/blog

Today marks two years since going live with my custom CMS, (b)log-In. 🎉 It doesn't seem possible.

So much has happened in those two years, I've added many new features and learnt more than I ever dreamt possible. A summary of the first year can be found here.

The site has continued to develop and evolve. Features have been added, the way things work has sometimes been changed, and it has become a real home on the web rather than just a blog.

The last year has seen the addition of /reader (my public/private feed reader that integrates with the blog) and /start (a different way to look at certain labelled topics). For private use I also have /notes which is as it sounds.

It has all developed into a little ecosystem which I am immensely proud of.

Taking a five month break from blogging in 2022 due to mental health issues made me re-evaluate what I was doing. Although the blog itself still works on a daily basis the importance of that has been downplayed to an extent. A new homepage was created as a launchpad with a new menu system and everything given a cleaner look. There are some areas which haven't been touched in a while that need freshening up but nothing public facing.

To mark the anniversary I've been undertaking a major refactor which should improve and simplify the code. I've never really done any OOP in PHP but thought it's now time to bite the bullet and start introducing classes (and their associated methods) for database connections and queries. I may extend that to items like feeds in /reader but don't know how much utility they will offer in that scenario.

I'm also continuing my foray into converting various parts of the site to HTMX. Again, I'm unsure as to what improvements I can get in certain areas (the blog page might be a bit too complex to get it working as I'd like) but it's already playing nicely on the Journal.

As I said a year ago, developing this has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. Being able to ditch WordPress for something self-built feels wonderful and I am constantly amazed that I've managed to pull it all together.

So, here's to the next year and, as ever, thanks for accompanying me on the journey.