It was previously running commercial CMS software to power it, but when I recently decided that I would predominantly use WordPress for future projects that do not specifically require custom software, I decided I should practice what I preach and actually use WordPress on my own site!

It’s going to take some time for the site to mature, but in keeping with my philosophy of ‘content first’, I will not be letting a few template tweaks, missing graphics and low content pages prevent the site from soldiering on.

A nice benefit of the new site is that in exchanging the commercial CMS for WordPress, I have received a £400 refund for the commercial software and not had to pay anything for WordPress as it is free! It will also give me more practise with WordPress, and a place to showcase some nice WordPress plugins if I feel any are necessary for site functionality.

I also know that WordPress are releasing version 2.8 soon (I will be writing about this shortly), and instead of having to pay versions upgrades as with most commercial CMS systems, the WordPress upgrades are also free and so this site will be able to immediately benefit from the new features, security enhancements and improved interface as soon as I am happy that version 2.8 is stable and can be safely deployed.

All in all I’m very happy with the decision to ditch the commercial CMS software. If you did visit my old site I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you think it looks now, so please leave a comment.

I am a big advocate of Content Management Systems(CMS) and feel that traditional static websites are extremely inefficient and completely overlook the potential of the Internet to enable businesses to connect and interact with their clients, visitors and industry.