Web Designer Day 2023
Every webpage you click on was purposefully made by someone.
March 31 represents the day where we recognize the work web designers do to turn the internet from what could be boring, blank text and emails into the beautiful and clickable, scrollable place it is today. As I type this paragraph in my Brackets HTML editor, I am impressed by how all these goofy looking carrot tags and cross-folder references can turn into the page you are reading now! Even when I know how the website looks, I am still always smiling when I click the live preview and see all the code pieces work together to make my webpages. That is honestly the most rewarding experience I have gotten out of Neocities: making something my own and seeing it on a .org domain, knowing that if I want to change anything, all I have to do is type some more lines to make it happen.
To commemerate this day, I want to share some web building tips and code snippets I picked up in my time making this website. HTML is a very easy language, but it gets complicated quickly when you want to do things that seem easy at first. One of the biggest learning curves I have had with HTML is learning how folder paths work and what the CSS actually does. I do not think I even fully understand it yet, but everytime I work on my website, I learn more and more about what makes this website actually work as a cohesive unit.
Interneting is Hard will help you understand the basic components of a website and how they interact with each other. And it is all free! HTML is a language that has tons of free resources since the whole spirit of the internet is open source. While I did get a formal education in other programming languages, I plan to read through their tutorials to better refine my site.
Mutant Standard is a good resource if you are needing crisp emoji that are different from what is in unicode. Great for queers, furries, nerds, and anyone who just likes more emoji in their life.
Not a web tip, but this art tutorial for Clip Studio Paint teaches you the method for making repeating patterns with seamless edges, perfect for making custom backgrounds on your site!
And finally, Zonelets is a template system for online blogged that got me back onto Neocities with a renewed passion. Thank you to Zonelets for giving me the helpful boost I needed to get my website back and running!
~Snowdunk