Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve never met them, I don’t know who they are, but I know there’s someone out there that’s going to make a website that I’m just going to love, and I want to make sure that they have the tools to make it. I want them to be able to feel the same joy that I felt when I began making my own websites, once upon a time, and the same joy that I felt again while making this one.

I decided to create this HTML fansite because:

1. I wanted to cleanse my palate from the modern toolchain and workflow; to get back to the basics of just opening up a text editor and coding an HTML file.
2. I wanted to make a simple website again, and let me tell you that it’s refreshing to create a website that’s 99% HTML with very little CSS and almost no JavaScript.
3. I wanted to show you that you could build and maintain a website, as a hobby, in your down time.

HTML is one of the foundational pillars of the World Wide Web. HTML, all by itself, can be viewed on any browser. HTML, all by itself, can be viewed on any platform. HTML, all by itself, can be viewed on any device. HTML, all by itself, is 99% accessible. Getting a good grasp of HTML should be the initial focus of any web building education.

Why not? There are people out there that still make mimeographed zines, others that still use HAM radios, and yet others that are still programming games for Atari consoles. And there’s still plenty of room for websites on any topic.

I meddled a little with the Internet through college while earning a Fine Art degree, concentrating on Electronic Media. This was back when there weren’t even very clear guidlines on citations for websites in academic papers. I earned an Internet Technology certificate in 1998. Since then I’ve built many websites including several online magazines, the first Twitter fiction magazine, multiple sites for fan groups and conventions, many freelance projects, and enterprise websites for Fortune 100 companies.

You can see my personal portfolio site at lilly.art.

I’m doing this not because I’m ignorant and fearful of CSS and JavaScript. I’m doing this because I’m knowledgable about and familiar with CSS and JavaScript. I’ve used JavaScript since it was added to Internet Explorer 3 (as JScript). I build enterprise level websites every day using Node.js and modern JavaScript Frameworks, so I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. There’s nothing inherently wrong with CSS or JS. Most of the issues come from either their misuse or their use without properly gauging their impact. The main problem I see right now is the focus on JavaScript to the detriment of learning the fundamentals (namely HTML). But I’m really here to say: you can build a website without all that fancy design and programming — and when you’re ready for it, you can learn that fancy stuff, too, and add it in a safe and sensible way.

For the past 5 years I’ve been using Visual Studio Code which is hands down the best IDE I’ve used over the years for web development. There are a lot of pretty decent text editors. I recommend testing a few and finding something that works for you.

I began surfing the World Wide Web in the days when people would simply list their email address and phone number on the bottom of the page. It was a time when web pages were written with HTML in ALL CAPS. It required human curated directories that helped people find new websites. But what’s really archaic, and what I’d really like to reexamine, is the early ethos of the World Wide Web. The Web was originally conceived of to help the community share information around the world. It’s really something different than can be found on a social media site. I want to empower others to use the World Wide Web the way that I was able to use it.

“The project is based on the philosophy that much academic information should be freely available to anyone. It aims to allow information sharing within internationally dispersed teams, and the dissemination of information by support groups. Originally aimed at the High Energy Physics community, it has spread to other areas and attracted much interest in user support, resource discovery and collaborative work areas.”

CERN: WorldWideWeb - Summary, Tim Berners-Lee

See also:

• History of the Web
• Remembering the Day the World Wide Web Was Born
• Tim Berners-Lee launches nine principles for the web