A lot of what I do, design-wise, tends to be inspired by stuff I find online or through just plain experimentation. This blog is part of that process; while I have taken classes for graphic design and writing and whatnot, most of the “Web Monkey” stuff came through trial and error. I’ve been on the Internet awhile (since 1996), but given not many around me at the time had a clue about technology in general, I was pretty much on my own figuring out how to code HTML, CSS, etc. Looking back on some of it, it’s embarrassing just how BAD previous versions of my existence were – NO, I’m not linking to them! However, it’s made my skill set well-rounded over time, though, and as technology evolves, so am I. Given how long it’s been since I last overhauled my site, you could say a lot of nothing has gone on, but actually, a lot of learning has gone on during the hiatus! Yay! 😀

As for this blog, fortunately, my Web host has “one-click install” features that allowed me to set this up pretty quickly, right here on my own domain. But, I like to customize things and make them my own, so I sought out more information on the subject. Anyway, as I’ve been slowly learning more about WordPress, I came across an ongoing tutorial from HOW Design (an invaluable site and magazine for designers) for building a WordPress site in 30 minutes a day over 21 days (your mileage may vary; given I already have quite the background in editing and tinkering with code and graphics, plus maintaining my own site, the first couple of steps weren’t needed). Just in a couple day’s time I’ve learned a few valuable tidbits, and plan to follow along with the rest of the series.

Here’s where you, too, dear reader, can learn about one of the most widely-used pieces of blogging software out there right now, and how to make it your own, too. (I’m not being compensated for this plug, I simply find it very useful and worth sharing.) I am linking to the author’s page, as it’s easier to find all the parts in one spot:

Jesse Friedman’s Guide to Building Your First WordPress Blog

Anyway, as time goes on, so should this blog, I hope. Stay tuned…