Bryan Beaudreault

I went to buy a new domain name a few days ago and happened to see that I have had this domain name for over 2 years! Sadly, until recently I’ve had nothing to show for it though. Why is that? I’ve been stuck in a rut.

It might seem hard to believe that someone could be stuck for over 2 years, but it’s the truth and I’ll tell you why: I’m a developer—not a designer—that was too proud to just buy/get a damn theme. I’ve always had what I like to think of as a good design sense, but the fact remains that I’m not a designer. Over the 2 years I’ve had numerous ideas for designs that I thought would be cool or look good, and I’ve learned a lot about design while trying to implement them, but they never turned out how I wanted them. The perfectionist in me caused this blog to never see the light of day. Admittedly, it hasn’t been at the forefront of my mind that whole time, but I’m sure I’m not the only developer this has happened to.

Since being hired by HubSpot, I’ve been preparing for my start by following an orientation guide of theirs, heavily filled with inbound marketing information, among other things. During my reading, I came across one of their blog posts 7 Beginner Blogger Blunders and How To Avoid Them. Most of the points are pretty obvious, but despite that I was struck by 2 of them (#1 & #3). Um, I’ve had these problems for 2 years!

I think there’s a giant moral to this story.

Prioritize

We’re web developers, not designers. We are solving real problems (hopefully) on a daily basis and probably have a queue a mile long of projects, experiments, and research to do. So why are we wasting time fretting over a flashy design or creating a personal blogging platform from scratch, when there are much more interesting (and lucrative) things we could be spending our rather valuable time on. Of course, if one of your projects is to create the next WordPress or revolutionize blogging in some way then more power to you! In that case, definitely use your personal domain as a staging grounds. Otherwise, rest assured that your time is probably better spent on other things.

Blogging is an important endeavor for developers; especially those looking for a job. It is a perfect opportunity to show your peers or an employer that you are a thinker, that you have a passion for your field, and that you have opinions. I’m pretty sure thats worth a hell of a lot more than the perfect design.

So go google “free wordpress themes” or whatever your platform is, and find a theme that best fits you. Plug it in, and start generating content. Because as I’ve recently learned, that’s really what matters.

Disclaimer: The above mention of “real problems” means no disrespect to web designers. I love designers, and the web would be a very boring place without you all. Designers solve real problems too, but in a different way that is just as important.