For the past decade, our online identities have been squeezed into sterile, blue-and-white templates on massive social platforms. But a rebellion is brewing: the personal homepage is back.
Rented space vs. owned land
Building your identity on a social media platform is like decorating a rented apartment where the landlord can change the locks at any time. A personal homepage on a custom domain is a house you own.
Embrace the quirky web
Platforms enforce uniformity. Personal sites enforce creativity. We are seeing a glorious return to custom cursors, bizarre color schemes, webmaster badges, and layouts that break the rules of corporate UX.
Why build one?
- Complete creative control over how you present yourself.
- A centralized hub for your links, projects, and thoughts.
- An opportunity to learn basic HTML and CSS in a low-stakes environment.
- A way to express your personality without algorithms judging its "engagement" value.
Reclaiming the weird internet
If you miss the days when surfing the web felt like exploring strange new worlds rather than scrolling a sanitized mall, building your own homepage is the first step to bringing that magic back.