Where I put thoughts to text

Why I have my own website

I am not a web developer. I am not particularly clever or know great things. I don't make art that I'd like to show or even sell. I don't have projects, nor side projects. I don't offer any service. Technically I do not need a website. But I still have one. Why?

Just for fun.

Ok, maybe not just for fun. Yes, I do like to be creative, and to express myself creatively. I do like to try all the things, learn all the things, do all the things, and HTML and CSS are simply two of those things. But there's another point: I can do what I want with a website. I am not confined by what a (social media) platform allows me to do. I am not limited by character count or image size. No random moderator or algorithm will block my "content" work for arbitrary reasons. I am free to express myself however I want, as long as I abide by the laws under which I and my website exist. Common sense and decency should be a guide too.

The only limitations I have are my knowledge about how a website works, and what my hosting service is offering.

For example, I know basic HTML and CSS. My knowledge of those languages is so basic that I have to look up tags all the time and can't yet do what I would like to do eventually. Also, neocities.org, where I host my site, does not allow for PHP, which would turn this static site into a dynamic one. But those limitations are ones I could get over if I wanted to: I could learn and practice more HTML and CSS, and I could change where I host my website.

I understand that it can be a huge hurdle for people who have never written a single HTML tag to start their own website. How do I do it? How do I get it online? An .html file looks so complicated and doesn't make much sense if you don't know what it all means.

But if you have the interest and the time to learn these things, owning your own website is one of the coolest things.

There is a great new free online resource available if you want to try this website making thing: HTML for People by Blake Watson. Blake takes you step by step through the process. You will see how easy it is to make and publish your first website. You don't even need special programmes, a simple text editor is enough.

Other resources could be:

HTML & CSS

• Codecademy - They offer free courses on all kinds of programming languages. I started with going through their beginner HTML course.
• Books, e.g. Learning Web Design by Jennifer Niederst Robbins. This book comes with course material that you can download from the website to do the excercises with.

Personal Websites, etc.

• Neocities directory - All the websites hosted on neocities.org. There are a lot of great ones. They are great for inspiration and to see what is possible with a static website.
• Webrings - Remember them? If you have a website you can become a member in one or more webrings. If you don't have a website (yet), or don't want your site to be part of a webring, you can surf the ring and find inspiration. For example, here's the main page for a webring called Fediring.
• If you want your own domain, this is a good beginner, non-techy article. The whole website might be interesting to you.

Also take a look at my Links page for even more, well, links.

Have you ever had your own website? Tell me about it! What was it about? How did you build it? Is it still online? Please share a link!
Are you interested in creating your own website? What has you kept from doing it? Does any of the resources I list give you the impulse to try it now? Please share a link once your site is online!