you will have a HELL of a time coding a website on a phone, so this page is best viewed on a computer

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when you look at different websites on neocities it's easy to become really initimidated and think that you'll never be able to make something like that without going back to school or paying for an automated service - this isn't the case! I went from knowing nothing about coding aside from copy and pasting tumblr themes back in the day to building all this. granted, my website isn't much (no javascript - yet!) but it's possible to learn webbuilding without extensive (or expensive) training. The biggest tip outside the links I'll provide is a simple fact: theres no true step-by-step instructions. I struggle with "sandbox" activities where clear instructions and goals aren't given outside of 'be creative!!' so if you're anything like me, hopefully these resources (and my rambly explanations) will give you some clarity on where to start. utimately how you decide to do everything is up to you as you are the master of your own web. have fun with it! remember this is an expression of you and what you want to say/convey. you can fr do whatever you want to - shrines are a cool example of this but there is infinite potential in a webpage. it can be alot to take in when you're making the transition from social media where all the coding is done for you automatically to doing it manually yourself. you will have to do independent research and learning to create a page of your own. nobody can do this for you... I mean... technically they can (theres a section dedicated to this if you scroll further, actually) but its more fun to do it yourself! like any other hobby you have to be prepared to put some level of work in if you really want to learn it. with this being established, lets start with...

coding!!!

it helps me to think of coding and code as the language computers and websites speak. like learning a new language, its going to take studying and time to communicate effectively. just how toddlers don't start out writing essays, you must be patient that you may not have the language skills yet to convey what you're wanting to convey yet. there are constant learning curves and you WILL GET STUCK at some points. its completely normal to be stuck or for things to not work the first go around. hitting a wall is the only way to break through it! there is always something else to learn to get the look or features you're going for. (for example: right now I'm trying to learn javascript so I can do some cooler effects on my sites - its slow going because its very confusing to me right now but eventually if I keep at it then it wont be, get what I mean?) don't get stuck on having to know all things code before you get started either, I literally learned everything as I went along. there are alot of 'html/css cheat sheets' that come up if you google that go over basic properties but once you start doing it more you'll shockingly memorize some but the great part about coding is that you never have to! like if you get stuck you can literally just search 'how to bold text in html' (its b and italics is i btw) and you'll have an answer. this actually brings me to another important aspect of coding - the only way to learn is to search for answers from others. html has existed since 1993 so theres countless resources for information out there, you just have to find one that you can understand. theres no ONE resource either, the key is reviewing different solutions and trying them until one works for you. THERE WILL BE ALOT OF RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION NO MATTER WHAT YOU'RE DOING!! I know reading this you're like 'damn idk if I really want to commmit to this shit rn fr'. 1) You can do this! It sounds so much more complicated than what it actually is I promise you lol. I'm not trying to talk you out of making a website, I just want you to be aware that you can't do everything all at once and you do have to work at learning it in bits and pieces. 2) and MOST IMPORTANTLY these are only instructions if you want to make a site from scratch - you literally do not have to. I'll go over more alternative ways to make a website that involve minimal coding. (its just that it really helps to have a bit of knowledge about coding OR just be able to look stuff up if you run into problems or irregularities with your site)

some of my favorite free resources

none of these are partnerships or endorsements btw I just found these useful and want to pass them along to you.
if you're more of a 'plug-my-preferences-and-make-it-for-me' kind of person (you'll struggle to make a truly customized website because nothing can plug and play for you that much) BUT fret not! sadgrl.online has a layout builder here if you wanted something quick and easy. there are alot of other layout builders for neocities if you search around.

w3school

-my html and css bible, really fantastic free resource for learning basic concepts. they've helped me solve sooooo many problems with my website. theres even little 'test' pages for each concept they teach you where you can plug and play your preferences. this is probably my #1 recommended resource, they taught me nearly everything just from being able to read what they're describing and then test the code yourself all in the same place. CANNOT recommend them enough like this is literally how I did everything for my site myself.

css gridmaker

-css grids will save you if you're trying to create your own webpage from scratch. personally, I don't have enough IT knowledge to explain to you how every webpage uses these but when you start fiddling with it you'll see how every webpage has some sort of box model involved.
fun fact from twitter oomf: you can have a more centered look in your grid if you use an odd number of columns and even number of rows. theres also a css grid guide here that explained how grids work and common issues with them. I reference this page ALOT when things aren't looking or lining up how I'm trying to make them.

live html/css editor

zonelets blog

where to find graphics, crediting, and things to note
these are the biggest (and imo most fun) part about building a website. images are everywhere! and we have access to so many internet archives and digital museums full of graphics that people were using on myspace and geocities however finding these graphics when you're just starting out can be a monumental task in and of itself. I used to have a 'sources' page on my website so that people can see exactly where I found things but unfortunately keeping that updated became very tedious, so I decided to fill this little div container with all my tips and tricks for a cool looking website.

free resources

info on geocities gif search thing, free images, and stuff

enough yap and pictures, what fun stuff can I put on there?

chat box

free resources

zonelets, cbox, etc,

I hope this helped you get a basic idea of how all this *gestures vaguely to the digital room in the digital building that we're talking in* is made and what to do to build your own.

with all the building blocks I used at my disposal organized on this page I want to kind of backtrack by saying: you dont actually have to build your own website from scratch. In fact, you can have a website on neocities without knowing any computer skills outside copy and paste and I would actually argue thats the best way to begin your journey of building a website if you're like me and had no prior coding knowledge.
there are alot (I mean like, ALOT) of people who make neocities layouts that you can use. Most are free but some do ask that you give them credit or a tip if you're able so be sure to be courteous and read all their instructions. I wouldn't be capable of making my own website if my wonderful friend chrissy(link here) didn't post a template code she made (link here).