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rollercoaster
new web
i hadn't heard much about the new web movement until one day i got on the right side of youtube and watched a LuvstarKei IRL video. I remember building cool pages like this before - my Tumblr account, my sister's Tumblr account...another Tumblr account. Point being I learned how to change the background image and felt like a bonafied hacker.
this inspired me to get back to the thing i love most - building my own little world. here we can arrange pixels and categorize topics by whatever limitations our brains and html can go towards. I was ready to make this website before I even could think of a reason to create one in the first place. I am all style with just a dash of substance here. So I supposed in exchange for having a place to share all these cool carousel horse pngs I found... I could bother to impart some wisdom.
why make a site?
- Freedom - you get to post whatever you want, no algo, no content guidelines, no text limit, and no format restrictions
- skill building - i'm putting css and html on my resume as we speak.
- nostalgia - so many of the resouces out there pay homage to old web, it's hilarious watching young zoomers posting "rawrxd" blinkies in their profiles
- fuck capitalism - decentralize the web. stop algorithms for making choices for you. explore and currate your own web experience.
- community - I've been able to meet new urls and profile pictures all thanks to the small web. It's making media social again!
so you're ready to start working on your own site?
lets goooo!!! Sadly i can't teach you how to code...or build a website. But i can teach you how i learned to do it. and if this clown with a journalism degree can figure this out I'm sure you can too!
- explore the sites: check out my shuttle bus to other pages and see what they've created. get inspired and know what you want to make
- get a template: the scary open notepad was very intimidating at first, but editing a template was the training wheels i needed to learn my divs from my ps
- set up your work area: You'll need a few things to get started. You'll need a place to write, edit, and preview your code. Most people use VS code - including me!
- eat sleep and breathe tutorials i still find myself googling " how to make image centered", if you have seen it online it can be done. learn the terminology you need and eventually you will figure it out. it's like a puzzle
- you will make errors, accept it fellow perfectionists read this and go "okay but like I'll do my best not to make them..." stop yourself right now. Stop trying to find the perfect html tutorial and just start something. if your errors are deadly you'll trouble shoot. If your layout looks crooked, you'll learn how to center. You will learn best by throwing some mud on the canvas and figuring everything out as you go along. Personal websites are made for learning.
resources
Helpful Links
- W3 Schools Very easy to follow beginner HTML tutorial
- Astro A javascript web framework (aka make it easier to repeat content like layouts)
- VS Studio Code Open source coder (ai functions can be turned off)
- Deploying to Neocities I did not understand the first thing about github until i read this tutorial. This is the most hand holding guide to get you to be able to automatically update your neocities site from a github repository.
- Git and Github 0 Experience to Professional Speaking of not knowing what a git is - this tutorial really helped me understand the basics of what git is and the basics of using it. if you want to get into code or even just using open source programs you should really watch this.
- Why and How to Make a Website A quick and easy to read zine about starting a website. Print it out and share it!
so you're not ready?
very valid. but there are still ways to enjoy the new web and personal websites! This section has ways you can participate in small web without having to even know what a div is.
- Unplatform An interactive guide (with a fun quiz) to help direct you OFF of doomscrolling and social media and towards a better way to intentionally use the internet to learn, connect, and enjoy what matters to you.
- How to surf the web in the year of our lord 2025
- Intro to web revival by melon
- The yesterweb manifesto for a new web
helpful hint pages titled "links out" or "affiliates" will usually lead you to sites recommended by the owner and are a great place to discover new pages!
Useful Tools
Here are some services that I like that can help with privacy, mental wellness, and just making the internet a place to enjoy again.
- Proton Mail encrypted email service based in Switzerland, bye gmail
- Brave Browser I dont use it all the time but I do like it as a replacement for "incognito mode"
- File Garden Holds files of any kind you can link back to later, replace your google drive
- Futureproof A site that includes tools, resources, and basic information about online and digital safety and it's effects on the human brain.
- fmhy 🏴☠️to source all sorts of media. there is no ethical consumption under capitalism wooo!
- Every Noise at Once a long-running attempt at an algorithmically-generated, readability-adjusted scatter-plot of the musical genre-space
Social Sites
This isn't social media - the goal of these sites are to connect with new faces and find new people.
- Neocities Where this site is currently hosted! It's free to host your own site here and a great way to find other personal web pages. Even if you don't make a page you can create an account to follow your favorite sites.
- melonland forum A social forum that will send you down a trillion rabbit holes. Good for general interests and art.
- 32 bit cafe A social forum, much more modern set up. Good place to talk tech, web, and how the internet shapes us
- PI FYI Literally just a site for recommendations. You can get local recs and share your own
- pixelfed App, alternative to instagram. Basically what if the app never got bought by meta
