Today, craiggomes.com turns 7 years old!

I started building websites professionally in 2016, and at that point, websites were not being adopted as swiftly as they are now, post-COVID-19. I remember it being very difficult to land clients back then; not everyone needed a website, so it was hard to convince them of its usefulness. I was young, and it was challenging to make potential leads believe in me, but being resilient and continuously hustling is what led to the initial success of my venture, and Pixelvise was born. If there’s anything I learned, it is that “When you hang around the barbershop long enough, sooner or later you will get a haircut.” In other words, if you hustle long enough, you will succeed.

I made a couple of bucks and decided to invest it in different assets and projects for my company. I realized that many individuals had personal domain names, so I thought it would be a good idea to purchase one and keep it, because it would probably be very bad if someone else bought it, and I never had a domain with my own name. So, one summer day, on April 14, 2017 sitting in the college library canteen, I purchased my domain name, craiggomes.com. I was very lucky to find it available and bought it right away. Since then, I’ve made sure to never miss a renewal and lose the domain name. I now understand how important this is.

I registered the domain from bigrock.in – it used to be very popular back then and gave GoDaddy direct competition. There were very few domain registrars and hosting agencies back then. If you look at this invoice, you’ll notice .com domains were cheaper back then; the prices have since increased 2x. I paid a total of ₹735.00 INR (before GST was introduced in India), and nowadays, if you were to purchase a domain today, it would cost nothing less than ₹1,400.00 INR with GST included.

I never knew exactly what I’d do with it; there were various things I tried before using craiggomes.com as my blog. It’s gone from being a portfolio to a place where I’d sell courses, e-books, and have online sessions teaching people about web design and graphic design, to becoming a platform where I’d write stuff about business, motivational and philosophical topics, before becoming my personal blog where I would share my life events, thoughts, and other experiences. It took me a while to narrow down what I’d exactly want to do with it.

Deciding what to do with my website wasn’t the only obstacle; over the years, there have been over 100 design changes and experiments because I am a perfectionist, and it’s a terrible thing. I finally started using cleaner themes and built a simpler website to showcase my blogs, photographs, and a place where people could connect. Since then, I’ve been writing and adding content to it, and since 2021, I’ve been blogging even more.

Here’s a few screenshots of my blog over the years and how it developed into what it is today.

A couple of photographs during lockdown when i celebrated my blogs 4th birthday on 14th April, 2021 with a cake baked by Andrea. It was funny, because when i posted these photographs on social media, people didn’t even read and started wishing me “Happy Birthday” instead! 😂

Now, getting back on track from 2022 to 2024.

This year, in 2024, I visited WordPress’s first-ever pilot project, Career Camp 2024, in Kolkata. At the WordPress stall, I met two fantastic individuals offering a 75% discount. Without hesitation, I purchased a Creator Plan for my blog.

My blog holds great significance as I share my life experiences and thoughts on it. The photos and memories on the site are crucial. Managing my blog on a slower hosting provider, where I do all the heavy lifting, made it challenging to focus on the stories I wanted to share and maintain timely updates. Additionally, I required ample storage for my photographs and videos. I migrated my blog to WordPress.com and redesigned it.

The objective of these changes was to lower barriers to publishing and cultivate a space conducive to writing. These small iterations enable a quicker, more effortless publishing flow, transforming posting into a seamless writing experience rather than a checklist. The revamped design makes it easier for readers to navigate the website and read my blogs. I genuinely appreciate its precision and welcoming feel.

I’ve been constantly adding new features and making UI improvements to the website such as dark mode, updating content, and keeping things relevant and precise. I’m sure there will be more changes in the future, and I’m sure every new improvement will make my website better. I’m proud of what it’s become; it holds a very important place in my heart, and it is very important to me.

In today’s world, owning and controlling your data is crucial. You need a reliable backup system that’s 100% yours, independent of social media giants. You shouldn’t have to worry about losing years of data or letting your business go offline.

I firmly believe in having your own piece of the internet, your digital real estate, completely owned by you. My website is an example of that. It is everything I stand for.

Happy birthday, craiggomes.com! 🥳

Just finished eating a part of my blogs user interface. 🤤🍰