“There is a real rhythm to the work of walking through each step myself and then breaking it up into smaller steps, and even smaller steps, and trying to get it small enough that it can be written down in a single line of text. There is a satisfaction in seeing how simple something really is when writing it down like that; in knowing that the person you are making it for will be able to really do what they want to do.”
WordPress CMS
Updating Your Own Site
If you already have a Web site and you’re happy with it but you would just like to make a few small changes to the text now and again – and you can’t… there are some options that might be interesting for you.
It depends a little on how your site was build originally and on your Web host (their server settings, the service you take from them) but there are some, relatively, easy and, relatively, cheap ways to set you up with a very simple text editor for your site.
For example:
- Snippetmaster: not the prettiest one in this list but works well and is easy to use
- Unify: prettier and more versatile, makes it slightly less easy to use
- CushyCMS: pretty and to the point, the quickest to set up
If you want more of full fledged CMS, Concrete5 could also be a good option, especially if you already have a site design ready in HTML but your entire site hasn’t yet gone live.
Of course, if you’re starting from scratch, I’m still a big WordPress fan!
Multilingual and 404
It took me a long time to find a plugin for making WordPress Web sites multilingual that didn’t frustrate me, and after endless battles with Qtranslate en WPML, I’ve finally found one that so far has been reliable and relatively easy to use.
It’s free, not overly complicated, extensive and the author keeps the plugin up to date.
Additionally, a blog post at WerdsWords let me make a little change to this site that will send an email whenever a visitor visits a page that doesn’t exist (anymore). The visitor lands on a 404 page and that will trigger the sending of an email and I’ll be notified of the problem.
For more information: WerdsWords 404.
Meanwhile in the office…
Midwinter, Romy Ashby got a new design for her website romyashby.com, while she herself keeps the content fresh. The website now has the simplest possible shop: a paypal button. kittybouwman.nl has had a small update and a new page will soon be there with sculptures . The Appril’s new site has been online for a few months now and it’s been a lot of fun setting the site up, going online, and also ensuring that it continues to run smoothly, regardless of the number of visitors. The Appril site was a joint project this year as well, meet the team at the Appril site.
And I’m still working on the website for MK24 , but also just launched a website for Nell Realty.
Starting Monday I give a WordPress course for the 2nd time this year at the Multimedialab Amsterdam and since the beginning of February I have a nice group of MKstarters who are working hard on a digital portfolio with work for admission into an Art School.
Appril – ideas applied
This year I participate again in Appril by helping build their Web site (in WordPress). I’m enjoying working with such a big, diverse group of people on one site. It’s both inspiring and challenging, one of my favorite combinations.
Appril is an annual festival in April in Amsterdam where app pioneers, makers, users, creators and groupies get together and shape a future. With our activities, we help people realize their ideas through technology. We believe the digital revolution can bring us many wonderful things when you combine knowledge, expertise, creativity and fun.
For April 2013, we have chosen a different theme for each of its four weeks and we focus on it in workshops, lectures and other sessions that connect people. Call us your expedition leader in the world of ever renewing digital applications. Would you like to know more? Go to www.appril.nl