Brennan's IndieWeb Themes, Tools, and Resources
What is the IndieWeb?
The IndieWeb is a people-focused alternative to the "corporate web." It's about owning your domain, creating your content, and connecting with others on your own terms—not through algorithmic feeds designed to maximize engagement and extract value.
I think of the IndieWeb as an umbrella definition that encapsulates the small web, the old web, the good internet, and the human web. It's a movement to reclaim the internet as a tool for empowerment and creativity, not surveillance and monetization.
🌟 Essential Resource: 32-bit Cafe's Personal Web Resource List — An incredible curated collection of tools, platforms, and communities for building your corner of the web.
My Core Principles
I believe the fundamentals of the IndieWeb should go beyond just ownership and control. Here's what guides my work:
1. Good faith code. Good faith writing.
This is the biggest separation from mainstream corporate oligopoly social media platforms. If you're on the IndieWeb, you're not publishing your site with invasive trackers, annoying advertisements, bloated webpages or a11y-hostile design.
Likewise, you aren't writing from a place of bad faith, such as assuming the worst in others or having a general misanthropic view of things. To be a netizen on the IndieWeb, you have to have the belief the Internet can still be good and a tool for empowerment and creativity.
2. A Pro-social Attitude
The web is meant to be social! That's the whole point of being online. To cultivate friendships and a community of other pro-social people who share your interests.
You don't need to syndicate your work or have "likes" on your blog posts, but I do believe there should be some sort of dialogue available, rather than a one-way shouting-into-the-void experience. Your site should have some sort of social element, even if it's as simple as basic contact information.
3. Be Fun. Be Accessible. Be Small.
Your site can have personality and express yourself in ways that sterile, boring, all-look-the-same corporate social media platforms never allow. But it also needs to be accessible to everyone—working with screen readers, following WCAG guidelines, and embracing the POUR principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust).
And your site needs to be small. Performance is fundamental to whether people can actually access your work. Compress images, use lazy loading, embrace progressive enhancement. Your site should function without JavaScript, because JavaScript can fail to load for countless reasons.
4. The Official IndieWeb Definition
According to IndieWeb.org, the IndieWeb is a community of independent and personal websites based on three core principles: owning your domain and using it as your primary online identity, publishing on your own site first (optionally elsewhere), and owning your content. Your content is yours, you are better connected, and you are in control.
The IndieWeb is a Spectrum
There is no "perfect" IndieWeb site. Even if you're running your own server on bare metal, your domain is still managed by a registrar, your HTTPS connection relies on certificate authorities, and your electricity comes from a utility company. And that's okay!
My first principle is that we use good faith tools made by good people. It's the honour system. It's trust. Faith in humanity and other people. That's a good thing to keep and protect and grow and nourish.
That's exactly why we're here. That's why we're building the IndieWeb in the first place. ❤️
My IndieWeb Projects
I build accessible, sustainable web experiences that prioritize user privacy and community benefit. Most of my work focuses on creating JAMstack themes and tools that empower writers and creators to own their content while participating in the IndieWeb movement.
Unless otherwise noted, all projects are released under the AGPL License.
11ty IndieWeb Blog Starter
Modern blog template built with Eleventy and Tailwind CSS for writers who want to own their content. Features IndieAuth, Webmentions, and complete IndieWeb integration.
Live Demo
Indiepaper
A monochrome, brutalist Medium-inspired Hugo blog theme that prioritizes IndieWeb principles. Clean typography and minimal distractions.
Live Demo
Campfire Hugo Theme
A warm, story-focused Hugo theme focusing on typography and opinionated design choices. Perfect for narrative-driven content.
Live Demo
Classic Spirits
A classic sidebar Jekyll theme for old-school blogging, created with the Bulma framework. Simple and elegant.
Live Demo
brennan.jp.net
A Hugo blog theme recreating the compact, text-heavy, colorful aesthetic of traditional Japanese web design.
Live Demo
Retroweird
An 11ty blog theme inspired by Web 1.0 aesthetic of GeoCities, MySpace, and AngelFire. Maximum nostalgia.
Live Demo
11ty Gamification
A blog theme that turns writing into a game. Earn badges for streaks and milestones, watch your activity on a heatmap.
Live Demo
Enjoyment Work
Digital Garden: Capturing daily thoughts and progress with unique synthesis—a personal zettelkasten built with Jekyll.
Live Demo
Resources & Further Reading
Getting Started
You don't need to be a developer to own your corner of the internet. Here are my recommendations for different skill levels:
Level 0: No Code Required
- omg.lol ($20/year) - Domain, profile page, status log, email forwarding, and a genuinely kind community
- Pika.page (free for 50 posts, then $6/month) - Beautiful blogging platform with guestbook and image uploads
- Bear Blog (free) - Ultra-minimalist text-only blogging
- DreamWidth - User-funded blogging with flexible free tier and community features
Level 1: Learn HTML & CSS
- NeoCities (free) - Build your own site from scratch with beginner-friendly tutorials
- HTML for People - A gentle, human-friendly introduction
- Sadgrl.online Guides - Tutorials specifically for NeoCities
- The Dragonfly Cave's HTML Guide - Thorough and clear
Level 2: Static Site Generators
- Eleventy - Fast, flexible static site generator
- My 11ty IndieWeb Blog Starter - Template to get started quickly
- PorkBun - Affordable domain registration with excellent support
Discovery & Community
Search Engines
- Kagi Small Web - Free search for independent sites
- Marginalia - Favors text-heavy websites
- Wiby - Search engine for the classic web
Directories
- Ye Olde Blogroll - Humanly curated list of personal blogs
- Ooh Directory - Handmade catalog of unique websites
- Personal Sites - Showcasing websites made by hand
- URL Town - omg.lol's member directory
Web 1.0 Culture
- 88x31 Badges - Small buttons linking to sites or showing interests
- Webrings - Circular collections of linked websites
- Slash Pages - Essential IndieWeb pages like /now, /uses, /about
- Hotline Webring - Active community webring
Philosophy & Principles
- IndieWeb Wiki - Comprehensive documentation
- IndieWeb Guide - How to join the movement
- Yesterweb Manifesto - Philosophy behind the independent web
- Internet is Fun - Collection of thinkpieces
Advanced Topics
IndieWeb Standards
- IndieAuth - Use your domain as your identity
- Webmentions - Cross-site conversations
- Micropub - API for posting to your site
- POSSE - Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere
Why This Matters
The independent web is already here, quietly thriving while Big Tech collapses in real-time under its own extractive weight. Writers, artists, poets, and creators are building their own spaces, linking to each other, forming communities based on shared interests rather than algorithmic recommendations.
The technology serves the writing, not the other way around.
You don't need a perfect site. You don't need to understand every technical detail. You just need a place to post, and the willingness to share it.
I write what I want, when I want, how I want. That freedom is worth every hour spent learning HTML.
My Writing on the IndieWeb
I've written extensively about the IndieWeb, independent publishing, and building a better internet:
- What is the IndieWeb? - My definition and core principles
- IndieWeb for Writers - A beginner's guide for non-coders
- What I Learned Being on the IndieWeb for a Month - Small technical joys and community
- Digital Third Spaces - Can the Internet be a place we visit again?
- Move to a Better Internet - Why join Medium, Tumblr, and NeoCities
- Resources for the Personal Web - Tools and directories for joining the movement
Join Me
The only thing missing is you. Start small. Buy a domain. Write a post. Link to someone else's work. See how it feels to own your corner of the internet.
The tools are here. The community is welcoming. The independent web needs more people willing to do the work of building community outside of corporate spaces.
Contact: mail@brennan.day | Mastodon: @brennan@social.lol
