# How to make one website

URL: https://avavu.au/essays/how-to-make-one-website
Date: 2026-03-12

An appendix

This is a short appendix to a workshop I facilitated with [@oddh0st](https://www.instagram.com/oddh0st/) on how to make websites. It's one of the most common questions I get, and one of the hardest questions to answer. Here are some of the resources that helped me in my journey.

Check in on this site in the future, I will add to it as I find more resources.

![](https://avavu.au/images/writing/workshop/poster.webp)

## Workshop Content
For the workshop, we're using [Neocities](https://neocities.org/). It is a spiritual successor to the [Web 1.0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0#Web_1.0) platform,  [GeoCities](https://geocities.restorativland.org/) (which today is accessible through an archive). Alternatives to Neocities are countless; but for just one, I'd recommend [Bear Blog](https://bearblog.dev/) as an ideologically infused minimalist alternative.

### My Journey
If you're curious about how I've progressed through the internet, here's some of my old sites.

- [The Shpot](https://shpot.neocities.org/)
    - The Shpot was my first website, made on Neocities. 
- [My old portfolio](https://2024.avavu.au/)
    - This is my portfolio circa 2024
    - [Source Code](https://github.com/avavuvu/avavu-2024)
- [My portfolio](https://avavu.au/)
    - My current portfolio
    - [Source Code](https://github.com/avavuvu/avavu.au)

## Advanced 
What makes the web exciting is also what makes it so frustrating. The web is always moving. The most common metaphor for the web is an *ecosystem*. This means whatever tool or service or tutorial I recommend will quickly become out of date. If you are new to web development, please learn the basic building blocks of a website: HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. 

If you are feeling like you have a more advanced understanding, here are some of the tools I use. Most of my websites are hosted on [Netlify](https://www.netlify.com/). I use [Astro](https://astro.build/) as a static site generator, and I use [Svelte](https://svelte.dev/) for interactivity. I prefer the Svelte API immensely, but I also use [Vue](https://vuejs.org/) because it has better component libraries. I use [Tailwind](https://tailwindcss.com/) for CSS.

I'd recommend learning [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) as soon as you have a handle on JavaScript. I mainly use TypeScript for backend stuff, but I've also used [Python](https://www.python.org/) for convenience and [Rust](https://rust-lang.org/) because it's fun. Pick your poison.
## Guides
- [Full Stack Open](https://fullstackopen.com/en/)
    - If you are enjoying web stuff, this is a really great free course in 'Full Stack' web development, which means development that encapsulates the Front End, the Back End, and everything in between. It was my introduction to the world of web dev, and I think it still holds up.

- [Astro Blog Template](https://docs.astro.build/en/tutorial/0-introduction/)
    - Astro is a really great resource if you want to take the next step from basic HTML. Their blog template guide is really good.

- [MDN Docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn_web_development/Getting_started/Your_first_website)
    - I constantly find myself consulting the MDN docs. They are well written and well maintained. 

### Inspiration
Here are some things I've found in my travels.

#### Articles
- [Jeff Huang – This Page is Designed to Last](https://jeffhuang.com/designed_to_last/)
- [Frank Chimero – What Screens Want](https://frankchimero.com/blog/2013/what-screens-want/)
- [Welcome to the Post-Naive Internet Era](https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/nothing-personal/the-post-naive-internet-era/)
- [The Monospace Web](https://owickstrom.github.io/the-monospace-web/)
- [Guidelines for Brutalist Web Design](https://brutalist-web.design/)

#### Oddities
- [Marginalia Search](https://marginalia-search.com/explore)
- [last.computer](https://last.computer/)
- [MUUMUU HOUSE](https://muumuuhouse.com/)
- [nownownow.com](https://nownownow.com/)
- [seththompson.com](https://seththompson.com/)