I’m Going To Rewrite The Blog Rewrite

One day you have a problem and as a worker peels away a part of the wall he finds your house was thrown together in a way that makes it unrepairable. All the shoddiness was hidden behind drywall.

I’ve spent the last few days gazing at and working on my blog’s new look. It’s on a development server mostly out of public view. From outward appearances everything was fitting into place nicely. Outward appearances can be deceiving.

Instead of my code gracefully falling into place it fit because the innards were hacked and pounded with a mallet. I was using a blogging framework without really understanding what a framework is!

Hold it–don’t go away yet. I know we’re entering the ‘Land of the Geeks.’ Let me explain in simpler terms.

Imagine you own a home. It’s a pretty home. One day you have a problem and as a worker peels away a part of the wall he finds your home was thrown together in a way that makes it unrepairable. All the shoddiness was hidden behind drywall. It was pretty as long as nothing needed to be changed or updated.

That’s what I was doing!

Now that I understand ‘framework’ I’ll be able to build a site that will age gracefully even as the software its built on gets upgraded.

Alas, most of my work will have to be ditched. It’s not a total rewrite, but close.

I restart later tonight.

5 thoughts on “I’m Going To Rewrite The Blog Rewrite”

  1. This rewrite s in WordPress.

    The question is how to implement the look. I chose to use a framework (Thematic) on top of which I’ll build a ‘child’ theme.

    When I began to code I went about it the wrong way. Now I’ll do it correctly.

    I know there are many beautiful themes to use ‘off-the-shelf.’ I have chosen to customize the look to my needs and liking. It’s work and it’s a learning experience.

    The latter makes the former more palatable.

  2. Nothing like peeling layers! I liked your analogy for us “geek impaired”. We are actually running into that here at my house.

    My husband is a builder and received some kitchen cabinets someone did not want for free. Now that my kitchen is gutted, many surprises have been found, 3 layers of flooring that have to be removed, paint over wallpaper…you get the picture!

    Ah is will be worth it all when we are done Geoff, but it is an adventure, just like yours, filled unexpected treasures behind the “drywall”.

    Don’t stay up too late….

  3. it’s not my fault! ok, maybe it is. I think you’ll be happier in the long run for the extra effort you’re taking now. Although I develop WordPress for clients on a daily basis, my own site is coded in traditional html.

    You’ve inspired me to finally take the plunge and do the same thing, and I’ll probably do the same Thematic Parent/Child theme structure that you’re using.

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