Article Link: https://luckysoap.com/statements/handmadeweb.html
The thesis of this article is that handmade websites are websites that are programmed by an individual from
scratch that is unique in their designs and content. Rather than a huge company that runs the website, it is
solely the independent maker(s) of the website that oversees running it. The handmade websites are also a
contemporary to the style and personality of the creators and how they want to arrange their content; there
are
no rules set that bounds the creativity of the handmade website inventor. By creating handmade websites,
there
are more thoughts and skill that goes into the creation than creating a website that is made using the help
of
another software. Making a handmade website meant that the websites made can be as limited or as
outrageously
creative as the makers intended. Instead of the typical website using the use of the traditional grids and
regular texts, creators of handmade websites can create a webpage that reflects their individuality.
“I evoke the term 'handmade web' to refer to web pages coded by hand rather than by
software;
web pages made and maintained by individuals rather than by businesses or corporations; web pages which
are
provisional, temporary, or one-of-a-kind; web pages which challenge conventions of reading, writing,
design,
ownership, privacy, security, or identity.” (Carpenter)
The form of resistance of handmade website refers to the resisting of creating a website that follows the guidelines that a modern traditional website follows. Most commercial websites are formed to have things such as the algorithm and consumerism in mind so to be profitable. Handmade websites are made by those who resist the conventional and they strive to create something unique and innovative which in turn can also be made to be profitable. They also may resist the urge to create a website that seems widely socially acceptable and average to look at. This allows them to create something out worldly and unique. In terms of resistance, a handmade website could also resist the thought of making profitability. Instead of profitability, they could focus more on creativity, skill development of the creator, experimentation, and even for the sake of the entertainment of the programmer with little to no thoughts of profitability.
On the web, there are plenty of restriction regarding what could be done. For example, you cannot make something that is three-dimensional on the computer screen. It only seems three-dimensional, but you can’t hold those objects in your hand. Due to this limitation, programmers must be creative when they want to create a meaningful message or unique experiences. A favourite example of mine is neal.fun which is a website created by a talented creative web developer, Neal Agarwal. Agarwal created plenty of interesting website covering all sorts of topics! Using the web, he is breaking barriers of what can be done when building handmade websites. One of a favourite of mine is “Space Elevator” where viewers can scroll up to get higher into space using an elevator. While going up, visitors can read fun facts of the sky and space with fun visuals attached so it is easy to understand. What I like about this site is that Agarwal uses the simple interaction of scrolling up to represent the action for going up to space in an elevator, which recently is being researched by scientists and is a possibility to happen in the future. By using simple interaction, websites can also seem very creative and innovative.