Setup + CSS
Overall, setting up a website was an interesting experience. I was confused by a few of the technical things for the WordPress and Akismet installs, but I think I did it all correctly. I mostly enjoyed customizing it, even if I had no clue what it should look like. I downloaded and activated some different themes, but I honestly preferred just messing with the default Twenty Twenty-Five by changing the colors and fonts.
Speaking of fonts, I was able to italicize the text solely in the quote block with CSS, which took me longer to figure out than I’d like to admit. I also set the default font size of the quote block to 24px and the default size of the rest of my body text to 20px with CSS.
The Future
I’m not sure what I’ll do with this platform. I feel like that because I’m doing this for college it should be college related, but I also might just write random thoughts I have or talk about whatever hobby I’m into at the time. I want it to stay casual because I spend a lot of time here doing homework or studying already.
Pros & Cons
The most obvious benefit of having your own website is customization. I can make it look as bright and garish or as monochrome and modern as I’d like. And it’s a nice benefit, I suppose, but I don’t know if it outweighs the biggest con of no one knowing it exists.
What makes social media apps so popular is that there’s an easy way to find people and be found. With your own website, you’re yelling into the void in a lot of ways. That being said, I also find it freeing. I can put whatever I want without thinking about it because I know that ultimately very few people will ever see it.
Another con for me is that I don’t know what to name the thing. “Stuff & Things” is intended to be a placeholder, but it’s probably going to be permanent because I’m terrible at naming things that aren’t human. I’ll revisit it at some point maybe, and I’ll keep looking at themes to see if I find something I like, but for now, here’s my website.
Hi Sabrina, I really liked your point about comparing a website to social media. I really agree that there’s something a bit lonely about having your own website, in a good and a bad way. In the bad way, it’s harder to connect with others as easily. People can leave comments and such on a website, but finding the website is its own task, and it seems rare that somebody would stumble upon a random website and decide to interact the same way they do on social media. But as you also point out, it provides a sense of freedom. You can customize everything exactly how you want, and you don’t have to worry about fitting into the mold expected on social media. Maybe that makes a good thing for a personal website, such as a blog, but for DH scholarly work, maybe it’s better to have that be more accessible to more people.
Personally, I think the name “Stuff & Things” sums up most websites perfectly well (I recommend allowing it to be permanent). I also found your About and Contact Me pages much more engaging (and funny) than typical websites. I was actually also considering putting a similar message on the Contact Me page before deciding to eliminate it entirely.
Hi Sabrina!
I really like your website and your About page is very fun! I like the theme that you chose for your website. I agree that being able to customize the website to your liking is a great positive to hosting your own website. I also found some of the technical processes a bit confusing.
I really liked your point about having your own website feeling both freeing and a little like “yelling into the void.” I hadn’t really thought about how social media makes it easier to be discovered, while a personal website gives you way more control but less visibility. I also relate to the customization part being the most fun. The CSS changes you made sound cool too, especially figuring out how to style just the quote block.