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With all the free templates and premium wordpress templates out there I'm not sure why you would want to design your own? Its pretty easy to modify existing layouts, much easier than developing from the ground up one of my favorite sites is Brian Gardners, this guys layouts are way cool.
Then the question why Wordpress, of course that is best answered by Jack, what to do after wordpress can be found best here social power linking
OK, Jack so I left out the authority, that of course being ASC...
I haven't posted in awhile so I will take this time to say thanks to you and Sam.
16 weeks has changed my goals actually given me goals and probably the best guidance I could have received short of ASC and SPL