Les Jones

Blogging > Installing New Software This Weekend

I'm switching the software that runs this site from Blogger Pro to Movable Type. There may be some down time due to the changes. I've got MT working already. Next step is to import all of my Blogger Pro postings and then build a new template file.

I'll let you know how the switch goes. Installation wasn't that bad. Installing Movable Type and getting to the point that I could post took about two hours. If you've installed Perl CGIs before, you should be able to handle it. If not, you can have it installed for $40.

Bad web page authors destroy old file and directory names willy nilly when they redesign a site. Good web page authors do their best to preserve the file and directory structure. I plan on leaving all of the old Blogger posts up so that inbound links will still work, so if you've linked to me in the past there's no need to updates your links. That also means the site will maintain its current search engine rank.

Why the Switch?
Blogger Pro hasn't been very reliable. That was the biggest reason.
Movable Type offers a lot of features that I'd like to have:

• Built-in comments
  
• Built-in, powerful search engine
  
• Multiple archiving options
  
• Posts can be assigned to categories and even multiple categories
  
• Large posts can be split up to preserve space on the front page
  
• Generates XHTML compliant code out of the box
  
• Movable Type features can be added with plug-ins. This should reduce my current reliance on JavaScripts and externally-hosted features.