On March 29, 2009, I converted this site from a custom-built PHP-based Content Management System (CMS), which I coded myself, to a self-hosted WordPress installation. As I’ve mentioned, the current “design” for the site is temporary (which is why I’m using the “in Exile” subtitle in the header). Some time in the (hopefully) near future the site will receive a professional makeover with a custom theme, but for now it’s going to look pretty much like this.

With the change, several different areas of the site were affected. Here are some of the things that were lost, and some of the things that were gained:

Things That Were Lost

  1. Old Comments: While all of the old comments are technically still in the database, they weren’t transferred over into the WordPress system. There’s a small possibility I’ll find a way to transfer them over somehow, but it isn’t much of a priority right now. If you really want to see your old comment again, repost it or something.
  2. Old RSS Feed: The old RSS feed which I had built will no longer update. If you were subscribed to the old RSS feed and still want to get updates, you’ll have to subscribe to the new feed instead, which can be found here.
  3. Forums: While the forums aren’t technically gone, they aren’t really going to be supported or linked anymore.
  4. Some Links: Some of the old links which pointed to articles on the old system are broken now. If you find broken links (they’ll probably just point you to the Home page when you click them), leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll go back and fix them.

Things That Were Gained

  1. Post Comments Without Registering: On the old system, you had to be registered on the forums to post a comment. This was a way to prevent spam comments, of which I had been receiving copious amounts. WordPress has some great anti-spam plugins (God bless you, Akismet), so now anyone can post a comment, as long as they enter an email address.
  2. Tags, Categories, and Search: Posts can be tagged, categorized, and searched for much more easily on WordPress than they could on the CMS I built. This should make it easier to find back a post you read a few weeks or months ago. At some point I hope to set up a better Archive system that’ll make browsing the back-catalogue more straightforward, as well.
  3. Easier Redesigns: I don’t have to rebuild the website to change the design; I can just install a new theme or tweak the existing one.
  4. Pre-Scheduled Posts: I like keeping a bit of a schedule for the site (updates M/W/F), and on WordPress I can write a post on the weekend, set it to auto-update on Monday, and spend my time thinking about other things. This will hopefully make me more productive, because I won’t have to work day-to-day to get my posts up at the right time.

If you have any comments about the redesign or any suggestions of good WordPress features or plugins I could take advantage of, let me know!