Andrew Fairlie
Technical Director · 13+ years with Craft CMS
Andrew is Technical Director at Mutual, a Craft CMS Partner agency. He has been building with Craft CMS since its public beta in 2012 — working through every major version from Craft 1 to Craft 5 — and has delivered over 100 sites for clients including Apple, Transparency International, and Arts University Bournemouth.
He writes about Craft CMS on the Mutual blog and has contributed to net Magazine. At Mutual, he leads development of Mutual One, a marketing platform built on Craft CMS as its foundation.
He has spoken about Craft CMS to undergraduate students at the University of Brighton and Canterbury Christ Church University, and appeared on the Devmode.fm podcast. He has also trained other developers on working with the platform.
36 articles Latest 25 Sept 2026
GraphQL vs Element API for headless Craft CMS
Craft CMS excels as a headless CMS, but one question we've seen asked multiple times is whether you should use GraphQL or Element API (JSON). This guide talks through the pros and cons of both options, and introduces the third way.
How To Improve Craft CMS Search Results
Craft's built-in search is better than most owners realise. Here's how we tune it with fuzzy matching, selective indexing, curated synonyms... and when it's time step it up a gear.
The History of Craft CMS: From Blocks to Laravel
A first-hand history of Craft CMS, from its 2012 reveal as Blocks CMS through to the Laravel-powered Craft 6.
Do llms.txt Files Actually Matter?
A few months ago we recommended putting an llms.txt file on your site as a low-cost head start for AI search. Google has since published guidance that says, in as many words, that the file does nothing for Google Search.
Craft CMS 5.10: Safer Deletes, Time Zones, and an Important Security Fix
Craft CMS 5.10 makes deleting content safer, adds time zone support, and patches a high-severity security vulnerability. Here's what site owners need to know.
Why use Craft CMS instead of WordPress?
An honest comparison of Craft CMS and WordPress from a UK Craft agency. Content modelling, accessibility, security, performance, SEO, headless, and total cost of ownership.
Can You See Which AI Bots Are Reading Your Site?
AI crawlers like GPTBot and ClaudeBot are reading your website right now. Here's how to see them in your analytics — and how to make your site easy for AI search to understand.
Privacy-First Analytics, Built Into Your CMS
Why we build privacy-first analytics into the Craft sites we manage — no cookie banner, real Core Web Vitals from actual visitors, and AI crawler tracking, all inside the CMS.
Craft CMS 5.9: Bulk Content Actions, Spreadsheet Exports, and a Big Security Update
Craft CMS 5.9 adds bulk actions for content blocks, Excel and YAML exports, and patches a large set of security vulnerabilities. Here's what site owners need to know.
When is Craft CMS 6 Out?
Craft CMS 6 is expected in late 2026 with content releases, scheduled drafts, approval workflows, and a migration to Laravel framework.