According to the eponymous IndieWeb.org, “IndieWeb” is “a people-focused alternative to the ‘corporate web’.” In 2024, it’s not necessary to describe the cons associated with the on-going centralization and corporatization of the internet.

The primary tenets of this alternative to the current Web2.0 trends are:

1. Own your data.
2. Use and publish with focus on human visibility before machine-readability.
3. Make what you need.
4. Use what you make.
5. Document it, your stuff, the journey, whatever.
6. Open source.
7. UX/Design before plumbing.
8. Make it modular.
9. Design to last.
10. Plurality of components, approaches, and implementations.
11. Keep it weird, interesting, and fun!

In support of these tenets, the movement promotes small modular components over monolithic and monocultural stacks; creating “a community of independent and personal websites connected by open standards and based on the principles of: owning your domain and using it as your primary online identity, publishing on your own site first (optionally elsewhere), and owning your content.”

IndieMark #

Use IndieMark as a map and scorecard for implementing websites in the IndieWeb spirit.

The first Level (Level 0) is just to own a personal domain and publish some content.

Building Blocks #

The building blocks are a set of conventions, “microformats”, and approaches for leveraging some of the benefits and connections within the community and wider web.