Hello, small web

The web is at its best when it feels less like a shopping centre and more like a neighbourhood. A personal website can be a front porch, a workshop, a library card and a very slow conversation all at once.

This site is an example, not a prescription. It uses Eleventy to turn a folder of plain text, HTML and data into a folder of plain web pages. That output can live almost anywhere.

What “independent” means here

It means the important bits are ours:

• a domain we control;
• content stored in ordinary files;
• links that do not depend on a social platform;
• a build that does not require a database or proprietary runtime; and
• the freedom to change hosts without rebuilding the whole idea.

Small is a feature

There is no login, recommendation engine, analytics script or cookie banner here. Not because those things are forbidden, but because a useful community site does not automatically need them.

We will add complexity when it earns its keep. Until then, we have hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are wonderful.