So, I’d love to start my own small Internet blog, and I want to make it without any extra software, just plain HTML+CSS, maybe some PHP for convenience.
I have near-zero experience in programming (yes I know HTML is not programming language, but you get the point), and I just finished a wonderful starting guide, HTML For People. I loved it a lot, but it only covers the absolute basics, and I’d love to have a deeper dive.
Are there any HTML, CSS, PHP guides that are free, text-based (so, not YouTube videos), and give more than the very basics? Would love to hear your recommendations!
For now I feel like Python is just way overkill for a small personal blog that is mostly static anyway, I just want things like self-updating menus and stuff to have a little less maintenance burden going forward. But maybe I’ll reconsider as I go. In any case, my Python skills are very basic, and, applied to web development - just non-existent. It will take a while indeed.
I will probably end up reviewing what others have made, but for now I tried it and I feel it a bit overwhelming. I’d rather figure out documented use of all these elements and then read through it with good basic knowledge on my hands.
If it’s about having a blog up and running and less about learning how to code, go for static site generators like Hugo. You can use existing themes or use your HTML/CSS skill to make it completely yours. I’m sure you don’t need PHP or any other backend at all.
Thanks for the recommendation!
It’s a bit of both. For now, the goal is to be able to create and maintain a decently looking blog without depending on any external tools, completely manually. Then, as I get comfortable managing things manually and make sure I can always fix what’s broken with nothing but a text editor, I may look into various helper options. Essentially, I just don’t want to be caught in a situation when some tools are down and I can’t do anything without them.
I’d also like to learn HTML+CSS+PHP combo, because some of the things I want to self-host make extensive use of that and I’d like to understand their inner workings to service them reliably.
That said, I’ll keep your Python advice in mind!