you learn, the faster and better you get. You can’t put a price on that.
Work just outside your comfort zone. If you aren’t pushing yourself, you aren’t growing. I live the “figuring it out.”
Fail forward. Everyone makes mistakes. Learn from yours, and learn even more from other people’s.
"Fast forward to today, there isn't anything I can't do in WordPress."
When I'm Not Writing Code
Yes, the mustache is real. It’s also a national champion. My facial hair career started as a spectator at Detroit’s Circus of Whiskers, where I got pulled into the competition and took second place way back in 2015.
2017: Wahl Man of Detroit, Best Facial Hair in Detroit
2018: Wahl Grooming Man of the Year, Best Facial Hair in America
2023: 1st Place National Champion, Styled Mustache with Natural
2025: 3rd Place World Champion, Styled Mustache with Natural Beard Under 15cm
I also judge competitions and run WhiskerBattles.com, a facial hair competition calendar for the beard and mustache community.
When I’m not grooming, you’ll find me customizing motorcycles, tending to our flowers, exercising and hitting the weights, taking my wife out on dates, hanging with friends and neighbors, or chilling out with our 3 dogs, two pitbulls and Hamlin, an English Bull Terrier.
The attention to detail that wins mustache competitions is the same attention I put into your website.
A Level 9 Google Maps Local Guide With 81+ Million Photo Views
I don’t just talk about local SEO. I live it. As a Level 9 Google Maps Local Guide, I’ve reviewed and photographed hundreds of businesses across Downriver, Detroit, and Metro Detroit. Google has also invited me to Google Sandbox Detroit twice—an invite-only event for top Local Guides.
Google Maps Local Guide
Photo Views
Reviews Written
Photos Shared
Top 1% Local Guides in Detroit
Top 10% Local Guides Worldwide
2x Google Sandbox Detroit invitee
Google Beta Tester
Every review and photo helps someone make a better local decision. That’s the same goal I have for your website.
As Seen In
Invited twice to Google Sandbox Detroit
Top 1% of Google Local Guides in Detroit
Voted Best Website Design Firm in Michigan 2026
Top 10 Web Developers in Detroit 2025 (Digital Reference)
Best WordPress Designers in Detroit 2026 (Digital Reference)
Interviews: CanvasRebel & Bold Journey Magazine
Wahl Man of the Year feature: Corp! Magazine
Frontpage headline on the Detroit Free Press
Hour Magazine Detroit Cover Model for the Gentlemen’s Style Guide
Various podcasts, internet radio and multiple TV interviews on FOX, NBC, ABC, and ESPN
Always Learning
Graphic Design & Media Arts (Web Design)
Southern New Hampshire University, 2025
Graphic Design / Web Technology
Henry Ford Community College
Electronic Engineering Technology
Lawrence Technological University
U.S. Navy Training
Fire Control Technician “A” School
Phalanx CIWS “C” School
Xerographic Machine Repair
Navy Recruiting School
Let's Build Something That Works
You've read my story. Now let's talk about yours. Call, text, or email, and I'll answer. No sales pitch, just a straight conversation about what your business needs.