webmaster q&a

100 questions for webmasters

questions from Mouseling! i see lots of folks on Neocities filling this out, and it looked like fun, so i thought i'd do my bit.

1. Please introduce yourself.
i don't really go by a name here, but this is outofatuan and i made it. i'm in my thirties, she/her, queer, autistic, etc.
2. How long have you been making websites?
this place was established september 2024, but i did a lot of questionable stuff with WordPress in my late teens and early twenties and it taught me a surprising amount.
3. And what got you into the hobby?
money. genuinely got my start trying to be a freelance web designer at the behest of a parent. it became a whole horrible era that i walked away from for many years, but learning about the indie web revival and Neocities made me want to start tinkering again. i feel like i've reclaimed it as a hobby and it makes me very happy. the website as a medium also appeals to the way my brain is organized - i've always wanted to be a journal keeper but even bullet journals are too rigid for me. this is far more fluid.
4. What kind of website are you most interested in?
handmade ones. :3 i browse some for the visual artistry and some for the blogs/shrines and others for the incredible code knowledge.
5. What's your workflow? Do you plan your websites out thoroughly or do you come up with the design as you go along?
i had a plan when i started out, but i was much happier once i threw it away and just let this place come to be organically. it took a couple of major overhauls to get here, and to figure out what i actually wanted everything to look like.
6. Please link to your biggest inspirations.
ribose, altalenae, lostletters, fabled.day
7. What's your favourite part about making websites?
collecting things! and pngs.
8. And the thing you struggle with the most?
layouts and mobile-friendliness (still).
9. Do you keep the same layout on all of your pages? Or do you use different ones?
mostly the same - i just really like the frosted glass look and i've gotten real attached to my forest background, at least on most pages. i'm not against doing something different, though. i've had some one-off pages in the past that i might come back to.
10. How confident are you with CSS?
extremely medium! but i know how to google things.
11. Do you know how to correctly use <dl>?
no, but i'm glad to know it exists!
12. What is your favourite HTML element?
details and summary for sure. i used to use them a lot more heavily and i still love them.
13. If you're making a new web page from scratch, what is the first thing you do?
like from scratch? probably doodle some rough layout ideas so i can figure out the structure, then block out the basics and fiddle with CSS for several hours lol. for a new page on here i just copy and paste the opening lines and <head> off another page and get fiddlin.
14. Do you know JavaScript?
i don't. i'll learn someday maybe, if i have a good idea to implement. maybe a tarot reading generator.
15. How about PHP?
hahahaha oh good lord no that scares me.
16. Does your website have a theme that you stick to?
you are looking at it.
17. Are you more focused on content or design?
i lean a little more towards content. parts of this are artistic to me but it's more of a journal or scrapbook than an art piece.
18. Do you own a domain name? If not, would you ever want to?
i used to own a few actually, but none at the moment. i might try to get outofatuan.com someday, but probably only if something happens to Neocities.
19. What do you think of nostalgia-focused or "retro" websites?
i love em. :3
20. Is your HTML valid? Do you even check?
i shudder to think. i've taken off my (heavy scare quotes) "web developer" hat for good and i'm only in it for the fun, so as long as it works most of the time, i'm happy with it.
21. What are your opinion on buttons and banners?
they are great! i do not personally collect them (aside from my modest button wall on the links page) but i love that they exist and i love seeing other people's collections.
22. What do you think of button walls in particular?
excellent way to click around and find new sites!
23. If you started over again, would you make something similar or completely different?
oh lord. i likely will start over again at some point, because i'll eventually get pissed off with my inefficient and tangled CSS and i'll want to start fresh, but at the moment i can't imagine what i would change. that said my last overhaul was only a couple months ago so we're still in the honeymoon phase.
24. Are you envious of other people's websites?
envy? maybe? more like awe and respect, though, i think.
25. What text editor do you use?
vscode!
26. Why do you use that one?
it is the first one i tried and i got used to it lmao.
27. Do you host your image files on your web server, or on another host?
here on Neocities. my graphics hoard is nowhere near large enough to need outside storage, and i keep a local copy of everything anyway.
28. This might not be relevant to you, but what's your opinion on the Neocities vs. Nekoweb debate?
shrug emoji!
29. How much server space would you estimate your main website takes up?
140 mb, which is even less than i thought tbh.
30. Do you keep local backups of your files?
i only ever work on my local copy and then push updates to Neocities. respectfully, coding in the Neocities editor sounds like a horrible time if your site has more than like, three pages, but to each their own.
31. Do you prefer simple or highly visual websites?
both are good! i love an art project or a graphics hoard as much as i love simple blog or wiki.
32. Do you stick to certain colours? Do you do that on purpose, or is it your subconscious?
i crave the green.
33. Have you ever thought about quitting? Why?
nah. i have absolutely put the hobby down for a while and will almost certainly do so again, but i enjoy this for many reasons so i have many reasons to come back to it.
34. Do you have many webmaster friends, or is it a solitary hobby?
just me.
35. Do people in your real life know about your website?
a very select few people are aware that it exists, and fewer of those actually have a link.
36. Do you update your website very often? How often is "very often"?
i work on the site almost daily, i just don't push updates until i have something interesting or substantial.
37. And the overall design, do you change that much? Why or why not?
i've changed the look a couple times but (so far) it's only been to further refine this forest greenhouse thing i've been obsessed with. might do something different someday, but right now i can't imagine why.
38. Is your website more you-focused, hobby-focused, or outside world-focused?
hobby, but there's a lot of me in there if you squint. i'm not good at 'blogging' though i'm trying to get better at writing generally, and being more comfortable sharing more abstract stuff.
39. Do you do web design professionally?
used to, not anymore.
40. If not, would you like to? And if you're comfortable answering, what do you do for work?
been in restaurants for forever - currently a bartender.
41. Do you communicate with people by email very much?
no, not really. i have fond memories of having long long email threads with my friends in middle school though.
42. Some people reject social media and use websites as a replacement. Do you keep social media outside of your website?
i have one or two profiles that are up just to prove i exist, i guess, but i'm not active.
43. How about instant messengers? Do you use a mainstream one like Discord or Telegram? Or something like Matrix? Do you avoid them?
my fave instant messenger is Snapchat, deadass.
44. Do you listen to music while you work on websites? If so, what kinds of artists?
sometimes! nothing specific, just whatever songs i've been hyperfocused on.
45. Do you keep everything you make on one website, or do you have more than one?
just the one.
46. On a similar note, do you keep to one topic on your site, or many?
uhhh define topic? everything on here can be filed under "things i like" but there's decent variety i think.
47. Do you present your real self, or at least try? Or do you construct a persona on purpose?
these questions are making me realize that i see this more like existing as a space than as a persona. this is just a spot i made, you and i can come and go as we please.
48. Have you ever made a good friend thanks to your website?
being social on here hasn't been a priority for me, but i have found some very cool artists/creators that i'm so happy to have been introduced to.
49. Are you happy with the way HTML and CSS currently work?
yeah, i've never come across a frustration with them that wasn't caused by my own ignorance.
50. What are practices that you think people should avoid?
planning too much. or using AI.
51. What about under-utilised practices, or things you think people should do more?
no idea! :3 i'm still learning lots of stuff.
52. Do you use a lot of semantic HTML? Or are you guilty of generic structure?
i love me some semantic HTML. i get a lot of mileage from sections and navs.
53. Do you consider different browsers?
no, that's the developer/hobbyist divide again though.
54. Speaking of, what's your preferred browser? Convince your readers why they should use it.
firefox, but i have no dog in that fight.
55. And what OS are you on?
windows.
56. Do you have a strong opinion on that, or do you just happen to use it?
just what i'm used to. if i ever switch it'll be to Linux before iOS though.
57. Are your websites mobile-friendly?
as of my last overhaul i can proudly say that this place is probably mostly mobile-friendly ish. i tried really hard.
58. What are your thoughts on autoplay?
there are great use cases and also not great ones.
59. What are your thoughts on webrings? Are you in any?
i like exploring them but i have not been brave/social enough to apply to any.
60. Do you have any web shrines? What do you like to see in that sort of page?
most of my pages are shrines to me, even if they're not the most fleshed out. as someone who struggles to put their thoughts into words i really love when other people are able to do so. i love a breakdown, i love an analysis. i also love a good ol' autism-friendly Repository Of Things. the more links and collections the more my brain go brr.
61. Are your websites "cliche", in your opinion?
i don't think so? what's cliche for the indie web? maybe the 90s revival style, in which case no, but i don't think that style is cliche so much as it is iconic for the medium.
62. What is your ideal website? Are you striving for that, or for something else?
this, but with more stuff on it. i want someone to feel like they're flipping through a bigass tome.
63. Are you an artist? Do you draw or design your own assets?
yes! i have done a tiny bit of pixel art for this place. i did my own button. :3
64. What are your favourite resource sites?
wikimedia commons and unsplash for images, brad woods' layout generator, MDN documentation.
65. Is there a habit you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try?
i'm sure i have many many inefficient coding habits, if that's what you mean. design-wise i really love a scrolling container, which makes my life unnecessarily difficult.
66. What's your biggest advice for a new webmaster?
start slow! start with one page instead of a sprawling complex. also, at a certain point you simply must take some time and collect Things for your site, whether that's writing stuff, gathering images, making art, whatever. you can't properly style an empty website.
67. Do you keep all your styling in CSS? Or do you hard-code some?
i've been trying to be better about not hard-coding styling, especially for images. i finally have a stylesheet put together that keeps everything pretty consistent without having to specify widths everywhere (or give every image an id, which i hate doing).
68. What do you think of frameset layouts?
shrug emoji!
69. How about table-based layouts?
i mean if it works it works, but in my opinion layouts are already hard without bringing tables into it... points for being the cutting edge back in the day though.
70. Do you subscribe to the ideas of "one-column", "two-column" and "three-column" layouts? Do you use any of these?
i like using columns, but in smaller sections broken up by full-width stuff. it's actually been a relief to code my own site and not have to work around an enforced sidebar i never know how to fill.
71. Do you spend longer on the HTML or the CSS?
i spent a long time on my base stylesheet, so for most pages i don't need to do a lot of tweaking. the html itself is pretty quick too, it's the writing/content that takes forever.
72. Have you ever made a page with no CSS? It's useful for your thoughts.
not my wheelhouse - i'm here for pretty. :3
73. Do you ever find yourself making layouts with nothing to put on them? Or do you only make layouts when the need arises?
okay so, yes and no: my page layouts at the moment are just combinations of three(?) main building blocks i use - the three-column grid for instance. so in a sense i build a custom layout for every page, but things stay pretty consistent. i might do some more variation at some point.
74. Would you consider yourself a beginner? Or advanced? Somewhere in the middle?
amateur in every sense!
75. Do you have a habit of looking at the source code of websites you visit?
oh yes!! i like seeing how smarter people do stuff.
76. How did YOU learn how to make websites?
tinkering with wordpress themes, then following tutorials and iterating until it clicked.
77. Do you ever force elements to do things they're not supposed to?
never had the need to.
78. Thoughts on floating elements?
ambivalent? i like a right-floated image sometimes, but that's all i use it for.
79. When you're sizing stuff, what do you use first? Do you use px, em, %, or something else?
i try to stick to vw/vh and em. i do have a bad habit of reverting to px for images.
80. Do you have a favourite font?
Special Elite my beloved <3
81. Would you run a website with another person? How would that work?
oh i'm sure that would be doable in so many ways! i wouldn't want to share this site with anyone because it's my internet bedroom, but i might consider a group project with the right crew.
82. Do you surf the Web to find new personal websites very often?
it ebbs and flows. sometimes i just decide to go on a button-clicking spree.
83. Do you bookmark other people's websites? How would you feel knowing someone else bookmarked yours?
i follow people's Neocities profiles if i want to keep up with them, and my small collection of followers gives me warm fuzzies knowing that others feel similarly about mine.
84. What do you want people to be most impressed with when they see your website?
i'm very proud of my graphics collection and i hope people think it's neat. :3
85. Are you interested in technology outside of websites? Do you collect?
i have an idea for an incremental game i'd like to code someday. i collect tarot decks!
86. How often and for how long are you online?
browsing the internet specifically? maybe an hour or so a day max. watching YouTube and flicking through Insta reels though? far more time than i'd care to admit.
87. When it comes to your website, who is your target audience?
i mean, i guess me, and whoever likes it.
88. Have you ever been interested in XHTML?
not really.
89. Do you program in general? Have you ever written a program for use with or on your website, not counting simple JavaScript?
no, 'real' programming is still very intimidating to me, including simple Javascript.
90. Speaking of programs that help you make websites, what do you think of static site generators (SSGs)? Have you ever used one?
i use 11ty, but it's mostly to handle pretty urls for me. i'm sure i could get a lot more use out of it if i did some research.
91. Do you keep a hitcounter? Why or why not?
i'm content with the view count on my profile.
92. Do you frequent forums? Which ones?
not anymore, but i used to be on a couple writing forums and one for a book series i liked back in the day.
93. Do you write your page content directly into the editor, or do you prepare it elsewhere, like a text document or a Word document?
both, depending on the length and vibe. these answers got typed right into the editor, but my asoue shrine started with notes in an Obsidian doc.
94. Do you think you appear cool to others? A more accurate answer now: do other people ever say you're cool?
on here? no idea, lol. i think the site itself is kind of a peaceful place and i hope that comes across.
95. Are you embarrassed of your old work? Have you ever deleted everything out of shame?
eh, shame is too strong a word. i've gotten rid of stuff i didn't vibe with anymore, but the files still exist and i can refresh them at some point.
96. Would you close down your website if you couldn't update it, or would you leave an archive?
i've seen some sites i really like shut down, and while i completely respect the creators' decision to do so, i did find it pretty sad, so i think i would leave mine up just in case someone out there would feel the same way.
97. Do you reveal a lot about yourself on your website? Or are you more secretive?
that's hard to answer. i stay pretty anonymous, but i write at length about the things i like and why, which means you could figure out a lot about me as a person if you took the time to read between the lines. so both.
98. Are you willing to reveal who your best online friend is, and/or if they have a website?
i do not have one at the moment. :3
99. And do you optimise the images on your website?
a little, but likely not as much as i should.
100. We're out of time! How do you feel after answering 100 questions? ....other than exhausted.
dude i love answering questions, this was a joy!