# Theory

  • Everyone Should Blog, and That Includes You, a manifesto.
  • I recently read a post (sorry, have already lost the link) that emphasized that you should just pick a way to blog (a static site you built? WordPress? something else?) and then stop messing with it and just get writing. Personally, I also enjoy a good amount of fiddling with my site; that's part of the joy. I migrated from a free WordPress, then to Jekyll and finally to Eleventy years ago and have been really happy with that time investment. But I do agree it can be really easy to spend all your time tweaking the setup or the design. Get something good enough, and start writing & publishing stuff.
  • Similarly, embrace the messiness of publishing stuff that is not perfect or comprehensive! It can feel higher stakes to put something on your blog rather than your Facebook or Twitter/Mastodon or Instagram, but it doesn't have to! You can come back and edit stuff later, or even delete your posts. (Though remember, it's hard to truly erase stuff from the internet, whether that's on social media or the open web. Be mindful of potential privacy or safety concerns!)

# Blogging hosts

  • Write.as paid blog host, streamlined & focused on just letting you put words on the internet.
  • Pika Page also paid, a little more customizable than write.as. Focused on the writing!
  • mmm.page - single page, drag & drop website builder that is trying to break the mold for what a webpage is supposed to look like. Click the hamburger menu icon and click 'explore' to see random creations people have made.
  • Micro.blog for short-form blogging.
  • You can publish Notion pages on the web.
  • If you have a static site to host (see next section), go with Netlify or Github Pages. I have been using Netlify for years and find it even easier than Github Pages, but ymmv! Use what you know & just get writing.

# If you can code:

You can build a static site using 11ty (or Jekyll I guess), write posts in Markdown, and host it for free on Netlify.

The easiest way I know to get started with Eleventy is cloning Eleventy Base Blog. There's even a one-click install that connects it to Netlify! It will get you started quickly, but you can customize it to your heart's content.

Check out all my Eleventy blogs I've written - pieces of possible interest:

# Find other blogs to read

  • Blogroll.org a human-curated list of actively updating personal & independent blogs.
  • Indie Newsletters, a human-curated list of actively updating personal & independent email newsletters. From the maker of Blogroll!

# If you want to send emails:

It's probably a bad time to start a Substack, what with many Substack newsletter writers jumping ship over the company's unapologetic profiting off literal Nazis.

If you are comfortable writing in Markdown, Buttondown might be a good fit. I've seen folks hook up their Eleventy-generated RSS feeds to Buttondown to automatically send posts as emails.

If Buttondown doesn't seem like an obvious yes for you, a lot of other folks seem to like Ghost.

# Tons more resources