I had lots of fun this week creating my own WordPress site. Before this assignment, I had never had complete administrative control over my own website. Setting up the site gave me a better understanding of what happens behind the scenes when creating and maintaining a website.
After installing WordPress, I started by removing the default content and creating an About Me page with some information about myself, my interests, and what I am studying at Carleton. I also activated Akismet to help protect the site from spam and installed a new theme. I experimented with the theme’s customization settings to change the overall appearance of the website. One thing I could see myself using this platform for is creating a personal or professional portfolio. I could use it to display class projects, writing, data visualizations, or other work that I complete during college. Unlike a social media profile, a personal website gives me much more control over how my work is organized and presented.
Hosting my own website also has both benefits and drawbacks. One major benefit is control. I can choose the design, content, plugins, and structure of the site instead of working within the restrictions of a platform such as Instagram or LinkedIn. I also have more ownership over how my content is presented. At the same time, that control comes with more responsibility. I have to think about updates, security, spam, design, and maintaining the site myself. A service or social media platform handles many of those things automatically. Overall, this assignment helped me understand that creating a website is not only about producing content. Running your own site also means making decisions about its design, organization, security, and maintenance.