A newly redesigned and simplified version of my ElGuru.me site should be up and running later this weekend. The new site is actually completed, but there are some things happening behind the scenes involving the platform/server changes preventing the new site from going live at this time.

This is the first step in what is going to be a major transition later this year. Ultimately what I hope to have completed by year end is having all three blogs (Firefox Extension Guru, Email Mafia and El Guru’s Blog) all converted over to WordPress.org. However, the hosting I am on now is not ideal to be running a major WordPress Blog such the Firefox Extension Guru’s Blog. The hosting (along with the old platform for the ElGuru.me site) is part of a reseller package and as such can not be upgraded to the new platform.

I am going to have to purchase new hosting and then start moving over all my sites 1-by-1. While this is not too much work for the static main sites for both Firefox Extension Guru and Email Mafia, it is going to be a lot of work moving the Firefox Extension Guru’s Wiki over. Then there is my gallery…another database driven site which can be a pain to move. Although, it actually may be easier just to start with a fresh install of Zen Photo as it automatically builds the galleries based off of the directory structure on the server. As if all that were not enough, I am currently hosting content (smileys and GreaseMonkey scripts) for Go Firefox! on Delphi Forums.

Still not certain if I want to bother with all this. So far I really haven’t run into any issues with the Firefox Extension Guru’s Blog being hosted on WordPress.com, nor have I found any features that I absolutely must have that I can not get with WordPress hosting the site. The only advantage of hosting it myself besides being allowed to have sponsored ads (I have only received a couple and non-serious inquiries) is I can use my own domain name. While this is something I can do through WordPress.com as well, they charge $12 a year for the service per blog (a small price that may be worth paying to avoid a major headache down the road).

Moving the Thunderbird Blog over shouldn’t be too difficult and I know the sever I am on now can handle the moderate amount of traffic this site generates. So, that will be my next step in this project. As for the ElGuru.me site, just waiting for the platform change to kick through so I can re-point the domain to the new site. This should be completed later this evening and hopefully by Sunday the new site will be live.