Beginning shortly, and taking place over several weeks, I am going to begin transitioning my site to use WordPress. WP offers a tremendous amount of flexibility, plugins and other goodies that more closely align with my intended goals and ambitions for KissMyBrass.net. When I created this site, I hadn’t planned for the amount of traffic I tend to receive, and my code is pretty sloppy.

Just prior to launch, I decided to roll my own content management system. I was working with Apple at the time, and was toying extensively with WebObjects. I decided to put some of my Java skills to work, and run my site using Java, and Java Server Pages. It worked. Pretty well. But as my site grew, and as I try to create additional functionality, I hit virtual roadblocks that keep me from moving forward. My code is sloppy, my API for XML-RPC is pretty basic, nothing is structured and the number of database queries my engine uses to draw a single blog entry is far too high, among many other things. Also, the fact that 90% of my uncompiled source code disappeared when my Power Mac G4’s hard drive died didn’t make things better.

While my professional applications and code are significantly more tidy and buttoned-up, this site was never meant to be anything more than a hobby and a test environment for my skills. Soon after launch, it quickly smashed that mold.

Migrating to WordPress will allow me to code in the language I know best: PHP. The switch opens up new possibilities for me in terms of features, content and other interactive presentation. On the resources side, it has amazingly low overhead, a terrific template system, and a large community of supporters.

At this point, I have a rough concept for a template in mind, and I’m trying to express it in code. To ease the transition pain, I’ve turned my secondary colocation server at Interland into a development box and environment. When everything is ready, a simple zone file change will point you in the right direction. Until I flip the switch, some things may work, or they may not. Or, if they work, they may not work well. The Gallery, Polls and News Feeds systems come to mind, and might be the first to get shut down as I get to work.

I hope you look forward to the future of my site as much as I do. If you have any comments, suggestions, or even requests, please leave a comment. Thanks for visiting. I truly appreciate it!