About
The Atlanta Webmaster is Alan (aka AJ*) Martin.
I began building sites in 1995 and have continued to build web sites for myself, friends, family, non-profits, small and mid-sized businesses and everything in between. In the past 14 years I have used HTML, ASP, PHP, Frontpage, ASP.net, CSS, Java, Javascript, Expression Engine, Perl, Movable Type, WordPress and dozens of other forgettable technologies and tools to build web sites. Currently I am using WordPress with Thesis, a WordPress framework, for several projects.
Past and Present – 15 years of web experience
In 1995 I worked on the initial MCI.com corporate web site. The following year, 1996, I had the opportunity to join Atlanta based S1 and be part of a small team working on the world’s first internet bank. Since those days I have participated in several internet start-ups, and from 2000 to 2008 operated an internet-based financial services marketing firm working with Bank of America, Suntrust, Wells Fargo and many other financial institutions. In 2009 I began consulting and developing for clients in a variety of industries in the areas of blog development, SEO best practices, RSS feed syndication, social media tools (Facebook pages and Twitter accounts) , social bookmarking tools and single source messaging platforms. I am a metro Atlanta native. I have an undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech and a Master’s degree from Georgia State University both located in Atlanta, GA. (Apparently I have an aversion to campuses with actual grass.)
Why do I use WordPress?
I began working with Movable Type a few years ago and began using the Movable Type platform as a CMS for a network of over 900 web sites that I built and maintained. Months later I began testing WordPress and became convinced** WordPress was a better solution for my project.
For the last 3 years I have used WordPress exclusively for my own projects and for client work. While the basic WordPress installation and themes are not ready-for-prime-time, I find it easy to customize and extend WordPress to create an endless number of designs and solutions. The content and code separation allows geeks to run wild and allows non-geeks to easily use the core functions of the software as both a CMS and blog platform without knowing any code. A great community of plug-in developers and themes exist to bring the world of blogging and simple CMS technologies to the average user.
Crystal ball
WordPress has serious momentum. WordPress frameworks like Thesis allow developers to easily extend the core functionality without disturbing the core WordPress code. New WordPress visual editors are being developed that will allow drag and drop design tools. This means complex theme designs and development will be available to literally anyone with little to no CSS knowledge required.
Social Media
If this term is confusing or makes you feel like you have been left behind don’t be concerned. I have a firm grasp on what social media is and how to use it.
Get Started
If you would like to discuss your needs please use the really short contact form.
* The AJ moniker is a nickname from way back when and I find it much easier for others to spell than Alan, Allen, Allan, Allaan, Alen, Alain or Alean etc.
** Movable Type has likely improved their products so you may want to give it a look as a potential solution. I went all in with WordPress and haven’t looked back but that is based on my experience.
