Challenge: Establish and brand a website.
As a recurring segment on this blog I'm going to set a goal of a specific skill or tool I would like to learn, then create a challenge or project to actual produce something using that skill. The website will allow me to share the finished project online, as well as discuss any particularly interesting or tricky parts of the process.
So for the very first project, I need to get a website. I've decided to focus the website on two main aspects.
- Regular project challenges, my technical improv and portfolio.
- Op-ed articles about technology, gamification, and social policy as it can be applied to new and existing parts of our world
I started off looking at WordPress as a base for the blog part of my website. WordPress is a great tool for writers of any technical skill, but unfortunately it has limits on what kind of content you can post, if say you wanted to include unique web pages with a good amount of scripting. That means I need to find outside hosting and come up with a domain name and a brand image for a website. So now comes the plan of attack:
- Get accustomed to building with Word Press. Create an initial site
- Come up with a professional domain name and find web hosting
- Think about branding: Design a consistent graphical aesthetic, banner, and writing style
- Define the purpose and content of the website, to create a focused consistent message. Determine what the reader benefit is.
- Include my own html, scripting, and customized code to enhance site functionality
- Add content from my projects directly to the site
I am treating this as a professional endeavor, meaning I will strongly consider marketing and design aspects of the site as well as the process that goes into creating and branding a website. This will be a continual process as I continue to tweak my website layout.