How do I create a simple index web page with links and categories?

November 14, 2023 2:09 PM

I am looking to create a simple, one page static document with links and tags. For all my searching, though, I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Can you help?

Here are the details:

• I am starting a Jewish chavurah in the Indianapolis area.
• I would like to create a webpage with all sorts of quotes, cool teachings, thought starters, new ideas, images, etc.
• The emphasis is that it needs to be simple in design and simple to view.
• iFrames suck.
• I created a page using TiddlyWiki. It's close, but it's still pretty rough.
• I'm using Google Sites because it's free and because I don't have the funds to pay for a hosted site at the moment. Yes, it's underpowered and underfeatured, but it'll do for now.

Anyone have any recommendations for some kind of tool that will generate a simple page with links and categories (or tags)?

Please note:

• I investigated Pinboard. It has tags and categories, but you have to iFrame it to embed it into your website, which is clunky and unusable.
• I've looked at a few social bookmarks services, but they are all super niche and not really what I need.
• I also looked for a free HTML template, but they all rely on you uploading multiple pages to your site (which I can't do because Google Sites only allows you to embed HTML).

posted by zooropa to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

You've done some pretty good HTML formatting, lists with links, in your post right here: what is missing from just editing the HTML by hand using bullet points, <A> tags, bold and italics, etc in a single HTML file on Google Sites?
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:14 PM on November 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Maybe Carrd? I've never used this but see people using it as a sort of profile page with links to their various social media accounts and business sites. The portfolio or sectioned options might work for your purposes.
posted by automatic cabinet at 2:19 PM on November 14, 2023

I realize that the overall audience and aesthetic is maybe not quite what you are looking for, but honestly, the stuff you are posting seems pretty perfect for a micro-blogging platform like Tumblr. That said, I think Automattic might be about to completely nerf Tumblr, so whether it will still exist in its current form much longer is an open question.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:26 PM on November 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

A bit of a weird one but Notion is a possibility. It’s primarily a sort of note taking app but it lets you publish pages online. There’s minimal styling and editing but it’s definitely simple and might suit your needs.
posted by colourlesssleep at 2:36 PM on November 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

Google Docs and I believe Microsoft Word will let you save your document as html.
posted by Al79 at 2:36 PM on November 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I've had a Wordpress blog since, gosh, 2008. So far as I can see it does what you want: you can post text and images, add searchable categories and tags, write in HTML if you like, add extra pages. You can allow comments, or not allow them. And its free.
posted by zompist at 3:14 PM on November 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

Another free, but probably less simple option is Github Pages. (Ex1, Ex2, Full List)
posted by oceano at 5:29 PM on November 14, 2023

I used this service to create a simple static webpage: https://mystaticpage.com/
posted by notyou at 5:29 PM on November 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

https://youtu.be/0woNTtlcxgM?si=P06UosKRaqQozGh-
posted by JJ86 at 4:21 AM on November 15, 2023

I use Weebly for this sort of thing.
posted by b33j at 6:55 AM on November 15, 2023

mmm.page is free for what you need
tumblr would also work well and is not going anywhere
posted by wowenthusiast at 7:45 AM on November 15, 2023

Anything that uses Markdown has a leg-up for styling raw text into HTML. Then add version control of your text, to go back to old versions and prepare updates on sideways branches, also a great match for Markdown. These are a natural fit for GitHub Pages and similar.
posted by k3ninho at 11:05 PM on November 15, 2023