If that doesn't mean anything to you, then imagine writing blog posts in a real nice post editor, then dragging some files around until it's on the internet. This gets around the fact that I hate writing HTML or Markdown, but don't want to run some sort of overwrought Wordpress install on my own server so I can post twice a year about video games or whatever.
In other words, I don't want to think or study harder than necessary!! I just want to write!!
This is all free, requires no technical know-how, and includes multiple screenshots. I'll write a followup post talking about modifying the default theme with your own CSS, but for now this should get folks started.
EDIT Sep 10 2024: HEY now that this is blowing up again, a quick update:
I was wrong when I said this is "all" free. Publii is free, Neocities is free, Cyberduck is free, BUT Neocities won't let you upload files via Cyberduck unless you're paying $5/month.
However, you can still upload files via the Neocities interface for free. It just takes longer and is a little clunky. And you don't have to use Neocities anyway - you can upload this static site anywhere. It's completely portable, which is part of why I like Publii vs. many other solutions.
If you can't afford the $5/month, you can still do this, you just need to upload the files manually. I've also heard good things about hosting at Nearly Free Speech, which is much cheaper, though I've not used it myself.
Anyway, please ask if you have any questions, I'm more than happy to help! And if you do make a site using this, LET ME KNOW i wanna see your cool wabsites thanks
also with the internet being in such a weird state of flux right now it feels like owning your own resources is important. like, yes this relies on third-party software but the end product is a bunch of HTML files that you can do anything you want with. and the software runs on your computer rather than someone else's shit.
plus you can do it without knowing shit-all about anything, like me. every other thing i run into starts with "this is easy!" and then immediately tells me to open a command prompt and "sudo your ruby instance with rust's API" which, yes that's gibberish but that's how my brain reads it!!
i'm not against people being old-school webmasters OR people using cloud software so they don't have to host it themselves. but this feels like a real good in-between option that i have rarely seen.
