Why Web?

Musings on personal websites by Hal.

Why should I make a website?

In a time such as ours, and utilizing an online sphere such as our own, it can be incredibly daunting to imagine making a website from nothing. For a very long time, tech users have, through no fault of their own, been 'railroaded' along the path to technological literacy; everything is automated, carefully refined, and methodical, with little room for personal touches.

It feels far easier to lie down in the mud and let everything pass over you, like clouds drifting. It feels easier to be apathetic, and that's because it is; that does not mean, however, that this is the way things have to be. A tactic frequently used to discourage the movement of individuals is the recitation that it 'does nothing', and is largely ineffective. This is untrue, and it keeps you from making something of your own, for fear that it would have no worth, or perhaps be ineffective. Your website does not have to be useful, but it has to be yours. By carving out a space for yourself, you have already innovated, making something that did not existed prior to your efforts. Challenge the notion that anything can be worthless by seeing the worth in small movements.

What are the benefits of having a website?

In an intangible age, it can be difficult to feel that anything is truly yours. Imagine a space that is strictly your own, filled with all of your personal ephemera, untouchable by outsiders, but able to be viewed by people all across the globe. Your website is precisely this. It's something that is entirely yours, able to be constantly altered to keep up with your evolving tastes, and endlessly available so long as you choose for it to be. No hard limits, and few parameters; no templates to hold you back.

Where do I begin?

There are endless, countless guides on how to 'get started' with your NeoCities site. Each of them is wonderful, but this strictly refers to the technical aspects of your website. What a website begins with is the question of its intent; what purpose will your site serve? Will it be devoted to a single concept, or to all of the myriad things important to you? When this is decided, swallow the fear that your site will not be 'good enough'. Mediocrity is not a sin. Make something, simply to make it, regardless of its quality. Now you're off to the races!

Halexander Scolopendridae, February of 2024.