Of course, we are allowed to use any blogging platform on any server that we choose, such as Blogger or WordPress.com, however we are provided with access to a MySQL database and web server to setup WordPress on and that is the recommended option since it provides all the functionality we need that the hosted solutions at Blogger and WordPress.com either don’t provide, or don’t provide as easily.

Yes, there are other choices, but these were the main ones that people enquired about.

Since I have access to my own server, I opted to setup WordPress on that and purchesed the domain matthewbrown.net.au rather than using the uni server and having a really long, hard to remember URL.

It also means that I can continue to use this as an online portfolio after I am finished my degree’s.

In addition to the WordPress platform, we are also required to install a couple of plugins, podPress and WP-o-Matic. This is why it is recommended that we use the WordPress system on the university server instead of one of the other available options. Since I’m hosting this myself, it doesn’t make any difference.

As the subject began just prior to the release of WordPress version 2.5, we installed 2.3.3, and as such, the plugins are both compatible with 2.3.3. Now, 2.5 has enough added functionality to replace podPress, but unfortunately, WP-o-Matic doesn’t yet have formal support for 2.5, so I am reluctant to upgrade the blog to WordPress 2.5 as of yet. I also have a few other plugins running that don’t yet support 2.5 that I would like to keep.

We are not required to design the layout of our blog from scratch, we are allowed to use any template we find online. However, I have written mine up based on the idea of a minimal design that I have seen on a few different, simple templates I have come across and quite like. It has all of the functionality and navigation that it currently needs, so until any additional element is needed, I am quite happy with it like this.