My blog seemed to be driving traffic to my music website, but hey!  that thing hadn’t been updated in years!  Now that others were looking and listening, a web renewal seemed in order and  I decided to experiment creating a website rather than a blog in WordPress. Could it be done?  I was becoming comfortable with the WordPress interface and felt that more could be explored with the TwentyEleven theme without going to a custom design or self-hosted site.  Just as I decided that I still wasn’t happy with the theme fonts and some of the other limitations, WordPress offered a bargain deal that included customizable fonts, domain mapping, audio player, etc.  I took a deep breath, finished updating the audio and image files, and plunged into new waters with lynnpurse.com.

The hardest part wasn’t the technical aspect of creating new header images, tweaking audio, etc.  The hardest part was redefining my online identity.  It took me longer to write my “about” page than anything else – I am a different person than I was ten years ago – what to keep, what to leave out, what to emphasize?  A lot of choices to make in a few paragraphs of text. I’m still not completely satisfied, but the process has been enlightening! What do you choose to identify yourself? How many of us have ourselves scattered about in the digital landscape, with conversations on Facebook, photos on Flickr, videos on YouTube, and resumes on LinkedIn?  While my blog is about my creative process, I wanted the website to be about what I have accomplished, what I have ready for public view.  Making the design and organizational decisions of displaying that work has given me a framework to focus and hone my ongoing creative efforts, an unexpected bonus.

So, if you have read this far, perhaps you will explore my website and take a moment to send me some feedback. Many thanks in advance!

Text and photo for “Building a Website in WordPress” ©2011 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved