Back about two decades ago, when the Internet was not as awesome as it is now, I built my first website. Believe it or not, the very first websites did NOT EVEN HAVE PICTURES!
Just a little later than that, when I started building site, you could (barely) put images on a webpage. Most websites didn’t have many. Those were the days of Dial-up Internet, where having a couple of extra images would add minutes to the time it took for your webpage to finally load. And, each webpage back then was built by HAND. Using Notepad. Later, more sophisticated (but still very rudimentary) tools were developed.
THIS is the era when I first started building websites. And nibbling at the edges of PHP (programming).
All of this was before what we know as Social Media. Initially, there was email, and a few chat apps (ICQ, anyone?). I thought I was social back then, but as it turns out, not that much, really.
Time passed, and I discovered something called Drupal. This was one of the early CMS’s (Content Management Systems), with a painful learning curve. I had this elaborate plan of sites I was going to build, and I dug into Drupal heavy. I still have a profile on drupal.org. To be honest, I made little headway and experienced much frustration. I built a few sites using Drupal, and it was a constant PITA (Pain In The Ass).
For a few years, I continued to tinker, building, learning, exploring.
At some point, I was helping someone, so I downloaded and installed WordPress. I was kinda stunned. Over the years, the phenomenal progress WordPress had made since my last test was light years of improvement.
I dug in, and every single time I was impressed. Ease of use. Features. Plug-ability of new features. Design that just works. Amazing editor. Site performance that is just fantastic.
I’ve dug hard into WordPress, and not looked back. I combine my WordPress expertise with my knowledge and skill in Linux server administration, basic CSS, googling, along with many, many years as working as an “IT Guy”. And of course, I’m a pretty damn good troubleshooter and able to think outside the box.
I’m very pleased as I use WordPress as my primary CMS (Content Management System) for myself, and for my clients. Going forward, I am doing my best to be a teacher, a student (always), a consultant, a problem solver, a motivator, a shoulder to lean on (when I think of more I’ll add them here).
I love technology. I love the Internet. When it becomes possible to hard wire our brains to the Internet, I’ll be right there, plugging in. And amazingly, I love connecting with people.
I’m delighted to be able to help and serve you.
John Chapman