Getting Clear On Your Intentions.
Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of building your first personal website on the Small Web, let’s take a moment to reflect. What drew you to the Small Web? Are you looking to get away from big tech platforms? Are you wanting to create an online homestead free of limitations where you can creatively express yourself? Are you unhappy with the status quo of social media? Do you want a space free from censorship? There could be many reasons why you feel drawn here, whether it be just wanting to have a creative space of your own, or feeling some level of dissatisfaction with what the web has turned into. Regardless of the motive, I think you will come to find the journey into this movement a very rewarding one, both creatively and liberating!
This movement offers a variety of ways to express yourself. Not everyone has the time, patience, or desire to create an elaborate website from scratch, and that’s okay! Some of you might just want an alternative to Big Tech’s social media platforms, and for that, I highly recommend checking out the “Fediverse”—a collection of decentralized social networks that offer freedom from corporate control. The Fediverse is great for those who just want to communicate with others without the baggage of advertising and surveillance.
However, if you’re the type who wants to dive in, get your hands dirty, build your own creative website and own your content 100%, then buckle up—because I’m about to walk you through everything you need to get started. Whether you’re a total newbie or an experienced web developer, there’s a place for you to start exploring this movement.
Web Building for Beginners and Intermediates
If you’ve decided to dive into the world of web weaving for the first time and don’t know where to start, this section is designed to hopefully answer all of your questions and get you started.
Before diving in, know that with all new things, there will be a learning curve. There are a lot of great and easy options available for beginners, but Rome also wasn’t built in a day and building a website that you’ll absolutely love visiting and using will take time. I want you to shift into the mindset now to be ready to learn, don’t rush the process, don’t get frustrated if you don’t understand everything right away. Creating your own personal online web space is a journey, but a fun one. The more time and energy you put into it, the more comfortable you will ultimately become, and the more rewarding it will be for you. So be patient with yourself, enjoy the process of learning, creating and start building a vision of the kind of space you want to create!
Choosing Your Domain and Hosting
Before you start designing, you need a place for your site to live. Domains are your web address—what people will type to find your site. For example, www.yoursite.com. Hosting is where the actual files of your website live.
- Domain: You can get a domain from sites like Namecheap or Gandi. Keep it simple and memorable. Domains do cost a few dollars and are generally really cheap if you go with a basic domain. However, I know many folks won’t want to invest any money into their website getting started, and that’s fine too! There are plenty of hosting providers that provide free subdomains for you to work with.
- Hosting: Look for Small Web-friendly hosts like Neocities. Hosting providers like Neocities provide simple, ad-free hosting, perfect for personal websites. You can start with free options, and upgrade later should you choose to grow your project further.
HTML, CSS, and the Basics
Once you’ve got your domain and hosting set up, it’s time to start building. If you’re completely new to web development, don’t worry—everyone starts somewhere! At its core, building a website involves three main building blocks:
- HTML: This is the foundation of your website. It controls the content and structure—think of it as the skeleton of your site.
- CSS: This makes your website look good. CSS is responsible for the layout, colors, fonts, and overall design.
- JavaScript: If you want to get fancy with animations, interactivity, or other advanced features, JavaScript adds functionality to your site.
There are plenty of free resources online to help you learn these languages. Sites like w3schools or MDN Web Docs offer beginner-friendly guides. I also recommend checking out my Resources Archive – it has a ton of various resources to help you get started on your journey.
If the thought of coding your own website is a bit too daunting for you right now, that’s totally fine! You can build your own website without any coding knowledge too and I’ve provided some excellent resources for that in the ‘No Coding Knowledge’ tab in this section. Check it out!
Embrace Creativity
Once the basics are covered, it’s time to let your creativity run wild. The beauty of the Small Web is that it’s your space—there are no algorithms deciding what others should see, no rules about what your website should look like, and no corporations telling you what’s allowed or not allowed.
Want a blog? Go for it. Want to showcase your art? The web is your canvas. Want to write quirky articles about the joy of knitting llamas in the Andes? That’s cool too!
Once you are finished reading the tab that’s applicable to your technical level and choose a hosting provider to start your webmaster journey, head over to my Resources Archive to access a plethora of resources, tools, and information you can use to start building your website.
If you are unfamiliar with HTML and CSS, the following web creation tools are for you!
► MMM (FREE with upgrade options)
MMM Is a free, creative drag-and-drop builder with the idea in mind to make your website like your digital canvas! No coding knowledge is required, it is extremely easy and intuitive. So have fun exploring and experimenting with your projects!
While the free version is limited, I think it offers as much as is needed for absolute beginners. Give it a try, dabble with it a bit, and if you decide you want even more out of it, their upgrade options are cheaper than a Starbucks frap.
For a live example of a webpage created using MMM, see my sample page here.
► HotGlue (FREE)
► WordPress (FREE, but requires hosting)
WordPress is one of the most popular website creation tools out there, and best of all, it’s FREE and open source! You don’t need to know any coding in order to have a WordPress website, though, if you know even very basic html or CSS, you can create a site similar to mine! There are great free and paid plugins that can add functionality to your website as well and help you along the creative process, such as Elementor’s drag and drop page builder, and Yellow Pencil for easily editing CSS if you have some technical knowledge. The dashboard can be a bit intimidating as a beginner, but after a bit of tinkering and getting to know the space, it becomes second nature.
While WordPress itself IS free, you will need to purchase hosting in order to get it online so people can see it. I am an affiliate with Hostinger and have been using them for several years. Their hosting is cheap, reliable, has an automatic self installation for WordPress, and they have the best customer service I have ever come across in a Hosting company. I’ve been hosting with them for nearly half a decade and customer service always goes above and beyond for me, so if you’re a total beginner, I highly recommend them as well because customer support will be more than happy to provide guidance if you need it on your web building journey. To get started with Hostinger, click here.
There are also two different versions of WordPress. The one I am recommending is WordPress.org, NOT WordPress.com. WordPress.org does have a bit of a learning curve, but if you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn, it is free. WordPress.com on the other hand is very limited. It is a bit simpler, but you will be paying more money with WordPress.com in the long run for functionality than you would if you simply chose to get a cheap hosting provider.
If you’d like to get started with WordPress on Hostinger, I recommend first watching this video to walk you through the hosting setup process, and then watch this video after to get comfortable with the WordPress dashboard and its features.
Fun fact, this website was created using WordPress – just to give you some ideas of the power and capabilities WordPress has to offer.
If you are familiar with HTML and CSS, the following web creation tools are for you!
► WordPress (FREE, but requires hosting)
WordPress is one of the most popular website creation tools out there, and best of all, it’s FREE and open source! You don’t need to know any coding in order to have a WordPress website, though, if you know even very basic html or CSS, you can create a site similar to mine! There are great free and paid plugins that can add functionality to your website as well and help you along the creative process, such as Elementor’s drag and drop page builder, and Yellow Pencil for easily editing CSS if you have some technical knowledge. The dashboard can be a bit intimidating as a beginner, but after a bit of tinkering and getting to know the space, it becomes second nature.
While WordPress itself IS free, you will need to purchase hosting in order to get it online so people can see it. I am an affiliate with Hostinger and have been using them for several years. Their hosting is cheap, reliable, has an automatic self installation for WordPress, and they have the best customer service I have ever come across in a Hosting company. I’ve been hosting with them for nearly half a decade and customer service always goes above and beyond for me, so if you’re a total beginner, I highly recommend them as well because customer support will be more than happy to provide guidance if you need it on your web building journey. To get started with Hostinger, click here.
There are also two different versions of WordPress. The one I am recommending is WordPress.org, NOT WordPress.com. WordPress.org does have a bit of a learning curve, but if you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn, it is free. WordPress.com on the other hand is very limited. It is a bit simpler, but you will be paying more money with WordPress.com in the long run for functionality than you would if you simply chose to get a cheap hosting provider.
If you’d like to get started with WordPress on Hostinger, I recommend first watching this video to walk you through the hosting setup process, and then watch this video after to get comfortable with the WordPress dashboard and its features.
► Neocities (FREE with upgrade options)
Neocities is a social network of 627,600 web sites that are bringing back the lost individual creativity of the web. They offer free static web hosting and tools that allow you to create your own web site. With Neocities, you do not need to pay for web hosting or a domain name. So long as you know how to code, you can dive right in to creating your online space right away. Neocities is one of the leading website creation tools for this movement, as it encourages freedom of expression, is open source, and doesn’t pander to advertisers. It also has built-in community features that allow people to easily follow and interact with other website creators using Neocities.
► Leprd (FREE with upgrade options)
Leprd is a small free web hosting service launched in November 2016, specifically aimed towards hobby websites! They provide an online presence to people who just want to have fun. While they don’t seem to have documentation for getting started, if you’re familiar with FTP and HTML/CSS coding, it should be pretty straight forward for you to get started with them! They also have an FAQ which you can check out here.
► Teacake (FREE with upgrade options)
Teacake Hosting is a small and affordable hosting service primarily focused on providing web space for personal and hobby-focused sites. There are a plenty of web hosting providers around—and all very competitive—but this is for those who just want a small site for their personal lives or their interests.
► Ichi (FREE)
Ichi is a tiny internet community where people can create their homepages for free. These pages are listed on Ichi’s index, allowing everyone to explore, discover, and engage with one another. For more information on getting started with Ichi, visit their Help Guide!
► Codeberg Pages (FREE)
Host static websites with Codeberg Pages! It’s quick, easy, free & fast – just put your open source project’s homepage, developer blog or web experiment into a Git repository at Codeberg, and they’ll do the rest. For more information on how to use Codeberg, visit their documentation guide.
► Github Pages (FREE)
Build your own site from scratch or generate one for your project. GitHub Pages is a static site hosting service that takes HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files straight from a repository on GitHub, optionally runs the files through a build process, and publishes a website. For more information on how to use Github, visit their documentation guide.
► NekoWeb (FREE)
Nekoweb is a free static website hosting service, created in 2022 2023 2024 by a group of coders, programmers and artists, passionate for the old web and personal websites. Nekoweb is free of any advertisements, and is run completely by donations from its users.
Don’t Let Gatekeepers Discourage You
In every movement, there are gatekeepers—people who think they know the “right” way to do things and will try to make you feel unwelcome if you don’t follow their rules. The Small Web is no different. You may run into people who think a personal website should follow a strict set of guidelines or who try to dictate what you can and can’t do or say on your site. Don’t let them get to you. The entire point of the Small Web is personal freedom and creative expression. You do you!
This movement is about escaping corporate control and creating something that is meaningful to you. So, if someone tells you that your site doesn’t fit their idea of what’s acceptable, ignore them. The only rule that matters is that your site should be personal and not driven by profit. If you can do that, you’re already part of the Small Web.
Connect and Grow Your Site
Once your site is live, you’ll want to connect with others in the Small Web. Unlike Big Tech platforms, where algorithms try to force-feed you content, the Small Web encourages organic connections. You can use RSS and Atom feeds to stay updated on the sites you enjoy, and join Small Web communities such as forums and webrings to share your site with like-minded people.
Final Thoughts: Have Fun and Stay True to Yourself
Building your first personal website is a fun and rewarding experience. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect at first. The beauty of having your own website is that it’s a living project—it grows and evolves with you. The Small Web is all about freedom, creativity, and breaking free from the limitations of the mainstream web.
So go ahead—build that quirky, one-of-a-kind site that’s a true reflection of you. I guarantee, others who are looking for the same freedom will find you.
And remember, if you ever have questions or need help along the way, reach out! I’m here to help, and if I get enough questions, I’ll turn this page into an FAQ to support everyone starting their own Small Web journey.
Good luck, and happy building!
