Microformats on my mind

Posted in Microformats Textpattern on 6 April 2010 | Comments

Coming up on this blog is a review of Microformats Made Simple by Emily Lewis. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for the review but the book gives a really clear explanation of different microformats and why you should use them in your mark-up. Google and other search engines are starting to use them more and more (for example, Introducing Rich Snippets) so now might be the time to learn how they can be used and why they are a good thing.

Despite the potential advantages, the widespread usage of microformats in blogs and websites will partly depend on tools that allow their easy inclusion. Writing in code view is all well and good but it’s not for everybody. Some systems (for example, Perch and Microformats) do provide methods for their inclusion but these need setting up beforehand. In database systems/websites, the same applies. The template or database is set-up so that multiple records have microfomatted patterns and class names added ‘behind the scenes’. Creating systems that do this automatically is probably the only way that Joe Public blog or website author will be able to edit/create microformatted articles and posts. If you know other examples, let me know…

Textpattern and Microformats: I use Textpattern for this blog. If you do as well, here’s a useful article about Textile formatting for the hCard Microformat

Sitting on a Perch

Posted in Web design Textpattern on 5 June 2009 | Comments

This week has seen the launch of a new website content management system [CMS] called Perch from web development agency edgeofmyseat. It promises to be an interesting CMS because it is intended to be a small system that you can set-up quickly on an existing website.

Yes, yes, I know that a larger CMS like WordPress or Textpattern [two of my favourites] are often the ‘solutions’ that are suggested when the subject of client website updates are discussed but, equally, not everyone wants a system like that for small website changes. I am thinking of small business brochure-type websites here. In these cases, Perch may be just the job.

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Changing from Textpattern to Wordpress?

Posted in Textpattern WordPress on 27 August 2008 | Comments

I have run this blog for a few years now with Textpattern as the content management system (CMS). I’m pretty happy with it but I am wondering if I might be better off changing to Wordpress.

There seems to be a whole lot going on with Wordpress themes at the moment and the WP community seems pretty active. Textpattern is a great CMS, and I like the uncluttered way it just let me get on with the job, but development progress sometimes seems slow. I know that a lot of hard work has gone into Textpattern but I wonder if I should be trying something different myself.

One of the disadvantages of moving would be a big upheaval of the blog and a potential disruption of URLs and other search engine problems. On the other hand, a new system could provide fresh impetus to write more. It’s a tough call.

Technorati : wordpress, textpattern

Jon Evans - freelance science writer

Posted in Portfolio Textpattern on 6 May 2008 | Comments [1]

A new website for the freelance science writer Jon Evans. The website includes a blog for Jon to write articles about science and about himself. For this reason and for ease of maintenance, the website was built using Textpattern using an adaption of the Profilo theme.

HTML text editors

Posted in Web development Textpattern on 14 April 2008 | Comments

In recent months, I have been using a variety of HTML text editors with several different website content management systems (CMS), including Wordpress and Textpattern, and with ecommerce website administration control panels.

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