The Return of Personal Websites: Why everyone should own their corner of the web

The Return of Personal Websites: Reclaiming Your Corner of the Web

Introduction: The Platform Paradox

We live in the golden age of digital expression—or so we’re told. Never before have so many people had access to such powerful tools for sharing ideas, art, and identity. Yet, paradoxically, we’ve never had less control over our digital presence. Our thoughts live on rented land in algorithmically curated feeds, our creativity is constrained by templates and character limits, and our digital legacies are subject to the whims of corporate policy changes and platform decay. Amid this paradox, a quiet revolution is brewing: the return of the personal website.

As Om Malik insightfully noted: “Your website is your home on the internet. Everything else is just a rented room.” This resurgence isn’t about nostalgia for 1990s Geocities pages (though the spirit lives on), but about reclaiming agency, creativity, and permanence in an increasingly ephemeral and controlled digital landscape.

1. The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Digital Homesteading

1.1 The First Wave: The Frontier Days (1994-2004)

Characteristics:

Hand-coded HTML (often in Notepad)
Animated GIFs, visitor counters, “Under Construction” banners
Webrings connecting like-minded sites
Guestbooks and email links as primary interaction
Philosophy: The web as collection of individual homes

Why It Mattered:

Digital identity was self-constructed, not platform-defined
Everyone learned basic HTML, understanding how the web worked
Content lived where you put it, organized as you saw fit
The distinction between consumer and creator was blurred

1.2 The Platform Takeover (2004-2014)

The Social Media Colonization:

MySpace (2003): First mass migration from personal sites
Facebook (2004): Real-name policy and walled gardens
Blogger/WordPress.com (2003): Lowered barriers but centralized control
Twitter (2006): Microcontent replaced long-form writing
The trade-off: Ease of use for control and ownership

What Was Lost:

URL ownership: Yourname.wordpress.com vs. yourname.com
Design autonomy: Templates replaced personal expression
Permanence: Platform changes could delete or alter your content
Understanding: Abstraction from how the web functions

1.3 The Renaissance (2015-Present)

Catalysts for Return:

Platform fatigue: Social media burnout and algorithmic anxiety
IndieWeb movement: Principles of owning your data
Better tools: Static site generators, easier hosting
Creative professional needs: Portfolios that stand out
Privacy concerns: Control over data collection and tracking

Modern Personal Websites Are Different:

Not replacing social media, but complementing it
Often connected via POSSE (Publish on Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere)
Focus on depth rather than frequency
Integration with modern tools (Git, APIs, headless CMS)

2. Why Everyone Should Own Their Corner of the Web

2.1 Digital Sovereignty and Agency

Ownership vs. Tenancy:

Platforms: You’re a tenant subject to landlord rules
Personal site: You own the property and set the rules
Real-world analogy: Renting an apartment vs. owning a home

Control Over Your Digital Legacy:

Social media profiles: Can be deleted, suspended, or lost
Personal websites: Persist as long as you maintain them
Example: When Google+ shut down, years of content vanished for millions

Freedom of Expression:

No content moderation beyond legal requirements
No algorithmic suppression of certain viewpoints
Ability to experiment with forms that don’t fit platform constraints
Case study: Artists avoiding Instagram’s censorship of certain subjects

2.2 Professional Advantages Beyond LinkedIn

The Multi-Dimensional Resume:

LinkedIn: Flattened into standardized fields
Personal site: Shows projects, writing, thought process, personality
For job seekers: 56% of hiring managers are more impressed by personal sites than resumes

Demonstrating Real Skills:

Developers: Code samples, technical writing, open source contributions
Writers: Portfolio of work, not just credits
Designers: Visual thinking and problem-solving process
Researchers: Detailed documentation of methods and findings

Building Intellectual Capital:

Blog as “digital garden”: Evolving ideas over time
Showing expertise depth: Beyond 280-character hot takes
Creating referenceable work: Others can link to your original thinking
Example: Julia Evans’ wizardzines.com combines technical expertise with unique presentation

2.3 Cognitive and Creative Benefits

The Thinking Space:

Social media: Encourages reaction, quick takes, performance
Personal site: Encourages reflection, development, exploration
The slow web movement: Deliberate, thoughtful online interaction

Developing Voice and Style:

Without platform constraints, you find your authentic expression
Design becomes part of the message
Example: Robin Sloan’s site perfectly reflects his writer/technologist identity

Learning Through Making:

Maintaining a site teaches technical skills (HTML, CSS, deployment)
Writing regularly improves communication abilities
Designing user experience develops empathy and problem-solving

2.4 Mental Health and Digital Well-being

Escaping Algorithmic Manipulation:

No engagement-optimized feeds keeping you scrolling
No notifications engineered for addiction
Comparison: Intentional visits vs. infinite scroll

Setting Your Own Metrics:

Platforms: Likes, shares, followers as validation
Personal site: Quality of work, depth of thought, meaningful connections
Psychological impact: Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation

Digital Minimalism in Practice:

One place for your serious work and thinking
Reduced context switching between platforms
Clear boundary between consumption and creation spaces

3. What a Modern Personal Website Can Be

3.1 Beyond the “About Me” Page

The Digital Garden:

Concept: Notes, ideas, and essays in various stages of cultivation
Examples: Maggie Appleton’s illustrated digital garden
Philosophy: Knowledge as constantly growing and interconnected

The Commonplace Book Reimagined:

Digital version of historical practice of collecting passages and ideas
Public learning process and curiosity archive
Tool examples: Obsidian Publish, TiddlyWiki

The Portfolio-Plus:

Not just work samples, but process documentation
Case studies with lessons learned
Testimonials integrated with project stories

The Experimental Space:

Web-based art projects
Interactive essays
Unique navigation concepts
Example: Nadieh Bremer’s visualizations as both portfolio and exploration

3.2 Integration with the Modern Web

POSSE Model Implementation:

Publish on your own site
Syndicate to social platforms
Receive engagement back on your site via Webmentions

Tools: Brid.gy, webmention.io

IndieWeb Building Blocks:

Microformats: Machine-readable data about your content
Webmentions: Cross-site conversations
Micropub: Standardized publishing API
RelMeAuth: Using your domain to log into other sites

The API-Enabled Personal Site:

Pull in data from other services you use
Display your reading, listening, watching habits
Connect with productivity tools you already use
Example: Personal dashboards showing various life metrics

4. Practical Guide: Building Your Digital Home

4.1 Getting Started: Options for Every Skill Level

No-Code Solutions:

Carrd: Single-page sites ($19/year)
Bear Blog: Minimalist, text-focused (free tier available)
Site44: Dropbox to website (simple but limited)

Website Builders:

WordPress.org: The full control option (~$60/year hosting + domain)
Squarespace: Design-focused ($144+/year)
Webflow: Design freedom with more complexity ($144+/year)

Static Site Generators (Technical):

Hugo: Blazing fast, Go-based (free + hosting costs)
Jekyll: GitHub Pages integration (free hosting)
Eleventy: Flexible JavaScript option
Advantages: Better performance, security, version control

The “Sweet Spot” for Most People:

Buy a domain name ($10-15/year)
Use WordPress on affordable hosting ($60-120/year)
Choose a simple theme
Start writing

4.2 Essential Pages for Your First Site

1. The Homepage:

Clear statement of who you are and what the site is
Recent updates or featured content
Clear navigation

2. The About Page:

Your story in your own voice
What you’re currently working on
How to connect with you
Pro tip: Include a photo that shows personality

3. The Writing/Portfolio Section:

Organized by category or chronology
Clear titles and excerpts
Search functionality as you grow

4. The Now Page:

What you’re currently focused on
Inspired by Derek Sivers’ concept
Living document updated regularly

5. The Colophon:

What tools you use to build and maintain the site
Technical details for the curious
Acknowledgments and inspirations

4.3 Content Strategy for Personal Sites

Start Small, Think Long:

Initial goal: 3-5 pieces of solid content
Frequency: Regular but sustainable (once a month vs. daily)
Variety: Mix of formats (essays, links, notes, projects)

Overcoming the Blank Page:

Write about what you’re learning
Document projects as you do them
Answer questions people ask you
Respond to others’ work with more depth

The “Start Ugly” Philosophy:

Perfect is the enemy of good enough
Your site will evolve with you
Example: Look at early versions of popular blogs vs. today

4.4 Technical Considerations

Domain Names:

YourName.com if available
Alternatives: .net, .me, .studio, .space
Consider buying common misspellings

Hosting Options:

Shared hosting: Cheap, good for beginners (SiteGround, DreamHost)
Managed WordPress: Easier maintenance (WP Engine, Flywheel)
Static hosting: Fast, secure (Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages)
IndieWeb-friendly: Some hosts support Webmentions out of the box

Performance & Accessibility:

Fast loading times (under 3 seconds)
Mobile responsiveness
Accessible to screen readers
Free tools: Google PageSpeed Insights, Wave Evaluation Tool

5. The Social Dimension: Connecting Your Site to the Wider Web

5.1 Breaking Out of Isolation

The RSS Revival:

Make your site subscribable
Follow other personal sites
Tools: Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader
Community: The 512kb Club, personal site directories

Webmentions and Conversations:

Comments that live across sites
Responses, likes, reposts from other sites
Implementation: webmention.io, WordPress plugins

IndieWeb Communities:

Homebrew Website Club meetings
IndieWeb.org resources and tutorials
Discord/Slack communities for support

5.2 Cross-Posting Strategy

The Hub-and-Spoke Model:

Your site as hub
Social platforms as spokes
Automation: IFTTT, Zapier, custom scripts

Content Adaptation:

Long-form on your site
Excerpts with links on social media
Images for visual platforms
Threads for Twitter/Threads

Avoiding Duplicate Content Issues:

Canonical tags pointing to your site
Platform-specific introductions
Timing strategies (site first, then platforms)

6. Advanced Personal Sites: Where the Frontier Lies

6.1 The Dynamic Digital Garden

Tools and Techniques:

Dataview in Obsidian: Query your notes dynamically
Interactive elements: JavaScript for exploration
Visualizations: D3.js for custom data displays
Example: Andy Matuschak’s evergreen notes

The Networked Notebook:

Backlinks showing connections between ideas
Graph views of your knowledge
Emerging connections through pattern recognition

6.2 Integrating Personal APIs

Quantified Self Meets Personal Site:

Fitness data visualizations
Reading/listening tracking
Location histories (with privacy considerations)
Example: Stephen Wolfram’s personal analytics

Automated Updates:

Recently played songs from Last.fm
Currently reading from Goodreads
GitHub activity feed
Balance: Automation vs. intentional sharing

6.3 Experimental Interfaces

Beyond the Scroll:

Spatial navigation
Zoomable interfaces
Command-line inspired sites
Example: Thesephist.com‘s unique navigation

Generative Elements:

AI-assisted but human-curated
Dynamic generation based on parameters
Artistic explorations of form
Ethical consideration: Clear labeling of automated content

7. Common Objections and Realistic Challenges

7.1 Addressing Practical Concerns

“But nobody will visit!”

Start for yourself, not an audience
Small, dedicated audiences beat large, distracted ones
SEO from consistent, quality content builds over time
Reality: 50 engaged readers > 5,000 passive scrollers

“I’m not technical enough”

Today’s tools require almost no technical knowledge
Communities exist to help beginners
Learning basic HTML/CSS is easier than ever
Mindset: View learning as part of the benefit

“I don’t have time”

Start with 30 minutes a week
Quality over quantity
Batch creation (write several posts at once)
Comparison: Less time than daily social media use

“It’s expensive”

Total cost can be under $100/year
Compare to value of courses, networking events
Perspective: Less than two months of Netflix

7.2 Maintenance Realities

Time Commitment:

Initial setup: 5-10 hours
Weekly: 1-3 hours for content
Monthly: 1 hour for updates/backups
Annual: 1 hour for renewal/review

Technical Debt:

Regular updates for security
Occasional redesigns (every 2-3 years)
Content pruning and updating
Strategy: Simple systems reduce maintenance

8. The Future of Personal Websites

8.1 Technological Trends

AI-Assisted Creation:

Tools for better writing, not replacement
Design assistance without templating
Ethical approach: Augmentation, not automation

Decentralized Architectures:

IPFS for permanent storage
Blockchain for verification (not cryptocurrency)
ActivityPub integration (Fediverse compatibility)

Enhanced Interconnection:

Richer cross-site conversations
Standardized personal data portability
Trust metrics beyond follower counts

8.2 Cultural Shifts

The Post-Platform Generation:

Younger creators starting with personal sites
School curricula including personal site creation
Evidence: Growth of GitHub Pages use in education

Professional Recognition:

Personal sites as expected professional practice
Alternative to traditional credentials
Example: “Show your work” culture in tech

The Return of the Small Web:

Intimate communities around personal sites
Human-curated discovery vs. algorithms
Movement: 100 Days of Blogging challenges

Conclusion: Your Digital Homestead Awaits

The return of personal websites represents more than a technical trend—it’s a cultural correction. After two decades of consolidating our digital identities into corporate platforms, we’re rediscovering the power and pleasure of building our own homes on the web. This isn’t about rejecting social media entirely, but about rebalancing: maintaining a sovereign territory where you make the rules, while still visiting the bustling cities of social platforms when it serves you.

As Jeremy Keith, web standards advocate, puts it: “The web is what we make it. We can be passive consumers, or we can be active creators. The tools are there. The choice is ours.”

Starting a personal website today is an act of optimism and agency. It says:

I value my ideas enough to give them a permanent home
I’m willing to learn and build rather than just consume
I believe in a web made by people, not just corporations
I’m thinking in decades, not just trending topics

The barriers have never been lower, and the need has never been greater. Whether you’re a writer, artist, developer, researcher, student, retiree, or simply a thinking human being with ideas to share, your corner of the web awaits. It doesn’t need to be perfect, only authentic. It doesn’t need an audience on day one, only your commitment to tending it over time.

In an age of algorithmic uncertainty and platform precarity, your personal website represents the most stable investment you can make in your digital future. It’s your business card, your portfolio, your journal, your laboratory, your manifesto, and your legacy—all rolled into one address that you control.

The personal web isn’t coming back—it never left. It was just waiting for us to remember why we built it in the first place: not for likes or follows, but for connection, expression, and the simple human need to say, “Here I am. This is what I think. This is who I’m becoming.”

Your corner of the web is waiting. What will you build there?