I’ve been participating in small web/web revival/net rewilding/etc. spaces for a while now, and every so often I see people asking if their website is a real, legitimate website because they didn’t build it themselves with HTML and CSS on a NeXT machine in ed or vi.
Maybe they started by copying and pasting from another website.
Maybe they used a template.
Maybe they’re using WordPress.com, or Carrd, or omg.lol.
Maybe they’re on a service like Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace.
Maybe they’re on Medium or Substack.
For the most part, I don’t give a shit; imposter syndrome just plain sucks. The latest instance I’ve seen is on the Melonland Forums, and I’m going to tell you what I told them...
I’ve been building personal websites since 1996, and while I would never use Wix myself because I’m one of those absolute mad lads who writes raw HTML and builds his sites with UNIX shell scripts and a makefile, I am going to tell you that your Wix website is perfectly valid.
You don’t need to have built it yourself with artisanal HTML and CSS.
You don’t need to have your own domain name.
You can use a website builder, or PHP, or JavaScript.
You can build it with Notepad on Windows if you want, or if that’s all you’ve got.
It’s your website; you get to build it your way, and any elitist nerd who tells you otherwise plainly didn’t get enough atomic wedgies growing up.
The more independent you are from corporate platforms, the better, but if you’re new to this then starting out on a platform like WordPress.com, Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace is perfectly fine. You can always try learning HTML and CSS later. There’s no rush. And no obligation.
If anybody tells you otherwise, send them my way. They can answer to my boot while I kick their asses into the Kuiper Belt.
I reserve the right to hold two exceptions to the inclusive stance I outlined above:
-
I have no interest in reading anything posted on Medium.
If I go to somebody’s website and find that they’re using a custom domain with Medium, that domain goes into
/etc/hostswith the IP address0.0.0.0. -
I have little but contempt for people who still post on Substack, knowing that the site has Nazi infestation on which its management refuses to take meaningful action.
As with Medium, if I find that somebody is using a custom domain with Substack, that domain gets remapped to
0.0.0.0.
I have reasons for disliking Medium and Substack that have nothing to do with whether or not you built a “real website” using these platforms. I find them objectionable for reasons specific to these platforms, that I have not noticed in other platform services.
Medium is nothing but a content farm. Its business model is “Spotify for writers”, where a lucky few make bank and the rest make bupkis. Worst of all, the writing is generally neither rare nor well-done, and almost deserves to be called mere content. I can’t in good conscience encourage people to write for an exploitative platform.
As for Substack: Do you know what we call a person who willingly frequents a Nazi bar, knowing that it is in fact a Nazi bar? We call them a Nazi. Do you know what we call a person who continues to run a bar after Nazis have driven out the original non-fascist clientele? We call them a Nazi, too. I can’t in good conscience encourage people to write for a Nazi-infested platform.
I am uncompromising on this anti-Nazi stance because running a personal website on wild web is the closest I’ll ever get to participating in a punk scene. Nazis can fuck right off.
Regardless of my stance on specific platforms, my preference for building websites from scratch with minimal tools is not a prescription. If you want help learning HTML and CSS, I may be able to provide it. If you want to use the tools I made for myself, you are welcome to do so. Nevertheless, you are not obligated to do things my way.
My way might not even be the best way. It is merely my way. You have the right to find your own way.