Bricklin on Technology

6.3. Some General Comments about Creating Personal Material to Share on the Web

The next essay was written in 2000, when creating web pages was uncommon for most people. I was working for a company that created web site creation software, and because of that I was posting some material to help show the many ways you could use our tools. Web site is used here to refer to a group of related pages, such as photos from a wedding, a blog, or information about a vacation home for rent. A person may have a master web site that would consist of many such smaller sections.

In the years since this essay was written, many software systems have been developed to facilitate the creation of many specific types of web sites. They have made it even easier in those cases. However, the ideas in this essay about the different levels of work needed for different styles of results still hold.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A WEB SITE? One of the questions people considering a web site have is, "How long does it take to make a web site?" As with, "How long does it take to make a dinner?" the answer is, "It depends." I'd like to try to tackle the answer for a variety of personal web sites. Some background: The first thing it depends upon is what type of web site you want to create. There are many types of web sites for personal use. There is the web journal, like the one I keep. There is the event commemoration site, like one showing pictures from a wedding or birthday party. There is the nonprofit ...