Creating cottoncreates.com

After many frustrating months my website cottoncreates.com is finally finished, well as much as it’s going to be anytime soon.  Ive heard many people say that launching a website is easy peasy, especially when you use WordPress.  But I vehemently disagree!  This is not, I think because I am more mentally challenged than your average person (heaven forbid!) but because this ideological view is based upon the assumption that the perfect ‘theme’ will be ready and waiting for you at your local friendly ‘theme site’.

Unfortunately for me, this was not the case as my requirements were not matched by ANY theme, and goodness me did I search!.  I attempted 3 themes, all of which ended in frustration when it became apparent that my requirements were not in agreement with the protocol.  Well, if you take a look at my website, you will notice that it isn’t exactly the most complex and extensive site in the world.  The main problem derived from one issue: that every theme designer has decided all images must be landscape.  Without fail.  Now, as much as I tried, I could not make a portrait mirror landscape, and so the tribulations continued.

So what are the options if you need to customise a theme that doesn’t exactly fit your requirements?  Hacking.  And yes you are correct, hacking is a highly skilled activity - and hackers come in all shapes and sizes.  So finding one who is able to effectively weedle their way around the WordPress theme’s code is not an easy task.  Most people I spoke to shuddered at the mere prospect.

So, after doing some of it myself, getting some terrible advice from some apparent ‘experts’, outsourcing it to a guy in Macedonia who then gave up, my friend Rachid Belaid who is a top notch developer finished the task.  This whole process took months, but now it is done.  And I am very relieved.

The other option of course is to spend thousands on employing a web designer and developer.  You need both because generally developers cant design and designers cant develop (you can spot the sites which have been built by one skillset). Being a lowly start-up, my pockets weren’t deep enough for this option - so I did it the long and hard way.

The only advice I can give you to help ensure you don’t face the problem I did is to only take landscape photos, or make sofas, or bikes perhaps.  Definitely not ladders, giraffes or full length mirrors.