The small web has many faces. Everyone can participate in their own way. Static versus dynamic? GUI versus command line? These are all false dychotomies. People are smart, they can learn. If anything, money is a bigger problem in 2025. Even so, there are plenty of options for hosting a website. So what's important? Community, obviously. That goes without saying. Now let's see what else.
Approaches
The best way to make a website is whatever floats your boat. That said, each way to do it has ups and downs.
Handcrafted pages
Pros:
- The most future-proof and flexible method by far.
- Can be done with only a text editor.
Cons:
- Makes it hard to grow a site and keep up with design trends.
Handcrafting websites requires a modicum of technical knowledge. See below for tips.
Static site generators
Pros:
- Makes it easy to manage a bigger website with unified looks.
- Very robust solution: once built, your site stays put.
Cons:
- Requires additional software and bureaucratic overhead.
Static site generators require more technical knowledge, in particular about the command line; they're often called a solution for programmers.
Content management systems
Pros:
- They come with forms, menus and rich text editors.
- Can often be installed with a few clicks.
Cons:
- They run on the server, which raises costs and lowers security.
Content management systems are convenient, but can take control away from the webmaster. They're still a viable choice.
Web design tips
(for handcrafted sites)
- Keep the number of pages low; don't make a new one if you can help it.
- Master the art of the remix: old text is a great starting point for new pages.
- Unsure what to write next? Look for keywords in existing text to expand upon.
- Once popular, splash pages fell out of favor after the demise of Geocities, likely because they dampen web crawlers. But nowadays that can be an advantage.
Also: don't try to manually update a "last modified" date at the top / bottom of the page. You'll forget all the time. That's what wikis are for. Instead, drop hints throughout the text as to when each part was written. Simple references to a year and month or major event help a lot.