Open source and privacy respecting website builders?
I am trying to build a small website. I don’t know how to write HTML or JavaScript or CSS. I always hear sponsorships about SquareSpace from content creators such as TheLinuxExperiment. I understand that a website is public information but I want a builder that does not come with any unnecessary trackers, I.E. a noninvasive website. Are there any options?
A static site generator like Jekyll hosted on Github pages might be a good option. It’s free and easy-ish to configure without knowing much code since there are an abundance of open source templates around.
I recently use Zola as a static site generator for my personal github.io website. In the past I used Jekll and Pelican, but I now use Zola for its simplicity in usage and dependency (single binary and file system based extension/theme)
Your best bet is WordPress. There are literally millions of different themes to choose from, and you don’t need to know anything about website development. Unless things have changed, you can spin one up for free with a few clicks of a button on WordPress.com.
As someone who spent a lot of time learning html/css and wordpress to get a site i’m ok with, but not thrilled.
I’d say skip wordpress. I think it’s overkill for a portfolio. Mine is just a personal blog, and i’m about to sign up for the $9 a month Ghost Pro hosting with a free theme. I’m over the plugins and getting nickel and dimed for features.
Like others have mentioned, a static site generator may be good too.
Also, it isn’t open source, but i really like blot.im. I use it for Obsidian.md instead of the built-in publish because it’s a lot cheaper, and it’s close enough in appearance/quality.
EDIT: Actually, it looks like I was wrong. Blot.im appears to be open source too.
Host a Wordpress instance on a privacy respecting VPS like Najal.la, or even Hetzner is great. Just change the settings to remove Gravatar integration and do not use Google Fonts. There are a lot of plugins and themes that you can install, but many come with third-party scripts and/or trackers. So, make sure you keep an eye out for what you are installing.
Okay. So you need to build at least one page, and host it somewhere.
To create the page, you’ll need some HTML/CSS code (and maybe some Javascript). If you want that Squarespace-like drag-and-drop experience, you’ll need some kind of editor to write the code for you. See if any of these seem like what you want. I haven’t used any personally (I’m pretty comfortable writing HTML/CSS by hand), but I’d try BlueGriffon or Sea Monkey.
Then for hosting, you have lots of options. Some are free. Check out this list to get an idea. Amazon AWS and some of the others aren’t exactly “FOSS,” but GitHub/GitLab Pages are pretty harmonious with open source software, and most of the hosts listed won’t bloat your site with creepy analytics and stuff.
Finally, if you wanted a custom domain (e.g. “magneticfusion.com” instead of “magneticfusion.github.io”), you’d need to find a domain name registration service and point it at your hosted page. This part would not be free.
I don’t think any “one stop shop” solution as simple and foolproof as Squarespace exists in the FOSS space, although I’d be happy to be proven wrong. As is often the case with FOSS, you need to do some tinkering and cobbling together yourself. But it’s not too hard, and you’ll learn some neat stuff in the process.
Let me know if you have any follow-up questions, I’m happy to help.
To add to this, there’s Sourcehut Pages too, which is a free software code forge unlike Github. Sourcehut is very minimal and doesn’t even use Javascript in its interface. The landing page for Sourcehut declares in no uncertain terms:
Absolutely no tracking or advertising
I can’t say I’ve used the Pages functionality myself as I already have my own website hosting, but the quick-start guide seems pretty approachable: srht.site/quickstart
It might be easier to use Hugo to build the website files if you don’t want to learn HTML/CSS. If you want to use a custom domain name, the steps seem simple enough: srht.site/custom-domains
Sourcehut is in Alpha at the moment, so it’s free, but they intend on charging for it once they’re out of Beta. You can optionally pay for it now, and the prices are pretty reasonable.
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