Let’s get one thing straight: having your own corner of the internet is not just for techies, artists, or people with too much time on their hands. It’s for you. Yes, you—with your odd hobbies, your half-finished journal entries, your overthinking, your bad puns, your brilliance. You deserve a space that’s yours, where you’re not being watched, monetized, or squeezed into a template made by a company that sees you as a number.
And let’s be honest: the internet kind of feels like a giant shopping mall these days. You can hang out, sure—but it’s usually in someone else’s space, under someone else’s rules, and you’re constantly being watched, tracked, and served ads you’re 93% sure you said out loud in a private conversation.
But here’s the good news: you don’t have to live in the mall. You can build your own weird little house on the web. Paint the walls neon green. Hang up digital fairy lights. Play ambient frog sounds. Whatever you want—because it’s yours. Owning your online space is about reclaiming a little bit of digital freedom. A place to plant your flag. To say, “Here I am. This is mine.”
This article is a call to arms (or at least to keyboards): it’s time to own your online space. And no, you don’t need to be a tech genius or code wizard to get started. Let’s dive in.
The Problem with Borrowed Space
Right now, most people exist online through borrowed platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), YouTube, etc. These are free to use—but you pay in other ways. Algorithms decide who sees what. Accounts can disappear overnight. And you’re building your digital life on rented land. Social media platforms might feel like home, but really, you’re just crashing on a billionaire’s couch. Sure, it’s comfy and familiar and there’s always a party going on, but at any moment, the host could kick you out, change the rules, or suddenly decide that your favorite snack is banned. When you rely on social media alone, you’re kind of at the mercy of tech landlords. Want to post a link? Hope it doesn’t get buried. Want to share a thought? Better make it catchy or controversial enough to survive the scroll. And don’t even get me started on data privacy.
When you build your own site—whether it’s a blog, a personal page, a digital garden, or a collection of your favorite playlists—you’re not at anyone’s mercy. You’re setting up your own little house on the web. You choose the furniture, the wallpaper, the music playing in the background. And if you want to take a sledgehammer to the whole thing and start over? You can. Because it’s yours.
Unlike social media, your site won’t randomly vanish because someone flagged your joke about raccoons as “suspicious behavior.”
So, What Does It Mean to Own Your Online Space?
There’s something weirdly powerful about having a space that’s fully under your control. You start thinking differently. You stop trying to perform for likes or tailor everything to fit an algorithm. You’re not trying to go viral. You’re trying to make something that feels true. And that changes everything. You let your thoughts breathe. You let yourself experiment. Writing a blog post on your own site doesn’t feel like shouting into the void—it feels like writing in a cozy notebook that just happens to have a door open in case someone else wants to read.
Owning your online space means having a place on the internet that you control completely. That could be:
- A personal website
- A digital garden
- A blog
- A landing page or portfolio
- A space that doesn’t rely on ads, likes, or algorithms
It’s a corner of the web where you make the rules, you decide the vibe, and you get to exist outside the noise of social media. When you’re not worried about how your content will “perform,” you start creating in a way that’s a little more honest. Maybe a little messier. But real.
Why Bother?
Here’s why it’s 100% worth it:
- It’s more permanent. You don’t disappear if a platform shuts down or changes its policies.
- It reflects you. No templates forced by a social platform—just your voice, your style.
- It’s creative. Building a site lets you play, design, explore, and experiment. It’s digital self-expression at its finest.
- It’s empowering. There’s something powerful about knowing, “Hey, I made this. This is my space.”
- You’re harder to erase. Whether you’re an artist, a writer, a weirdo, or just a curious human—you exist online on your own terms.
And let’s be honest: the modern internet is a surveillance nightmare. Every tap, scroll, click, pause—it’s all being recorded. Your online behavior is constantly fed into machines that exist to sell you things. Or worse, manipulate your emotions for “engagement.”
When you run your own site, you don’t need trackers. You don’t need cookies (unless they’re literal cookies). You’re not harvesting data—you’re just making stuff. You get to choose what information to collect (if any), and who sees it. No shady data mining. No selling your soul for a sliver of reach. It’s not just about avoiding ads—it’s about refusing to be turned into a product.
Social media gives you a profile. A little rectangle to summarize your entire existence. A name, a picture, maybe a few links. But who you are—your thoughts, interests, sense of humor, bad takes, brilliant insights—that barely fits in a bio.
Your own site is like your room. You can put posters on the wall. Leave your laundry on the floor. Paint the ceiling bright yellow if you want. It’s where your digital self can be fully, gloriously you. Not a brand. Not a product. Not a carefully managed online persona.
We’re so used to being boxed in by platforms that we forget how expansive the web used to be. But when you build something from scratch, even a tiny something, you realize—you can be as weird, bold, chaotic, soft, or contradictory as you want. And no one can stop you. Owning your online space is a quiet kind of rebellion. A way of saying: “No, I don’t want to live inside a feed. I want to make something that’s mine.” And yeah, it might not get you thousands of followers overnight. But it might help you find your people. The ones who stick around. The ones who see you.
How to Start Today (No, Seriously—Today)
If the idea of setting up a personal site sounds like something only people in hoodies and hacker movies do, don’t worry. You don’t need to be Neo from The Matrix to do this.
Here’s a super chill beginner path:
1. Pick Your Platform
There are plenty of easy, beginner-friendly tools that make starting a website simple:
- WordPress – A solid place to start, especially if you like flexibility later and feature rich. (While WordPress.com is a solid starting point, I do recommend going with a hosting provider instead as it will provide you with A LOT more freedom and less restrictions for a much cheaper cost).
- Carrd – Great for simple, beautiful one-page sites
- Neocities – Perfect if you want that old-school web feel (HTML/CSS knowledge helps with this one)
- MMM.page – A really fun drag and drop website builder! No coding knowledge required.
- Straw.page – Another extremely simple web page builder. Again, no coding required for this one AND it is optimized for mobile devices!
Most of these are free, and some with limitations until you upgrade, though you shouldn’t need advanced features just starting out anyways. This is a “dip your toes in” experience! Once you pick your chosen platform, start experimenting with it! Try building your first page. Mess around with different buttons, discover and learn what everything does. Soon you’ll be well on your way to creating something spectacular.
2. Choose a Domain (Optional But Empowering)
A domain is your web address (like yourname.com). It’s not required to start, but having one makes your site feel official—and it’s easier to share.
Domains usually cost around $10–15/year. Try something short, memorable, and personal. You can buy one through providers like Namecheap or Go Daddy.
3. Set Up Your Home Base
Once you’ve got your platform and (maybe) a domain, it’s time to build. Start small. Don’t overthink it. Some ideas for your first few pages:
- A homepage that says hi and what you’re about
- An “About Me” page with your story
- A blog or journal to share updates, thoughts, photos, projects
- A links page for your favorite sites or social media
If you need more inspiration, be sure to check out my 54 page ideas post.
4. Make It Yours
Add colors you love. Use silly gifs. Write in your voice. Add a moodboard. This is your corner of the internet—there are no rules except your own.
The goal isn’t perfection—it’s presence. Let your site evolve as you do.
5. Keep Showing Up
Your website isn’t something you launch once and forget about (unless you want it to be). It’s a living space and a place you should enjoy coming to regularly. Check in with it. Tidy it up. Add something new every now and then. Make it a space you love working on and enjoy being in.
Like a garden, it gets better the more you tend it.
Final Thoughts: You Belong Here
The web isn’t just for brands, influencers, or tech pros. It’s for people like you. People with stories, art, opinions, weird little jokes, dreams, playlists, favorite links, and digital lives that deserve more than just borrowed space.
So go on—plant your flag. Build your weird digital house. Start messy. Start small. Just start.
Your space is waiting.
P.S. If you do make a site, I’d love to see it! Leave a comment, share your link, and join the lovely folks making the small web feel like home again.
