Just Magic Design

Ah, the echo of a new, empty blog!

It’s traditional (if blogging can be said to have any traditions yet) to start with a post about who you are, who your intended audience is and what you’re going to talk about. So, here goes…

I’m Maria, a web developer and wanna-be designer from Massachusetts. This is my professional blog, so I’m going to write mostly about how I do what I do and I expect my audience will be other web professionals and occasionally clients or potential clients. I’m also a mom and a geek, so I’m sure I’ll be posting about work-life balance, a bit about lifehacking, and about being a woman (and a middle-aged one at that) and the perspective that gives me on the Internet and the profession.

My business partner is Diane. She’s the artist/designer/creative half of the team and a great friend. Diane may pop in every now and then with a blog post of her own.

If you’re visiting this blog close to when I’m posting this, the first thing you’ll probably notice is the underwhelming visual design. Here’s a screenshot for those who are coming along later.

I thought it would be entertaining to have you follow along with me as Diane and I develop a custom WordPress theme for the site and transform it from a standard blog to a small business website. I can describe the process from the very beginning, including many of the decisions that have to be made along the way. And, since it’s a personal project and there’s no client waiting impatiently for it, I can take my time and do everything “the right way”.

Ready? Next up, a discussion of why I’m using WordPress for this site and how I decide what platform/engine/CMS/framework to use for a new project.

Welcome!