What we’re going to try to do with The Purpose Pages in the coming years is actually pretty cool stuff I think, and some of the changes we’re preparing for have already begun.
I’ve been immersed in a crash course of website development since beginning this Purpose Page project a few months ago. In order for me to execute on my dreams, I had to. I had no other choice but to jump into the deep end without fear. I realized creating a website was the best way to start building infrastructure before we could do bigger things.
So I started this site at WordPress.com in December 2012. Working with them was a great place for someone like me who had zero website development experience. It took some time to figure out the basic controls, but then I was up and writing.
Since I think the internet is a mysterious pool to most of us, I’ll share my experience dipping into it. 
WordPress.com is like a construction company whom specializes in pre-built homes. When you get a site through them, the engineering on your dwelling is all pre-determined. You still get to choose the colors, furniture, and layout, but all structural decisions have been made by them.
As I said, WordPress.com was a great place to begin this website journey, but as my ambitions continue to reach and evolve and my technical skills grow, and my creativity demands more complex needs, I’m realizing I will need more power and creative freedom than this elementary blogging software will give me.
Look at the pictures of the different writers you see posted on the left hand margin. This is a great example of our growing ambition. This software was not designed to host a collection of writers. I’ve been finding little ways to get around the limitations, but I can’t do this forever. I know that there will be fifty times as many creative ideas coming down the pipeline in the coming years. I must start improving our infrastructure to support those ideas now.
I’ve realized this last month that for The Purpose Pages to take its next jump and evolve, we’ll have to leave WordPress.com with its pre-designed site for us, and move to a much larger self-hosted company where we will control our own size, freedom, ideas, and vision. Upon moving, we will no longer be constrained to their limitations or simple format. We will be able to do whatever we want. The sky will be our limit with what we can build in the internet realm, and we can grow into our identity.
So that’s what I did all last weekend. I researched several top web-hosting servers – talked to a few support people on the phone (two of them loved the concept and actually became followers of us); and I decided on the server which best fit our needs – and I pulled the trigger. We are now officially in the moving stage between WordPress.com and our new home at Bluehost.com.
When you visit in the next few months, you probably won’t be able to tell that there’s a change happening. Although be free to look around and see if you can catch internet bugs with moving boxes.
Actually what’s happening is that I’m building two identical Purpose Page websites. You’re looking at the one on the WordPress server now. The other I have registered under a secret temporary name on the Bluehost server. One day when the sites are perfect, and I know the Bluehost software well enough, I’ll move the Purpose Pages name brand over to the Bluehost server and the transition will be seamless and instantaneous.
Everything will look like the site you’ve always seen, but in reality you’ll be looking at information stored in a completely different state. It’ll all be a perfect copy. Everything will look the same, but then slowly you’ll start seeing us add on and see that we don’t have limits. Our site will become whatever our team can dream up. If we want to add a pool, a mountain bike path, or a star-observation deck, whatever we see in our dreams, we’ll be able to it to make the coolest experience in the self-help world.
The Purpose Pages has long been a dream of mine to become much more than a site. Over the coming years I want it to become a personal empowerment and leadership center which promotes its own philosophy of “Personal Empowerment through Faith to become a Leader in your Life Purpose.”
But everything must begin somewhere.
We started on WordPress – focusing on writing and communicating clearly. That we’ll always be our trademark. But now we’re going to start climbing the ladder to our peak. Thanks for being here, for me, and for our cause. This is much bigger than me. This is all about beginning the journey that will take each of us to our individual purpose. Now what do you think of that?
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