build your own website

why?

there are many reasons you should have your own website. the main reason is to help bring the internet back to its rightful form, but there are others as well:

  1. there is no algorithm to beat
    • what you post is what your followers get
  2. freedom of speech
    • the only person who controls what you post is you (and your government and web host)
  3. freedom of expression
    • you can have any kind of "thing" you want on your site: a whole page dedicated to bread, for example, or a game you programmed yourself
    • you can customize how anything you build looks in the browser
  4. fewer trackers and less data on you, for fewer companies to get and use
    • if your website is where your content is, your web host and associated entities are the only people who are getting your private metadata, if any is even tracked at all
    • crawlers, companies, and your site's visitors will all only see the information about you that you want them to see: you don't have to tell them or your web host things like where you went to college or what your job is
  5. it's easy, and cheap!
    • you can have a website just like mine within the next day if you have the time available, and domain names can be had for as little as $5 a year

how?

you can build a static-page website (like the one you're on right now!) via a few different methods. those listed below will be sufficient for anyone wanting to create a "personal" website displaying things such as who you are, what you are about, and any information you want to contribute (like a blog post, list, or similar).

  1. learn html/css (it's easy)
  2. write your webpages
    • use a free host with built-in tools to help you put your site together. these are more restrictive than the below method, but handle pretty much everything for you. popular examples:
    • use github to host your pages
      • use netlify to port your github pages to the web
  3. secure your domain name (optional)
    • use njal.la for privacy
    • use namecheap for a generally lower price and a wide selection of top-level-domains (.com, .xyz, etc)
    • associate the domain name with your website

now you can post anything you want on the internet in any way, shape or form that you like, and nobody but the government can stop you. doesn't it feel great?

p.s. if you want someone to follow your website, create an rss feed!