So I guess the first question I should answer is why I didn’t write my own blog application, I am a developer after all…
Well before I can answer that I’ll explain why I’ve installed a blog in the first place. The good people over at Smashing Magazine write some very useful articles on web design, development and a whole host of new media related topics. One of which happened to be on how to get the most out of your portfolio web site. There is some excellent advice on usability and the tone that a portfolio web site should use. One of the points they make is to have a blog so that current and prospective clients can get a feel for the sort of person you are and the work you do. Which I feel is a good idea and not something I would have thought to do. As this is a personal portfolio web site the tone and feel should be on a personal level, I’m not a large design studio so should stay away from making the site have that look and feel – great advice but not something I would have automatically done. I think a large number of freelance designers/developers would fall foul of this.
They say that the last house a good builder does is his own.
I feel this is true for freelance web developers as well. After the day job is over and you’ve worked on client’s web sites, written applications, etc. it’s difficult to get motivated to put a state of the art web presence together. As long as your own web site “does the job” then there’s no need to work on it right? Well that was my opinion for a while.
My site needs some work.
It’s true; I put the current site together in a night which obviously isn’t good enough. So I’m taking some of the advice from Smashing Magazine and putting it to use.
So to answer the question of why I didn’t write my own blog application, it simply comes down to ease of use, installation and support. I ended up installing Word Press which is one of the most popular and widely supported free blog applications. There are a huge amount of themes and widgets available so the look and content can be customised as needed. I could write a blog but with such a well thought out and implemented piece of software I would be foolish to not take advantage of it.
Another motivating factor is that I can install an application on my mobile phone which allows me to blog while away from a pc. Blogger.com also allows you to do this via their mms and email post services. Although these are viable options, I like the control and level of usability I get from the application.
I’m going to continue blogging and hopefully I’ll write something people will be interested in reading!