a short introduction

Hello, I’m Mike Hirst – a Christian lifelong learner who ponders and writes, builds websites, and makes music. I have a simple mission to help others and to shine a light in my little corner of the darkness.

the longer version

Born in 1986, I was one of those kids who knew life before the Internet and then witnessed how quickly everything changed.

They taught me how to google (well, we used Infoseek) when I was in 7th grade. And then I taught myself to code. So that started the digital side of my journey.

But I also had a reel-to-reel recorder, a tube condenser mic, and an acoustic guitar. I wrote over a thousand emo-ish songs about crushes and sin and grace before I turned 18. I still prefer the analog life. That simple setup – guitar, mic, and tape – taught me more about creativity than any classroom could.

When I graduated high school in 2005, I skipped the whole college thing and self-published a few albums. I traveled the country and was what you might call “local famous” – taste enough for me to swear off the limelight forever.

I decided to “grow up” and got a job in marketing and then IT and then sales before I realized I’m a terrible employee. My parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were entrepreneurs. So naturally, the 9-5 was incompatible with some ancient part of my soul.

In 2012, I founded Exton Web Design. Since then, I’ve built over 200 websites for clients across the United States. I really enjoy helping people grow their businesses.

dark night of the soul

In 2019, my little sister died of a drug overdose. Later that year, I started losing my first wife to addiction and infidelity. And then COVID happened. Not to sound like a country song, but our dog even died before we mutually decided to go our separate ways.

“What man meant for evil, God used for good.”

In 2021, God brought me the wife He had for me all along. And two years later, He gave us twin boys. And two weeks after that, Ashley ended up in the hospital for a month with postpartum psychosis.

But that’s her story to tell.

Coming out of the storm

They say we’re all either in the midst of a storm, heading into a storm, or coming out of a storm. We’re on the other side now.

Miraculously, everyone’s healthy and thriving. I had my best year in business in 2024 and I have a lot of new song material to work with.

This website will serve as a place to share what I’m learning, publish what I’m working on, and a place for us to connect. Just a light in my little corner of the darkness.

If you’d like to connect, share your own story, or just say hi, you can reach me at mike@mikehirst.org.