Small Web Build video of sample Cherokee Myths site

I enjoy videos of people showing off small homes they’ve built or van conversions they’ve done. The person shows off their craftwork, describes goals and trade-offs, recommends tools/components/techniques, and shares lessons learned. It makes building something feel approachable and can inspire people to try it themselves.

I’d love to see #smallweb/#indieweb creators do the same with #SmallWebBuild videos. Here’s my first.

This walks you through the Cherokee Myths site I described previously that uses Origami to create a static site with a generated table of contents, plus a full-text search feature using Pagefind by Liam Bigelow.

Using small home and van build videos as models, the following could make for good #SmallWebBuild videos:

• Introduce yourself, what the site is about, and why you made it.
• Link to your site.
• Show the site’s main features as a visitor experiences them.
• Then describe some key points about how you built the site.
• Describe decisions, trade-offs, challenges, or lessons learned.
• Link to your code if it’s open source.
• Link to tools/components/techniques you’d recommend. If their creators are on your platform, tag them.
• Keep it short! You’re trying to inspire, not provide a how-to guide. Those are also useful but address a separate goal.
• Keep the video production values simple. You’re more likely to actually finish the video, and a no-frills style reinforces the message that small sites don’t require years of experience, a huge team, or a big budget.