clay johnson {design for web}

I’ve just converted this site to Wordpress. Yes, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Wordpress lately, and I’ve decided it’s the one for me. Having heard about people customizing Wordpress for use as a CMS (content management system), I began experimenting to see if it might be a good solution for my clients who need an easy way to update site content on a regular basis without getting HTML all over their nice clothes (that stuff can stain). 

As a test, I challenged myself to convert my four-quadrant page design into a Wordpress theme. I had been a bit skeptical about using Wordpress, assuming that some design concessions would be necessary to make my site work in Wordpress. To my surprise, it wasn’t difficult to build a theme that looks exactly like my original site design. In the process, I looked at a lot of other Wordpress themes and didn’t see any that were similar to this one. Therefore, I intend to tweak this theme (tentatively called “Quadrant”) a bit and make it available to the public via the Wordpress Theme Directory.

While Wordpress is not an appropriate CMS for every situation, it is relatively easy to set up, easy to use, and (best of all) has a very large community of people who support it in various ways, including creating useful plugins to extend the functionality of Wordpress sites.

The site that I put together for local Corvallis architecture firm Modern Organic Architecture is now up and running.

This site showcases the many projects MOA has designed and built over the last twelve years. In its projects section you’ll find slideshows of spectacular residences, commercial buildings, and more. Especially featured is the new Elements Building in downtown Corvallis, which is home to 7Stones Day Spa and Strega Restaurant and Bar. Visit my portfolio page for more information about the MOA website.