I am finally ready to start seriously working on version 2.0 of my website. Most of you never saw version 1.0 or version 1.1, which were a long time and three web hosts ago, and were mostly just collections of HTML links.

Version 1.1 was more elaborate, complete with a great logo and menu system designed by my friend Liam. I programmed most of the details in .ASP and it worked well enough for me to set up my basic structure, but I never really rolled it out fully, as modifications were hard to replicate across the site manually.

I upgraded it (or downgraded, depending on your point of view) to a more accessible .SHTML format, uploaded some reviews, created a sub-area for photos, and most recently, handled all of our wedding-related needs such as online RSVPs and links to maps and hotels.

But my plans have always been more, umm, elaborate, if not particularly complex. I was about to say obsessive, but elaborate is good. Recently I thought I would upload DRUPAL and see if I could get it to work, as there are two areas that I want to work on in the next year, and they require a bit more sophistication than my basic skills allow.

First, I envision writing a small how-to manual and putting it online — PolyWogg’s Human Resources Guide to Government Competitions. Of course, once I get it up and running, there will be updates from time to time, and my old approach just wouldn’t handle it. I also would like to get to the stage where people could contribute questions or comments, and that’s far easier to do using an out-of-the-box solution than trying to program my own version.

Secondly, photos are the bane of my existence — not the actual photos themselves, but finding a way to put them up on my website rather than just on FaceBook or Flickr. Not that there’s anything wrong with Facebook or Flickr, but presumably there should be a benefit to having my own website…like actually using it for my own content! I did have some photos up previously, and it worked okay. But it was pretty manual, and time-consuming. Plus, I want to delegate management responsibilities over to my lovely bride, and let her have the headache. The old system, being manual, didn’t allow me to do that, so again, I need a better out-of-the-box option. So, DRUPAL it is. Of course, not all of the bugs are worked out. For instance, my logo and title are in the system, fully uploaded, etc., and yet, for some strange inexplicable reason, they’re not showing up! Grrr…

Stay tuned, I’ll let people know when there’s actually something to see! Tap at you later…