Why I’m Using a Site I Didn’t Code

I make websites for a living. I’ve made hundreds of custom sites. But not this one.

I think I’m on iteration 4 of my portfolio site. Every 3 years or so I’ll take the time to switch it up. I did that again last week, but instead of redesigning and recoding my site by hand over the course of a week or two, I took two hours and migrated to WordPress.com, picked a theme, and added some minor CSS tweaks.

Deciding to switch my domain name and choosing a new one was by far the longest part of the process.

I Want to Write without Distraction

Before, my writing flow went something like:

• Have a post idea
• Log into my site to write it
• Forget my password
• Finally get logged in
• See things that need updating
• Update the things
• See things that need fixed
• Start to fix the things
• Realize I don’t have the codebase and workflow for the site set-up on my new computer
• Abandon, resolving to really fix it next time

Now that I’ve switched to a basic WordPress.com managed site (not an ad for WordPress.com, although I am biased), my writing flow goes:

• Open my site (on my phone or my computer)
• Write the post

I Don’t Have to Update my Portfolio

I really only update my portfolio whenever I redesign my site, so it’s inevitably out-of-date very quickly. Now, I don’t have to be ashamed of never updating my portfolio, because I don’t have one. 😎

This also coincides with me getting a full-time job, and leaving a more agency-style freelance contractor role. I don’t really need a portfolio at this point.

If I do want to keep updating my portfolio though, I can add a post and add it to the “Portfolio” category. Then, if I ever want to make a more specific Portfolio page, I can do that fairly easily in the future.

It’s One Less Thing to Worry About

Life is busy, even now in the time of stay-at-home orders and the coronavirus. Every thing I can take of my plate frees up time for myself and my family.

Now that I can quickly write from anywhere, easily and without distraction, I find myself wanting to write more. Time will tell if this honeymoon phase lasts, but, for now, I couldn’t be happier I made the switch.