I'm tired of writing raw HTML

August 19, 2024 6:46 PM

I have some processes I would like to document on a webpage -- basically just a 15 step walkthrough with pictures and commentary. What are the cool kids using for that sort of thing these days?

I can host the page, but if there is some speciality site that's good too. Also, this will be text and pictures, video need not apply.

posted by Tell Me No Lies to Computers & Internet (18 answers total)

One options is to create a GitHub repo. You could write it in Markdown and host for free on GitHub.
posted by SNACKeR at 7:29 PM on August 19

I am getting progressively grumpier about web development, and honestly would recommend that you just write the goddamn HTML rather than messing around with static site generators. If you do use one, I would recommend eleventy, since the eleventy folks are pretty serious about backwards compatibility (e.g. you should be able to get a repo that you haven’t touched in five years to render with the latest version of eleventy) compared to something like Hugo, which breaks backwards compatibility in fundamental ways (like changing the markdown-html rendering engine) constantly.
posted by rockindata at 7:32 PM on August 19

Wherever you are hosting it probably has a wiki or markdown plugin available.

If this is about DIY repair of some technology, Repair.Wiki is a good place to put it.
posted by intermod at 7:49 PM on August 19

mmm.page is pretty awesome and fun for making standalone sites.
posted by wowenthusiast at 8:24 PM on August 19

Some people think it's cool to write markdown and then convert with pandoc. (That's what I do, coolness assessment is up to you).

Other people will just fire up LibreOffice Writer and then "save as HTML". Remember St Tim B-L never thought people would be hand-cutting HTML, he assumed there would be nice tools. And word processors are a nice familiar tool.

How much do you care about coolness vs just getting it done in a time efficient way and moving on?
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 9:50 PM on August 19

I used to write all the websites I built in raw html when I started making them in the 90's and then raw css when that came out. Used dreamweaver for a while after that.

These days I just stick everything in basic Wordpress sites, quick install of the program on my host servers.

My clients can edit the page content far more easily themselves. It's really simple for basic text, headings, and various images stule websites. The free themes are good enough for most people (you can build your own themes or child themes if you want).

The front end code it produces early on didn't used to be too bad (it got worse). The 'helpful' new features of the dashboard make a lot of things harder for a coder to modify, but easier (when you know where to look) to make design changes via the WordPress interface/dashbord.

Security wise, it's not great according to the cool kids.
The main security issue I had personally with one of my client sites, was because my hosts stopped updating their own backend software after the main hosting company was sold (so part of the backend database was hacked, and that software was out of my control). But now I'm with new hosts, no more issues again for years.
posted by many-things at 10:44 PM on August 19

Google Docs, or similar, with link sharing on (seriously)
Neocities
posted by switchback at 11:04 PM on August 19

If I wanted to play around with something free and easy, I'd use GitHub Pages.

If I just wanted a super simple CMS that would get me up and running in minutes, I'd use a free hosted WordPress account. Near-zero security issues (for you anyway), super simple.
posted by Hartster at 1:12 AM on August 20

I'm a terminally un-cool Cool Kid here, and I second the pandoc suggestion. It's definitely one for the Unix shell-heads who love their Makefiles, but hey man that's me.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 1:15 AM on August 20

I just love that AskMe is saying the best modern way to write simple static html pages is some mix of markdown, pandoc and LibreOffice. I completely agree and it warms my heart :)
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:27 AM on August 20

Well Markdown in the modern way usually devolves into a lot of regex and figuring out if the markdown is in UTF8 or not. I’ve driven myself crazy passing messages between inconsistent systems. Uber has a good write up on how they use markdown, as does FB and Reddit but they gloss over the annoyances and issues that come with it. I agree it is the way to go just be aware there’s no set standard for markdown as there is for HTML. Again, this bites you in deceivingly odd ways.
posted by geoff. at 6:52 AM on August 20

Wow. I came in to say Wix or Wordpress.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:03 AM on August 20

I also have a "no-nonsense, I just want this to work" static website.

I strongly recommend hosting on GitHub pages -- which is super straightforward, and free.

I make my site with Hakyll, which is a Haskell-based static site generator. That sounds complicated, but basically it amounts to you writing a little bit of HTML/CSS to create a 'template', then just writing Markdown for your actual content and running a build command to generate the HTML.

Pushing changes to the site is as simple as pushing to the GitHub repo.

Hakyll is born of Jekyll, a Ruby-based static site generator that is more popular and does basically the same thing. Jekyll has gotten so popular recently that I believe it is built into GitHub pages now. I'm not quite sure how this integration works, but I have friends who use it and give it rave reviews.

If you're curious about Hakyll and want to give it a try, shoot me a private message and I'd be happy to share the source of my personal site.
posted by gunwalefunnel at 8:09 AM on August 20

This is a tangential reply and ONLY posted for completeness. I use Joplin as a replacement for Evernote, and it is based on Markdown mentioned many times above. For a one-off document I use Typora which is also based on Markdown.
posted by forthright at 8:42 AM on August 20

Wow. I came in to say Wix or Wordpress.

Ugh. Please, not Wix. The platform’s backward compatibility with older Mac and iOS systems is a dumpster fire. As in “this site no longer supports your browser.”
posted by Thorzdad at 4:18 PM on August 20

Sounds like an www.instructables.com tutorial?

You could use a lot of different sites to do what you describe. But having an insight into exactly what you want to do, why, and for what kind of audience (more context = good) would help point you to the best fitting tools, services and/or websites.
posted by 0bvious at 5:05 AM on August 21

I hadn’t considered Instructables. That would definitely add some form.

The project is replacing a missing jigsaw piece using a laser cutter and a laser printer. I think I could boil it down to about 12 steps.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 6:52 AM on August 21

Wikihow could also work in that case. Given the nature of the thing, adding it to an existing site like those should aid in discoverability.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:24 AM on August 22