Recently, the folks at Hosting.com published a feature about my work across development, design, and music. It was a nice opportunity to reflect on the different paths I've taken over the years, so I thought I'd take a moment to talk a bit about where I am today and what comes next.
It's funny, but after working in web and media dev for almost three decades, I now find myself in a place I didn't quite expect to be. I'm actually genuinely excited about development again, and a large part of that has to do with so much of the emerging open-source technologies that are available to developers now. It feels like a second wind, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it.
Some context: I've been building websites since 1998, and for most of that time WordPress has been a central part of it (since 2004). It's safe to say I know it like the back of my hand, which also means I'm very familiar with its limitations as well as its strengths. In all fairness, WordPress is an incredible tool, and I wouldn't have been able to do what I've done over the past 20-plus years without it. But at some point even the best tools eventually start to show their age.
I want to clarify that I really do love WordPress, but over the past year keeping up with security patches, updates and performance issues has become a real ball ache, which left me wondering if there was a better way of streamlining everything.
So last August, I started looking into WordPress alternatives. Keep in mind I manage roughly 30 WordPress sites, so finding a framework to replace it while making it easy to migrate all of these sites was paramount. I wanted something I could rely on for both personal and client sites, with less maintenance and more freedom to build, and eventually settled on Astro. Since then, I've been getting acquainted with the framework and quietly migrating sites over to it. I'm still learning, experimenting, and figuring out the best ways to approach different projects, but I'm already seeing the benefits. Site builds have been leaner and more secure, with far less upkeep, and look absolutely fantastic on mobile. I have way more control and flexibility over how everything comes together, but more importantly, it's opened up a lot of possibilities for ideas that would have been difficult or cumbersome to pull off in WordPress (including this site). It's changed the way I think about building websites again, and given me a reason to revisit ideas I've wanted to explore but haven't been able to for a very long time.
So yeah, a lot has changed. But one thing that hasn't changed over the years is how much I value the relationships I've built along the way. I still have clients I've been working with for more than two decades, and these tools have played a huge part in that.
I've always viewed what I do as a symbiotic relationship, and the best part has always been having the opportunity to foster these creative partnerships. My primary goal is to understand what my clients are trying to accomplish, help them figure out the best way to get there, and support them as things inevitably evolve.
So, if you're reading this and you're having a second wind of your own... whether you're starting a business, developing a new project, rethinking your website, or finally getting around to that idea you've been sitting on... I'd genuinely love to hear about it. If you've got something in the works, or just curious about what's possible, get in touch.
Field Report
Declassified // Source: hosting.comAymat: From Code to Creativity - Powering a Life in Development, Design and MusicJoel Carlo has never been particularly interested in doing just one thing. Over almost three decades, his work has spanned web development, design, illustration, video and audio...Open dossier ↗
