Where the digital canvas meets Peak District peace: an interview with Liam Goldfinch

Ever wondered what happens when a developer swaps code for countryside? Meet Liam Goldfinch, IDHL’s go‑to Principal Systems Developer and a three-time Kentico MVP, a digital experience architect who finds equal joy in launching Xperience by Kentico builds and roaming the Peak District with his dog. 

Fresh from a week of trails and tranquility, Liam returned to something just as satisfying: kicking off a major Xperience by Kentico project centered around content consolidation. In this conversation, he shares his passion for streamlining complex ecosystems, building smarter platforms, and bringing development and marketing closer together through intelligent architecture and shared purpose. 

Let’s explore his journey: code, community, and consolidation included. 

From desk chats to dev decisions

How’s your week going? What’s keeping you busy right now?

You’ve caught me at a really good time for this interview, actually. I’ve just got back from a week away in the Peak District. Just me and the dog having a relaxing time, exploring the area, walking around small towns and villages, and taking in the views around the huge reservoirs. But now being back at work, I have just started a brand new Xperience by Kentico project. Specification signed off, time to start building the website!

You recently celebrated 12 years at IDHL. That’s impressive! What’s kept you excited and motivated all this time?

I joined IDHL straight from uni, and honestly, I don’t think I imagined I’d still be here 12 years later! Back then, I was just excited to finally put my degree to use; helping clients with their websites and getting that developer dopamine hit when a tricky problem finally clicked into place and you’ve got a working solution. But after that, it’s down to the people. 

When I joined IDHL, I was in part of the company known previously as NetConstruct. It was a lot smaller, but even as we’ve grown, it’s never lost that friendly and supportive environment. Then when you add interesting projects, and a team I enjoy working with…it’s easy to see why I’m still here!

From starting on the help desk to becoming a Principal Systems Developer, how has your role evolved?

On the help desk team, the work was very reactive, fixing issues that clients logged with their websites as and when they came in. But then moving into the core development team, it becomes more proactive work: building new features, creating new websites, and improving existing ones. As I moved through different roles, senior and now principal, the scope has grown a lot. I’m not just writing code, I’m steering technical direction of projects and the development team, mentoring new and existing developers, and spending more time face to face with clients, both new and long standing. 

Platform acrobatics & workflow whirlwinds

You’ve worked across both Kentico and Umbraco. What’s the biggest mindset shift when switching between platforms?

For me, the biggest mindset shift is going from a web-focused platform like Umbraco to Xperience by Kentico, which is all about centralized content and reusing it anywhere you need it. With Umbraco, you’re building a website. With Kentico, you’re looking at your entire digital ecosystem, creating content once, then pushing it out across websites, email campaigns, social media…wherever it needs to go!

What’s your favorite integration or custom build you’ve worked on recently?

One of the biggest projects I’ve worked on recently has been consolidating a client’s entire digital ecosystem into Kentico. We’re talking about several different CMS platforms (including headless), multiple separate instances, and low levels of content sharing between them. It was the perfect time to bring everything under one roof, centralizing content, making it reusable, and streamlining updates and workflows so the client can work far more efficiently.

You’re certified in both development and marketing, how has that shaped the way you approach digital experience projects?

As a developer, getting the developer certification was the obvious first step. But having the marketing certification as well means I understand the platform’s marketing capabilities and how to actually use them to solve client problems. It changes how I scope projects, because I’m thinking ahead about the data we’ll need to track and how it will be used later when the client starts tapping into the marketing features. It basically lets me plan much further in advance, so we’re setting the client up for success from day one.

What’s one “small” feature or UX decision that you think makes a huge impact on a website?

I think it has to be personalization, even if it’s just small tweaks to the website content based on a logged in user’s role or activity. And in Xperience by Kentico, it’s so easy for content editors and marketers to implement. It is right there in the Page Builder, no developers needed!

MVP mojo & community hustle

You’ve been a Kentico MVP three years running. What does that recognition mean to you?

It’s a huge honor being recognized by Kentico themselves for helping out in the community, feeding back on the product, and helping steer decisions. I also love being part of a small group of MVPs. It’s a tight-knit community where we can share ideas, challenge each other, and help shape the future of the platform. I’d love to see that group grow in the future. Being an MVP has opened opportunities I’d never had before like speaking at Kentico Connection. Something I doubt I would have done otherwise. Even after three years, it still motivates me to keep learning, sharing, and giving back.

You co-organize the Kentico User Group UK and you're incredibly active online. Where does that energy come from?

I think it’s the buzz you get from connecting with people and helping them solve problems. I put things like blog posts out there, hoping they’ll be useful, and when someone reaches out to start a conversation about something I’ve shared, it feels great! You know it’s been valuable in the community, and that feedback really helps keep the motivation going!

You’re impressively fast on social media, what’s your secret? Are you secretly an AI bot?

Ha! No, not yet at least. I really should turn my notifications off, if I see one, I have to read it. And if it’s interesting, I can’t resist adding a comment.

From solo hikes to steering multi-platform projects, Liam Goldfinch’s story proves that simplicity scales, especially when backed by smart consolidation. His work bringing sprawling digital ecosystems under one roof reflects a growing demand across businesses: reduce tech bloat, centralize content, and empower teams to do more with less.