Blog

Introduction

For years, I have been writing articles that reflect my true voice and genuine insights without bending my style or content to the whims of search engine optimisation. Many digital marketers insist that adhering strictly to Google’s SEO guidelines is essential for visibility and traffic. However, I’ve reached a point where I consciously choose to disregard many of these practices - and here’s why.

Content Over the Algorithm

My foremost belief is that quality content should stand on...

Introduction

In early 2025, I made the decision to move all my website domains from a US-based hosting provider to a European company. It wasn’t a decision I took lightly, but given the rapidly changing political climate in the United States, I felt I had no choice. The resurgence of Donald Trump onto the political stage and the resulting instability pushed me to take action before it was too late.

Introduction

Over the years, I have experimented with a variety of design philosophies in my web projects, yet I always return to one principle that resonates deeply with both my aesthetic sensibilities and my professional priorities: minimalism. Minimalist website design, characterised by a focus on simplicity, clarity, and functionality, has transformed not only the way my sites look but also how users interact with them. In this article, I explain why I love minimalist website design, drawing...

Introduction

I have long been fascinated by the art and science of web development. Over the years, my journey has taken me through various content management systems and development frameworks. However, I have ultimately found my ideal solution in Hugo - a static site generator written in Go. This decision stems from a combination of technical advantages, improved security, and a workflow that aligns with my philosophy of simplicity and efficiency.

Introduction

For many years, I built websites using WordPress. It was a platform that initially impressed me with its flexibility and ease of use. However, the more experience I gained, I gradually became disillusioned with WordPress. I ultimately stopped building websites in WordPress due to persistent security vulnerabilities, performance issues, and maintenance burdens.

Security and Maintenance Nightmares

One of the primary factors in my decision was the recurring security issues inherent in...

Introduction

The Raspberry Pi 4 & 5 are powerful enough to run a web server to host multiple websites. At least the 8Gb version is. That’s the version of the Pi 4 I use for this very purpose. As a web designer and developer, I like to host my own websites on my own server. You can find lots of articles which give you bits and bobs of how to setup a web server but this guide is specifically tailored to guide you through not only the server setup - including Apache, MySQL, PHP, virtual...