People have been asking if I design web sites from scratch, or if I use templates. The answer is both. In the beginning, everything was done from the ground up, and that worked well. Over time, however, I discovered the power of content management systems such as WordPress, Drupal and Joomla. Now, I almost exclusively use WordPress as the foundation for a new site.

Why, you ask? Lots of reasons. Mostly, WordPress has risen to the forefront as a great blogging and content management system. It is Open Source, which means your cost goes way down since I don’t have to spend a lot of time coming up with a back-end framework for you. That also means we can do many exciting things with your web site … everything from calendars for booking your B&B to forms and SEO widgets. You have  a specific need, chances are there is a way that we can make WordPress perform that task. Hey, I love it.

On top of the framework, of course there is the look of the site. I often use Builder, not Open Source, (but worth my money,) to set up a basic theme for your site, then work with the css to tailor the look and feel to your liking. So really, there are three levels to how your site is designed. First, there is the skeleton, which mostly is designed through WordPress and it’s many plug-ins and widgets. Then I will (often) use Builder to get a general theme in place. Kind of like a template, but it is much more malleable. Once the general look is in place, I use css to get it all dolled up and pretty for the show.

So, back to the question, I still do some sites from scratch, but the power and versatility of WordPress and Builder combine the power of great Open Source programming with my own ability to create a great looking web site.

That’s the basics.

Dan