a dreamer's solace...

joining the indie web — resources for website making

Why Make a Personal Website?

As the mainstream internet has been whittled down into just a handful of websites and social medias all owned by corporate monopolies and monitored by governments worldwide, there has been a drive to distance oneself from it all. From hobbyists seeking to make a site of their own to individuals who value the importance of privacy and ownership online, the independent web—or indie web—is where people come together to celebrate the old web.

Indie Web, Small Web - What Does It Mean?

There are a number of communities and movements that focus on moving away from the commercial web (think Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), and while they may not share the same philosophies, they all share the desire of fostering a culture of independent and personalized websites.

— For further reading: Welcome to the Small Web, Drifting: Why we need a Slow Web, IndieWebCamp, Intro to the Web Revival #1: What is the Web Revival?, Ten Commandments of the Small Internet

Below I have listed various resources that I've collected in my endeavor to create my own website as someone who has very little HTML/CSS experience.

3 weeks, 2 days ago

Table of Contents

  1. Coding Basics
  2. Hosting Services
  1. Layouts/Templates
  1. Graphics
  1. Widgets
  2. Sozai
  3. Blogging
  1. Website Linking
  2. Misc. Resources

Back to top ↑

Coding Basics

If you're seeking to make your own fully personalized website, a basic understanding of HTML and CSS is necessary.

Check out the sites below for cheatsheets and guides on how to code in HTML/CSS, as well as "crash courses" on how to make your own website.

Misc. Code Help

Specific guides on how to achieve certain effects.

Back to top ↑

Hosting Services

Website Hosts

All services listed have free tiers included with their own caveats. Neocities and Nekoweb are the two most commonly used services for static web hosting on the independent web.

If you're just looking for an alternative to Carrd, straw.page, or rentry.co...

File Hosts

Unless you're paying for a higher tier on those site hosting services, hosting images can take up a lot of space. I usually upload my photos and assets externally to avoid that.

Back to top ↑

Layouts/Templates

Layout Generators

A great crutch for those with limited HTML/CSS knowledge but who want flexibility when it comes to customizing the general layout.

Pre-made Layouts

Too lazy to code or customize using a generator? These people got you.

Back to top ↑

Graphics

Images, buttons, and other assets to decorate your website with.

Tools/Generators

Tools and generators to create or edit assets.

Collections

Back to top ↑

Widgets

Interact-able and dynamic additions to make your page more interesting.

Back to top ↑

Sozai

Various Japanese resource websites. Translator recommended for easier navigation.

Back to top ↑

Blogging

Blog (or microblog!) directly on your site using HTML or use an external service.

Bearblog Resources

A few resources to help customize your bearblog.

Back to top ↑

Website Linking

There are various communities on the indie web you can join. Here are just a few sites where you can find them.

While there are no algorithms to help push new websites into your radar, there are several community-made widgets emulating ad banners that you can add to your website. You can apply to join any of these ad lists and advertise your site.

Back to top ↑

Misc. Resources

You can find more comprehensive resource lists at these sites if you need more.

Back to top ↑

#notes #webdev