The redesign for this website is almost complete. The pages look similar to the old version however the entire site (rather than just the blog section) is now produced with WordPress.

The new site layout is based on the old version, most of the changes are behind the scenes. We’re using html5 rather than xhtml now and all the static pages of the site are produced using a customised WordPress template.

All the blog content, including comments, should still all be here – WordPress makes it pretty straightforward to export/import this data using an XML file.

Using WordPress as a CMS like this means that it’s now a lot easier to update the site – add new pages, delete old ones, change the content and change the page hierarchy without affecting the look of the site, and most importantly, without me having to touch any html.

I’ve been using Dreamweaver on and off for years now, but have completed the redesign using Textmate, CSS Edit and Transmit.  Steeper learning curve, but a lot better in the long run – a text editor that doesn’t get in your way, the ability to preview live changes to the CSS, and the ability to edit files and have them automatically synchronised to the server, or even mount the server over ssh as a disk on my desktop.