What Do I Want From a Personal Website?

This year, I planted a seed, a seed that has the potential to grow in many possible directions: a personal website.

To start off, here’s what I would not like it to be:

• Solely for business or commercial purposes, although there may later be monetary features for supporting my creative work via some donation or Patreon link.
• Purely a blog for updates and weekly newsletter send-outs, although there may be blog-like elements, including updates and long-running thematic writing.
• A social forum space or community for sharing ideas and petitioning requests, although there may be similar features like a comment section, the ability to share across the web, and personal contact info.
• Providing an online service or product for a strict function, such as a streaming site like SoundCloud, a flash game, or a file converter tool, to name some examples.

Ultimately, what I would like it to be:

Being a personal website, the focus is, simply enough, a personalized space on the web that showcases particular aspects of myself I like to share, as well as a system to host, unify, and syndicate my creative projects, many of which have already been scattered around different virtual venues. It is much like a home on the web. Coupled with the content, things like aesthetics and design can act as a way to dress up my digital identity, which is both as fun as it is therapeutic and rewarding.

In terms of the past decade or so and the advent of social media, a personal website could offer a healthy substitute for many of the ailments caused by the constrictions of commercial social-networking enterprises (read more on: silos), thereby lessening dependence on the need to juggle several online presences and relaxing the limits made by algorithms which prevent control of what one can see/share.

From a producer’s point of view, taking back creative control of the kind of content one chooses to display, down to choosing different design elements, offers a remarkable advantage. From a consumer’s standpoint, one may still participate and have access across these exclusive spaces, engaging with groups, pages, and followers, for instance, but there is no longer a forced retreat into being a tenant of these larger silos. Instead, with a personal site, one may upload whichever content they desire to publish to their central hub, a majority of which can then be easily shared back to any social media spoke on one’s digital wheel. Essentially, everything comes back to You, very much like it does when You have a reachable and retraceable physical home address.

I am aware to some extent of larger discussions being had over the future of the web in its current state and the legal argument concerning data ownership, with technological advancements like LLMs and conceptual networks like the Fediverse arising to supplant many of the present paradigms by restoring a somewhat revised version of the earlier internet. While such discourse is not the focus of this particular website, seeing as I cannot separate myself from the rest of the growing wave, I do hold a diffident interest in the development and direction of these and related efforts. 

There is potential for building a home on the web to accept the role of an architect, especially given the vast volume of resources for educating oneself about the coding tools needed to accomplish one’s vision and an overall smoothing out of the difficulty curve with assistance from AI. Site building has far-reaching benefits; a majority of the web is built on common cornerstones like HTML, CSS, and server networking, so like with any public utility, whether in learning to be a DIY plumber or fixer-upper handyman, uncovering the inner workings of websites for oneself can help one to remain serviceable not only to themselves but also the broader community of web builders and their exchange of information. In tandem, it helps to remain alert in an age where most of this stuff has the potential to be taken for granted and increase the risk of learned helplessness.

One activity of the so-called ‘Web 3.0’ in particular that I’m enjoying pulling the thread on is with Webring hopping: an exercise in appreciating how other individuals have decided to roll their own (websites). Incidentally, I am part of the IndieWeb Webring, which you can also explore by clicking the ring and web icon at the page footer (def recommend stumbling through by clicking on the random site hyperlink). I think it’s a neat way to discover cool content on the web and an excellent way to organize personal websites with a common ethos.

At the bottom of it, this entry is mostly meant as an overview: something that I can look back on or follow up on later with my thoughts surrounding this topic. There are many (sub)jects in this post that can be discussed more as they develop and begin to feel more cohesive. To clarify, I am not necessarily making a case for or against a personal website, although I advocate for one. In other words, these are merely current considerations I am keeping for myself as I move forward and expand the site—not as much an appeal, manifesto, argument, philosophy, or constitution. It’s also not a case against using social media—merely an alternative solution for those who feel pigeonholed by it and care to express greater virtual independence.

That being said, if you are reading this and are compelled by the points I’ve laid out to grow your own personal website, I strongly encourage you to do so! There’s a wonderful post made on another personal site I found through the IndieWeb Webring called, “Oh Hello Ana,” which elaborates on some reasons why it’s simpler than you might imagine and a good idea even if you’re a novice in web design or development.

This year, I planted a personal website seed. That seed will continue to reflect change as it grows dynamically through different forms and formats; yet as time goes on, I hope to establish a lasting habitat for these wild tendrils of digital foliage. So welcome!