2016/NYC/Getting Started

Getting Started: The Real Real Basics was a session at IndieWebCamp NYC 2016.

Notes archived from: https://etherpad.indieweb.org/TheRealBasics

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Getting Started: The Real Basics session at IndieWebCamp NYC 2016

An example of a new site. This is the website I want : http://www.onlyadayaway.com/trip/patagonia-2015/

What are the among the first things I wanted to know?

WordPress for a graphical interface - just a one click install

Do you want your domain name?

What are the differences?

Why you should have your own domain? https://indiewebcamp.com/personal-domain#Why

If you pick something like wordpress.com or tumblr.com and you're unhappy with that service, you're kind of tied to it.

I want my own, and I don't want it to say Tumblr.

Difference between owning your own domain and hosting your own

Known is a good option because it already has IndieWeb and POSSE support built in

Similar to WordPress, Known is both software and a service (withknown.com)

WordPress, Known, Ferocity, Github/Jekyll/Tumblr (Squarespace), Github/Jekyll

Jekyll is a little more complicated, and a little more nitpicky. You can have a set of templates, and rather than have a program installed on a server, you generate a bunch of static HTML pages.

I use WordPress at work, we use Tumblr for other things at work. Part of the reason I'm here is to figure out how to have a single place where I create and use my content.

I don't want to login to all these different sites to keep them up to date.

Just pick and buy a domain name!

What if today it's all about Patagonia, but what if I go on another backpacking trip next year?

I'd rather have it be a page about backpacking than about me.

You can use domai.nr to search for domains too

Paid vs. non-paid. What are the options for each?

I want it to have a good flow, be attractive, self-explanatory (like put your picture here, put your text here).

If there were easy tutorials, I'd like to do it myself.

Squarespace is very limiting in terms of hacking your own HTML if you use their templates. However for some people, they like it, and it takes the least amount of tech support.

Known - https://withknown.com/ - has most core IndieWebCamp protocols implemented already, no plugins needed. It will have fewer people doing designs/themes and other types of plugins for it than WordPress

Wordpress has webmention, and microformat parsers, i have a plugin that does different types of post, and Ryan Barret markes it up by hand, and he did the MicroPub plugin.

I want to do images, videos, text, and what's important to me is beauty, easy flow for the reader. I want words but I also want pictures.

The metaphor of event planning: Choosing a venue, catering, tables and chairs, etc. is similar to choosing a "host" and a software platform.

Lara's specific needs:

1. Knows what she wants it to look like (the site overall).
2. Wants to be able to position images in posts.
3. Location that shows the location relative to the post, not where the author was when posting.
4. Date that shows the day the post is about, not when it was written or posted. Flickr has this distinction for photos, date taken vs date posted.
5. Or create a timeline and embed at top of relevant posts: https://timeline.knightlab.com/

• How to get a domain name: https://indiewebcamp.com/personal-domain
• pick a domain name provider https://indiewebcamp.com/domain_name_registrar

– Lara dances cheerfully*

– Lara buys hipstersgo.com*

Do we have a list of domain names bought at IndieWebCamps?

Where are the themes on WithKnown? I want to see examples of other ones, before I buy. E.g. for WordPress I searched for "great WordPress sites", but I tried for Known there wasn't (like "great Known sites" or "great Withknown sites")