This is a Big Deal moment for me.
You, gracious stranger, are reading the very first post I have ever written from a blog hosted on a domain I own, on a WordPress install I created, with a theme I have customized.
This is a work in progress. I’m still straightening out the kinks, polishing up the CSS and working out the inevitable bugs.
Nevertheless, I’m pretty proud of it.
So, why a domain? Why WordPress? Why now?
The long and short of it is, I have been working on websites for four years now, and I find that I rather like it. I’ve built up a portfolio, one I sincerely hope will continue to grow.
In particular, I have worked on two WordPress sites as web developer in the last year. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the plugin environment, and the flexibility the child themes permit.
I wanted a portfolio site that would let me run with my strengths, and give me one more way to show that I know my stuff. This site is that opportunity.
As for the why now, the great, and terrifying, thing about being web developer on those two sites is that it’s been an exercise in learning what I still have to learn. I’ve had to pick up everything from security to SEO to customizing with child themes. It’s a different beast indeed from hand-coding a site and trying to work out what
I realized pretty quickly that I needed a way to plug the knowledge gaps I didn’t know about. I also realized that the sheer volume of information out there was getting in the way. While I have no regrets whatsoever for taking a Humanities Computing degree, I’m by no means a computer scientist. I’m still learning what many of the components look like and how they fit together, never mind what the abbreviations are, or which ones are programmer in-jokes.
And so, when Skillcrush announced a WordPress developer course, I decided to take the leap. It’s steadily filling in those gaps, including the ones I needed to build this site.
It’s an exciting time. I love having new things to dig into, and it’s thrilling to be able to showcase new skills so directly.
Thanks for reading, and for letting me share my enthusiasm with you.