2nd Option, Wordpress

Wordpress is:

'a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

This is taken off the wordpress website and so far it sounds right up my street. I think it could be down to the use of the words FREE and PRICELESS but with that aside, it is a program I am very interested in try to use and incorporate into my brief to create a portfolio website.

'WordPress has a templating system, which includes widgets that can be rearranged without editing PHP or HTML code, as well as themes that can be installed and switched between. The PHP and HTML code in themes can also be edited for more advanced customizations. WordPress also features integrated link management; a search engine-friendly, clean permalink structure; the ability to assign nested, multiple categories to articles; multiple author capability; and support for tagging of posts and articles. Automatic filters that provide for proper formatting and styling of text in articles (for example, converting regular quotes to smart quotes) are also included. WordPress also supports the Trackback and Pingback standards for displaying links to other sites that have themselves linked to a post or article. Finally, WordPress has a rich plugin architecture which allows users and developers to extend its functionality beyond the features that come as part of the base install.' (Wikipedia)

I've said that i want to try and create a portfolio site that also includes a blog. Instead of using an already existing blogging site such as blogger i could have a lot more control over the how the blog visual looks and interacts. I am not sure whether I will create my whole portfolio site in Wordpress or just have a blog that runs using Wordpress and then create another site to house examples of my work etc. I think that it will be good to get to grips with it and see what it is possible to create with it. Wordpress uses PHP so this could be a chance to try and get my head around it by incorporating some PHP coding into the blog.