Other Strangeness — merritt k

Have a Fucking Website

Website

Look, I get it. The foundations of the internet are broken and we’ve somehow gotten to a place where having a website is either expensive, complicated, or perceived as unnecessary, whereas social media platforms are cheap and easy. But still, please, if you are a business or an individual artist or creator, have a fucking website. “But-” fuck you, have a fucking website.

I haven’t had a Facebook account in a decade. I have Instagram blocked for most of the day so I don’t waste time scrolling it. If you’re a hair salon, or a tattoo artist, or a restaurant, or whatever, please just have a fucking website where I can go and see your rates and hours. Not all of your potential clients are on these platforms, and I suspect that even many of the ones who are appreciate a simple, unadorned site that tells them what they need to know at a glance.

Not only that, but as we saw with Twitter a few years ago, platforms can change the rules overnight so that the following you’ve built up is suddenly worthless. Or they can decide to boot you for no reason and you’ll have no recourse. I get that IG is easy for sharing updates with people but it is so, so simple to just set up a website once with a menu/prices/whatever on it, then you can rest secure in the fact that you can be found on the internet regardless of the whims of our drug-addled tech overlords.

You don’t own shit that you put on social media platforms. You don’t own your follower counts, you don’t own your posts. Stop giving away all of your shit to data harvesters and advertisers for free in exchange for the illusion of importance that comes with likes and a follower count. Set up a website — and while you’re at it, start a mailing list, because email is basically the only means of reaching your contacts that can’t easily be taken away from you.

The internet was built on websites that linked to one another. The concept of congregating in walled gardens owned by pedophilic fascist speed freaks who actively block the sharing of links in an effort to keep people scrolling on their platforms is very new. With any luck, it will pass sooner rather than later, and every time someone creates an actual fucking website, that day gets a little closer.

merritt k

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51 responses to “Have a Fucking Website”

  1. jm Avatar
    jm

    you have no idea how bad i want this. i want to be able to delete my burner facebook and instagram accounts and not have to log into them ever again.

    Reply
    1. threeboy Avatar
      threeboy

      Can’t you?

      Reply
    2. Matthew Cambion Avatar
      Matthew Cambion

      Then do it. What has *anybody* in your life ever done to you to justify your continuing to enrich Mark Zuckerberg by your continued presence on platforms owned by FaceMash?

      Reply
      1. Jay Avatar
        Jay

        The mother fucking truth. Let’s go back to surfing the web like it’s 1999.

        Reply
        1. Jens Avatar
          Jens

          The early times of the web was really great times.

          I imagine putting on Futurama S1E1 DivX rip on my CRT monitor while loading up Netscape Navigator to browse the web.
          With Dreamcast connected to the old CRT TV with Shenmue inserted waiting for my next game session.

          Of cause i could also just be nostalgic.

          Welcome to the Year 2000!

          Reply
        2. Russ Avatar
          Russ

          Word.

          Reply
    3. Tyler Durden Avatar
      Tyler Durden

      Just do it. I did. If someone is only on social media, I search for another one. They lost me as a customer even before they got one.

      Fuck this social media shit.

      Reply
      1. Aladar Avatar
        Aladar

        I’m not going to brand myself with a subpar tattoo for life just because my chosen artist happened to not have a website, sorry.

        Reply
  2. delirehberi Avatar
    delirehberi

    As a software developer, I completely agree—of course, I have my own site, but I see why it’s a hurdle for most people. The UX of the independent web is still a bit broken.

    I think Nostr could actually solve this. I’m currently using it as a backend for my own blog (blog.emre.xyz) and even built a simple read-only client (nostr.emre.xyz). Imagine if a cafe owner could just post an update on Nostr and have it automatically sync to their own domain. It bridges that gap between ‘social media ease’ and ‘owning your own platform.’ Hopefully, as the network grows, this becomes the standard.

    Reply
    1. Matt Trask Avatar
      Matt Trask

      I dont think Nostr is the way here. A simple website, with a simple ui that is updatable and easy to maintain is what 99.99% of small business owners want. Thats why they went to Facebook in the first place. The barrier to entry was incredibly low.

      “Nostr flips the current internet paradigm of “dumb client/smart server” to “smart client/dumb server”, by using relays and public-key cryptography. Nostr empowers users to control their own data.” If Im a small business owner and see this as my entry to Nostr Im noping out. I have a business to run and dont want to have to know about public key cryptography.

      Reply
  3. ivor Avatar
    ivor

    This is so real, make this more famous please lmao

    Reply
  4. screamingatmypc Avatar
    screamingatmypc

    It’s never been easier to have a fucking website. JUST DO IT. Every time I am greeted by login prompt when I just want to see if an event is still happening, or what the new menu is at a bar or some shit I want to crash my car into a fucking wall.

    Reply
  5. Colo Avatar
    Colo

    I still remember those old days when sadly facebook appear on the internet collecting victims worldwide and started to receive invitations from friends to join in to the social network, something I never did! Happy end for me!

    Reply
  6. Fred Avatar
    Fred

    Yes, get a website! Thanks for the article

    Reply
  7. DennisKabui Avatar
    DennisKabui

    I get what you’re pushing for, and I agree with the core idea. But it skips over the part where most people don’t know where to start, what the site should even contain, or how to keep it alive after the first week.. It’s not impossible, but it’s not a single step either.
    There’s also the practical side. People don’t just disappear from platforms because they now have a website. If your audience is somewhere else, that’s still where you have to meet them. A personal site doesn’t replace that, it just gives you something stable in the background.
    At the same time, it’s not as complicated as people make it out to be. Most don’t need anything fancy. One simple page that does the job is already enough. The barrier is more mental than technical.
    So yeah, the idea is solid. But it’s not as effortless as it’s framed, and not as difficult as people assume either. It sits somewhere in the middle, and most people just never get around to it.

    Reply
  8. e Avatar
    e

    i almost agree except i hate mailing lists with a passion, i can’t explain it

    except mailing lists i’d participate in i guess, but i think you mean a newsletter

    Reply
  9. Petrie Avatar
    Petrie

    I’m in the process of learning Hugo. It has its pros, and cons, I’m working on it internally now and hope to eventually push it externally. Don’t sell or spam my fucking email.

    Reply
  10. Miguel Avatar
    Miguel

    Thanks a fucking lot that was funny

    Reply
  11. pete Avatar
    pete

    preach!

    Reply
  12. anon Avatar
    anon

    … and do not get your website generated by AI-hallucination. Nowadays all websites look the same, please do your own design!

    Reply
  13. Alberto Prado Avatar
    Alberto Prado

    Agree, having a website is great, and WordPress with Gutenberg makes it easier than ever to have one.

    Reply
  14. Mark Avatar
    Mark

    I agree with your overall sentiment. I’ve never had a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account. While I wouldn’t tell a company not to use social media, they should understand it’s not a substitute for a website.

    Reply
  15. Theo Armour Avatar
    Theo Armour

    register with GitHub
    create a repository
    turn on the GitHub Pages feature

    Bingo!

    You have a free never-ending f-word website

    Reply
  16. eli Avatar
    eli

    Totally agree. Social media gives you the illusion of presence, but you own nothing. One rule change, one ban, one platform collapse — and years of work vanish overnight. A personal website is the only real estate you actually control on the internet. Same goes for an email list. It’s old-school, but it’s yours.

    Reply
  17. Nin-k Avatar
    Nin-k

    Well said. I have also been there. I quit fb a decade or so. The only tool I use is viber/whatsapp. Only recently I created a bluesky account out of curiosity (https://bsky.app/profile/nin-k.bsky.social.By) deleting your account from these platforms, it seems like a big deal from a first glance. You feel that you lose something precious. This is an illusion. The things you want to do in your life you’re going to do them, with, or without these platforms.
    Also deleting accounts on these platforms seems like a marathon.

    Reply
  18. guest Avatar
    guest

    agree 100%. hate restaurants which only have insta page.

    Reply
  19. Tom Avatar
    Tom

    Love this.

    Still think we could have better on-ramps for this type of thing especially for folks who aren’t as technical, but I feel like this is mostly a UX problem(?)

    All social media in 2026 is very cooked imo.

    Reply
  20. Fox Avatar
    Fox

    I totally agree. As an IT person, I probably see too many things in building your website as simple and easy. I could say “just go to GitLab/Github and host your site for free there”.

    Probably layman has never heatd of GitLab/Github, knows nothing about HTML etc. I think the most critical piece is lack of motivation and time. Your options are basically:

    1) Create an IG account and post there with visible feedback through reactions.

    2) Create GitLab account and learn some basic HTML. Create a page and hope that someone finds it.

    I love to self-host everything that is important to me, including my Hugo blog but I know that represent maybe 0,0001% of the population. And that’s fine. I like to stay out of social media but I understand how it is an easy way to reach masses.

    If you are a startup or a local barber, they naturally prioritize social media presence over their own website. Which is kind of sad, if they lose account to the platform.

    Reply
  21. Nukun Avatar
    Nukun

    Beside that, the happiness when you see your website live in the first time!

    Reply
  22. Ondrej Hudecek Avatar
    Ondrej Hudecek

    I agree completely. I hope and wish for social media to die slowly, but I guess it’s not a realistic scenario. The “Small web” needs to make a comeback. People need to own their data again.

    Reply
  23. Frank Caron Avatar
    Frank Caron

    I’m back with you.

    Reply
  24. s Avatar
    s

    yes.

    Reply
  25. Derek Martin Avatar
    Derek Martin

    I had the book that your “hero” image was on the cover of. Surfing the information superhighway. Amazing to see it again. But yes, everyone, get a fucking website.

    Reply
  26. john andrews Avatar
    john andrews

    I agree, and I did have a website:

    -until the landlord told me he would no longer pay for the free hosting and now suddenly it was $75/month with minimal call center “support” that would upsell any need for “web development work”.

    -until I changed the OPEN hours that one time and the format broke (then nobody wanted to “fix” it– they all wanted me to change to their “platform” before they would work on it)

    -until I realized that with FB or Google Map listing instead of a website I eliminated those 1 star reviews claiming I “wasn’t there even though the website said OPEN”. Nobody posts 1 star reviews that FB or Google has the wrong hours.

    -until that day I got a call that my website was a threat to humanity, because it had pr0n/casino links on it. I’m really not going to update WordPress every 3 months, and a dozen plugins whenever they finished updating in-kind.

    tbh I’m surprised the BigPlatforms don’t demand more under threat of exclusion. But… I hear Google is working on that… a way to exclude us unless we share something like 25% of gross revenue(gross…not net), claiming it’s up to us to “run our business well” so we can survive on the net of the remaining 75% after 100% of expenses. At least in the beginning… before they raise table stakes even more.

    Just Say No is a thing for small businesses today.

    Reply
  27. Shai Avatar
    Shai

    Daddy

    Reply
  28. par Avatar
    par

    i created a facebook account to access marketplace. hopefully the EU can put a crowbar in that platform so i can nuke it

    Reply
  29. reteP Avatar
    reteP

    Well said.

    I think I deleted my facebook account back when Zuckerberg said he didn’t believe in privacy. Only had it for 3 months and I don’t have any social media accounts.

    Maybe the next one is: Stop trying to make your website so fucking fancy, make it functional.

    Reply
  30. James Avatar
    James

    Come join all of us on the “Small Web” https://kagi.com/smallweb/

    Reply
  31. Yahya Avatar
    Yahya

    couldn’t agree more

    Reply
  32. Douglas Muth Avatar
    Douglas Muth

    Having been on the Internet since the 90s, I can’t stress enough how having some sort of presence that you control is important. Essential, even!

    All the effort putting into getting an online following can be, as you said, erased in an instant if you make the wrong move on a platform, or sometimes even if the platform rules change. But if you have a website with a decent PageRank, that’s much more durable in the long run, and from there you can have pointers to existing socials and such.

    Reply
  33. Aladar Avatar
    Aladar

    “email is basically the only means of reaching your contacts that can’t easily be taken away from you”

    Google has killed my entire account that was back from the days where gmail was invite-only because I logged in with a VPN once. The recovery email was dead, the account got permanently locked even when I logged into it from my usual residential IP, and the customer service has ignored me for months before I finally gave up. It’s even easier to be taken away from you than some social media.

    Reply
  34. ArkT8 Avatar
    ArkT8

    Please not only have a website, but bring back a del.icio.us like site. I miss it too much, I learned much more surfing simple sites like this than with Stack Overflow. And Del.icio.us helped a lot to find good content. A direct contact who thinkers and innkvators.

    Reply
  35. Empterdose Avatar
    Empterdose

    > someone-please-tell-me-where-this-image-comes-from.jpeg

    It’s the cover of Internet: A First Discovery Book, written by Donald Grant and Jean-Phillipe Chabot, published in 1999 by Scholastic.

    Reply
  36. Eby Avatar
    Eby

    The ones I love the most are places that paid for their own domain, put it in their facebook profile, and it redirects to their facebook profile.

    Reply
  37. hellium Avatar
    hellium

    cannot agree more

    Reply
  38. Žygimantas Tauras Avatar
    Žygimantas Tauras

    Thank you brother!

    Reply
  39. Sh Avatar
    Sh

    Don’t forget to add micropayments so we can move away from ad-based centralized walled gardens.

    Reply
  40. Jotalea Avatar
    Jotalea

    as a developer, i have my own personal website (jotalea.com.ar) which i customized to my liking (catppuccin theme, walking pet, music player [with animations and iOS-like blur effects], etc.) and even added a tiny blog section, where i usually post, well, anything i’d post on traditional, centralized social media.
    i made it so, if something is relevant enough (i.e. it is something i’m actually proud of, or is something with enough quality), it is posted on my site first, and just then reposted to other platforms. i even added a rss feed if anyone wanted.
    and last but not least, i optimized it so it loads within less than 512kb (333kb as of writing this, i might add or remove more stuff in the future that might change the total size), and it is fully functional on devices as old as Android 6 (i don’t have anything older to test, sorry about that).

    Reply
  41. John Schuster Avatar
    John Schuster

    Really enjoyed this! blunt, honest, and spot on.

    In a world full of overcomplicated, digital noise, the reminder to simply have a website feels both obvious and surprisingly overlooked. It’s a strong argument for owning your presence instead of relying entirely on platforms you don’t control.

    Reply
  42. akabulous Avatar
    akabulous

    Sometimes as whatever-the-people-who-read-HN-identify-as (developers? hackers? techies? nerds?) we forget that 99.9% of people will freeze up and quit when they encounter the slightest bit of friction. The reason these walled garden shitsites have become so popular is because of how easy they make everything. Think about it like this: Why hasn’t Matrix caught on as an alternative to Discord, or Mastodon as an alternative to Twitter?* Simply put, because if my mother tried to sign up for either of those, she would call me halfway through when she got confused, and probably never actually finish. Then she’d go back to the one that she knows how to use. Setting up a website requires a level of patience that most people (including, shamefully, most small business owners) simply don’t have. They’ve been spoiled by streamlined everything, so if they go on Namecheap or wherever and register their domain name, as soon as they have to read a paragraph about CNAME and DNS and other things they don’t understand, they’ll just quit. They could go with “we do everything for you” services like WordPress and SquareSpace, but those cost money, whereas social media sites only cost you your privacy and sanity. This is also why most people no longer watch any movie made before the year 2000, as barely any such movies are hosted on streaming platforms, and opening a magnet link to a torrent is just too much to ask of these people. I hate it as much as you do, but I don’t see the problem going away any time soon.

    *I’ll be dead in the cold, cold ground before I call it “X.”

    Reply
  43. Sagar Makhija Avatar
    Sagar Makhija

    I fucking have it, forgot to fucking renew the domain, doing it fucking now. Fuckin thanks!!

    Reply

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