I’m excited to announce that Project Pages 2.0 is now available at ProjectPages.io, and on WordPress.org!

7 years ago I made the first version of Project Pages. While my main gig is software entrepreneurship I have always ‘made things on the side’. Since I was a kid I’ve been hacking stuff together, from DIY projectors to furniture to buildings.

But whatever online ‘portfolio maker’ tools I tried I never found a good fit. Portfolio WordPress plugins, or sites were always:

• Too focused on ‘career’ or ‘consulting’ wins.
• Arty, but without the scope to tell maker stories.
• Clunky aesthetically.
• Closed sourced.
• Unsystematic – e.g. just using WordPress pages.

So back then I built my own, as I’ve tended to do throughout my years, (e.g. Zero Bullshit CRM was to scratch my own itch).

In todays light that old version is pretty basic & ugly, but it was still better than the other’s.

Then ZBS CRM took off and I got lost in the entrepreneurship & exit whirlwinds. I still made stuff, but I didn’t upload a single project into my ‘portfolio’.

When I got back from my year off building a cabin I decided it was time to fix that. I spent a few months rewriting Project Pages and bringing it up to modern WordPress standard, (blocks & patterns). I went through the 16k photos in my iCloud and weeded out the maker projects for upload.

There are now 51 projects in my Project Pages Portfolio.

I’m really happy with Project Pages 2.0, because it means I can show my eclectic maker habits and business projects on my website, but more than that, through the process it’s allowed me great reflection on how I choose what to make and why.

More on that in a future post.

… it’s also helped me a handful of times already, in that when somebody asks me ‘how did you do that thing’ I can literally send them a link.

The way I’ve built Project Pages 2.0 nudges you towards writing your project descriptions as a ‘make story’, which ends up being more entertaining, and informative for others who want to make similar stuff.

So today I launch the reboot of my project-logging plugin for WordPress. I’m still working out how to get it in the hands of other cool makers of all kinds, but you can grab a copy of the free plugin at ProjectPages.io, and optionally upgrade it for any amount to show your support.

Here’s the 2.0 tour:

Here’s my top 3 favourite improvements in 2.0:

• Blocks – I’ve converted all the aspects of Project Pages (e.g. the Hero section, the project cards etc.) into blocks. This means you can rearrange the page layouts yourself in the WordPress template editor. Better yet I made some cool blocks in the PRO version like ‘Related Projects’.
• Timeline View – I use this to create an ‘Entrepreneurship’ Timeline of all the businesses I’ve made.
• Improved aesthetics – 2.0 fits much better within my blog theme, matching the style of the rest of my site cleanly. I love the way the new Hero header sections came out, and I’m glad to have moved the design forwards. If there’s demand, I look forward to taking this even further with more formal design help.

Who is Project Pages for?

This started out as a plugin purely to solve my desire to share the stories around the eclectic things I’ve made. Along the way it’s become clear that other makers also like the idea. For now I’m pushing Project Pages 2.0 out into the ether and tentatively watching who uses it, and asking for feedback.

In my grandest vision for this, I think it could become the Maker OS. I’ve learned a lot in my years of making software and IRL stuff, and I think that indie makers (of all types) are often overlooked by big software as ‘unprofessional’. This is not the case.

As the world gets more complex and work changes again (let’s face it, it probably needed to), we’re more likely to have side-hustles and multiple gigs. Even separate to that, for some of us it just lights us up to make stuff.

Project Pages is going to help people who make things:

• Tell the story of their work
• Reflect on their work and processes
• Reach larger interested audiences (1,000 true fans!)
• Get better at their craft

I want to make this a slick system for:

• Indie Makers
• Artists
• Creators
• Designers
• Illustrators
• Film Makers
• Craftspeople
• Entrepreneurs
• Photographers
• Software Engineers

… or maybe in the end it’ll only be for Indie Makers, or just me. Let’s see who uses it

If you’re a creator and you’re interested, please do try the plugin at ProjectPages.io, or the WordPress.org page. Feedback is helpful on the forum or by email. For now the Pro version is ‘pay what you want’, because I am keen to get feedback from other makers.

Here’s to many more years of making projects!

The post Project Pages 2.0 first appeared on Woody Hayday.

You can read more of on why I’ve chosen to do this here, and pre-order your own copy here, but this short post explains the reasoning and the method.

Not a marketing gimmick

The act of planting a tree is vulnerable to becoming a marketing gimmick. I do not intend that here. I will plant a tree for each pre-order, not to make money, (in fact, I’ll loose money on every one). I’ll be planting each of you a tree because we all benefit from that act. It’s good for you, the planet’s human-bearing state, and selfishly, it gives me a solid excuse to spend time outside.

Reasons I’m planting a tree for every pre-order of Canopy Harvest:

• This planet is better with more trees
• To thank everyone for trying my debut novel
• I like trees & want an excuse to dig holes (free gym!)

How: By Hand

Each tree I plant will be either a fruit tree, a nut tree, or a service tree. It will have a productive function in a food forest setting. It’ll improve things.

I’m going to plant each tree by hand, log it in my database, and I’m going to send those of you (who pre-order) a picture of your tree.

Right now all trees will be planted in West Wales, though through Plant a Book I’m always looking for new (safe) homes for trees.

The realities of planting a tree for each pre-order:

As I started dreaming up ways to celebrate finishing this book, seeking to integrate my two passions – permaculture and literature, an idea struck. Could I plant a tree for each book sold?

I did the math and found it to be nearly impossible. I’m not giving up hope, and will continue working on this under the Plant a Book banner. But for this pre-order, I’ve decided to ignore the business of it. I’ll not make any money, in fact it’ll cost me. I accept this for the good it’ll do. Here’s the breakdown:

Retail price of Canopy Harvest on pre-order: £9.99

-*-*-*-

Royalties (my revenue after other costs): £1.09

Cost of a fruit, nut, or service tree: -£10 (average, though it ranges from £3 – £25)

Cost of land to sustainably house said tree: (-£xxx in UK)

-*-*-*-

Profit/Loss: -£9 + Land Cost

-*-*-*-

… and this ignores web, advertising costs, my time etc.

TLDR: I’m not making money here. I’m hoping to give the book a good send off. I’m going to plant some trees anyway, so I’d like to do this in others names. Life is better with trees to plant. Life is better with friends.

Planning for success:

This is a soft launch to mostly friends and family. I don’t suspect I’ll have to plant more than one hundred trees. Rest assured, though, if something does catch here, I am prepared to stand by my word. I will plant a tree for each pre-order, myself, in a long-term stable place. I promise. (If it’s thousands, it’ll take me a year or two, but I’ll do it.)

Pre-order now, let’s plant trees!:

So all that’s left is to ask that you join me in this mad launch proposition, please do pre-order the book!:

Pre-order Canopy Harvest Now

My Credentials

I’ve been interested in Permaculture for a few years now. I completed a course on forest gardening with the fantastic Martin Crawford. I’ve read a handful of books. Beyond this, I’ll probably do a PDC (Permaculture Design Course) in the autumn.

But it is not necessary to be somehow accredited to plant trees. All of us are capable of planting a tree, and thirty minutes reading would suffice to choose a suitable tree for most spots. Certainly there is value in studying trees, in fact for all of us – seeing as they make our air breathable and produce a lot of our food crops.

In this instance I’ll be growing my first food forest with the trees secured here, and my diploma will be the first apple, almond or shiitake mushroom! (I’ll be sharing this journey through Plant a Book, if you’re interested, please do follow along there.)

Cautionary note on tree-planting organisations:

Whenever an organisation “plants a tree for you” or hosts a “tree planting event”, here’s a word of warning: Check what they’re planting. Check they own the land. Check they have a plan beyond, “plant this pine tree, and harvest it in 40 years”. They should be planting mixed trees (mono-culture forests are actually deserts where only one person benefits – when they’re cut down). They should own the land, and have a long term plan in place.

The post I will plant a tree for every pre-order of my new novel first appeared on Woody Hayday.