Overhaul Time

I don't usually go through my previous posts and read what I've posted in the past, so I could very well be writing something I've already written. And to that I say: "So what?" Because, let's be real, I'm kind of selfish and I'm just going to do whatever I want, right? Right. Ok then. So with that said. Let us allow the particular post to get underway.

Simply put; it's time to overhaul my site. The operative question will be whether or not I intend to keep the current aesthetic intact or if I want to do something completely different. Before I argue the merits of either choice with myself I will elaborate as to what I mean by "Overhaul."

I just started a new job with Online Image in Murray, UT and I'm there as a web designer. Granted I have traditionally been a front end designer, the modern web design industry doesn't really differentiate from front and back end anymore.

My current website was built from nothing. It functions well enough and I'm happy with the end result, but there is one significant drawback to it. Any changes to it require "hard-coding." If I had developed this site for an end user that had absolutely no web design experience they would be forced to return to me to make updates. That's not entirely a bad thing. I can make money as a webmaster, being the administrator for clients. The only problem with this is that often times I am condemned to what I like to refer to as development hell. A realm in which a designer or developer waits patiently for his/her client to provide much needed information, content, or assets in order for a project to progress. And when one's life is directly tied to the completion, and collection of fees, for said project, development hell can cause some serious problems.

My solution for this is to offer someone a website with a built in CMS. I plan on working with WordPress as it is clearly the most popular content management system. So this brings me back to my initial question; keep the current aesthetic intact or go with a new look? As will be my first time creating a WordPress theme I think it would be quite an achievement to keep it looking the same. This would prove I can work within a specific project scope and still get to the end result I want. Unfortunately, this means my site won't really change much, aside from the way it gets updated.

Maybe I can create something that is new but is consistent with the look and feel of the current site.

Anyway, first thing's first. I need to backup the current html. Organize the content and then install WordPress. Oh yeah, this blog will cease to be used. which is quite unfortunate. I wonder if there's a blogger plugin for WordPress. That would save me a lot of time.