The new related articles box, that automatically updates itself based in the articles’ tags, is far superior to the old Slot Machine + PlusKit combo, which required a manual include for each article and only allowed to select randomly from a list of a few manually inserted entries. For instance the new HTML/ CSS book download buttons, or the related articles/books you can find at the bottom of some pages. Of course, I also had to redesign all the static pages to fit the new theme and to compensate for the lack of some RapidWeaver plugins and stacks. Then came the hardest part: migrating blog articles and pages - this was a pain, because I had no easy way to automate it (that’s why I now prefer to use a platform that is based on simple and open file formats), and I wanted all the articles and pages to be properly configured to use the features provided by Pelican. This allows for easy source code backup and version control, but it is also useful to sync the source files between devices. I adapted some of the stuff I already had (like the Pelican settings files, and the Python and shell scripts used for the build and deployment processes), and I set up a new GitHub repository. I chose the open source Pelican-Hyde theme, by José Guilherme Vanz and did some CSS and template customization, making sure the website was easily browseable on different screen sizes. So, naturally, since my needs for the other website were basically the same, I decided to rebuild it using Pelican. I even managed to get the whole thing working from Pythonista on iOS. I can work both online and offline if I need so. I can write and update the website from anywhere, provided I have access to GitHub and Python. And, most importantly, it results in a highly portable web development platform, with very low system requirements, both on the local development environment and on the remote server. It works fine, with what appears to be the right doses of keep-it-simple and fiddle-a-bit-until-it-works-as-you-want-it. I have been using Pelican since the creation of The No-Title Tech Blog, about a year ago. If you have been following this blog, you already know I am both a Python fan and a Pelican user. It really makes it easy to build some very good-looking websites, but it also gets you stuck on that platform: you can only use a Mac computer, you can only use a computer that has RapidWeaver and all the needed themes and plugins, you can’t easily update your website on the go, whenever you’re away from your Mac, you can’t easily customize the themes and templates, and eventually you will need to buy new software licenses and new themes. It is still a very nice software, especially if you prefer a WYSIWYG interface and you manage to get a lower price in a software bundle, and it has an ecosystem that includes some very ingenious and talented third-party developers. This is not to say that RapidWeaver isn’t cool anymore. What was once a simple solution can sooner or later become an undesired expense, amounting to more than you may be willing to pay. And, eventually, you may find out you also need to buy a new computer to be able to run a newer version of RapidWeaver. If you want to be on the cutting edge, you need to get the new version, and make sure you have licenses for the latest version of all the plugins and stacks. RapidWeaver and its quite large third-party ecosystem is still on active development, with new versions being released every couple years. At that time I was complementing RapidWeaver’s built-in features with that theme, and a few third-party plugins, like Stacks, Animagic, Slot Machine, SiteMap, FaqMaker, PlusKit and a few more.īut then, the years go by and technology always changes rapidly. That new theme was responsive, it had some interesting new features and a fresher look. So, in 2014, I started using the Solstice RapidWeaver Theme, by a developer named Will Woodgate, who, by the way, has always provided timely updates and very helpful technical support. The first one was that at that time most themes weren’t responsive and didn’t fit very well on small screens, like an iPhone. At the time, I already had an unused RapidWeaver license, and after experimenting a little with it, it seemed to me like an easy way to build a nice looking website by using one of the built-in themes.īut soon I would start noticing some of its shortcomings. It goes back to 2011, when I built the first version of my personal website. Why I decided to redesign the website, and why I wanted to choose other tools
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