Content to Noise Ratio
I prefer content over noise. As such, I have a minimum of graphics in this site. There should be zero graphics on all regular pages. Those pages that do have graphics should have very very few.
I’ve optimized the software I use to write to allow me to focus entirely on writing. I should be able to just write in plain text with a minimum of markup so I can focus on writing.
Tools
I’ve tried to focus on the content. This means that I need tools that will allow me to do so, and that means that they can’t trap me into something I don’t want to be trapped into (like a GUI application, or a specific OS).
Originally I used Frontier to build my website, back when it was about 20 pages. I left Frontier 4.2 behind because of the quality of the software (esp. since Dave is now charging for his crappy software) and the Political Bullshit that Dave Winer seems to enjoy getting tangled in. I don’t support the software of a person that I think acts like a two-faced ass. That feels hypocritical.
Consequently, I spent a couple of months evaluating several different commercial and non-commercial tools. I ended up settling on Python as a scripting language and was using a python version of ZenWeb to render my website. Currently, I am using a new version of ZenWeb written in Ruby and things are much better.
As such, this website has been rewritten from the ground up. It feel a lot better to me, has less holes. This is probably due to my previous reluctance to using Frontier. Now that the barrier has been lifted, I am free to focus on content. It is rather nice, being able to write in simple English using any text editor and share it on the web. If you are interested in the same goals, please go look at ZenWeb.