Rihards Online

Three hundred posts, I must say that I hadn’t noticed that this was about to happen until I looked at the dashboard and it said I had published 299 posts already. So for my 300th post I’ve decided to do something special. It’s actually something I’ve wanted to do for a while already, and that’s to post a little post about the history of rihardsonline.

The first version went online in the mid 90s and was just a simple HTML page with a few images. And yes, it did have an animated “Under Construction” image (let’s face it though, all webpages back then had one). Over the years the site has grown in complexity and used ever more advanced technology to power it. But it has always remained true to its roots, and that is to be a simple, elegant and easy to browse portfolio.

A few years ago it had already evolved into a portfolio that relied on PHP, cascading style sheets and javascript. At the beginning it was just simple things, like a news script (a sort of blog if you will) which would allow me keep the visitors updated on what I’ve been doing lately. Later full blown PHP frameworks (CodeIgniter & CakePHP) would come into play and power the portfolio.

The current version of the portfolio and blog is powered and updated entirely through WordPress. I don’t have to use FTP, or anything else but my browser these days to update the site. Everything can be done within WordPress administration.

Just as the backend has grown and evolved over the years, so has the frontend. While there’s something to be said about doing your site all by yourself, there’s something more to be said about having an outside designer design it. Especially if it’s an accomplished designer with whom I’ve collaborated on multiple projects before. The design that you see right now, and the previous one if you still remember it, was designed by Mark Dormand.

Since I’ve started using WordPress for my blog (a loyal user for more than three years already) I’ve published exactly 300 posts on my personal blog, there have been 529 comments made, and thousands of people have viewed the portfolio so far.

So what have I got planned for the future of rihardsonline? Of course I’d like to increase the number of regular readers, have the blog seen by a wider audience and to continue to create even more interesting stuff on things I’m passionate about that more folks will want to read and comment on.

Here’s to 300 more posts!