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Is there an easy to use package for helping non-geek users set up a simple homepage, with static HTML5/CSS3, under their own domain name?
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People use WordPress other CMS for this, but these are so over-engineered for enterprise use, its like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut
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eg Many musicians don't have a domain name, and just point fans to BandCamp or SoundCloud presences, or maybe BlogSpot
http://qttr.at/1u3u
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@chris @tbolt I'm specifically look for an alternative to corporate-controlled platforms. Otherwise they might as well just use MySpace
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@chris @tbolt I'm assuming these users don't know and don't have time to learn HTML/CSS, nor how to drive trucks like WP or Drupal
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@chris @tbolt ...when all they need is the web equivalent of a band van, parked in a garage where they are the customer, not the product
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@ninjatrappeur specifically things that don't need a "tech guy", so folks can do the web equivalent of putting up their own band posters
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@chris @tbolt nope, I meant the software would output light, static HTML/CSS pages that have no tracking-orientated scripting bloat.
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@chris @tbolt retro web pages, harking back to the days when the web was a straight publishing platform, with no port 80 pollution ;)
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@arunisaac let me answer your question with a question...
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@arunisaac Why do non-geeks tend to use proprietary SaaSS like Weebly, Wix, BlogSpot etc not self-host with existing packages like WP?
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@arunisaac why do those who do self-host use packages that create appallingly bloated sites using stuff like #Flash and loads of surplus JS?
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@arunisaac from a non-geek perspective a website is like a business card or a poster, a means to an end (promotion/ outreach/ networking).
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@arunisaac so non-geeks will tend towards whatever is a) easiest to understand, b) cheapest, c) quickest to create and update.
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@arunisaac so what I want to offer my non-geek friends is a free code package that is super user-friendly, covering a) and c), and...
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@arunisaac produces simple homepages with the minimum possible page size, keeping the cost of storage and bandwidth down, and covering b)
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@arunisaac the ideal solution works in a browser, and walks the user through registering a domain name and leasing hosting to point it at
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@arunisaac perhaps what I'm envisaging is not software, more like website HowTos aimed at specific use cases?
http://qttr.at/1u6z
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@arunisaac Known looks good, thanks for the reminder. Ghost looks good too. Don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loud really :)
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@deadsuperhero is right that the first jump, from $0 to >$0, is a big one when there's so much $0 around @arunisaac
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@arunisaac @deadsuperhero see Clay Shirky's essays about why micropayments for page views and other per item charges won't work online
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@arunisaac yes! Replacing comment integration via FB, DISQUS, Quora etc with a federated comment system is great
http://qttr.at/wt1
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@haverholm "boost"? "repost"?
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@deadsuperhero @arunisaac Flattr tried it. They failed because signing up originally required putting in money, making it look pyramid-esque
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@arunisaac @deadsuperhero it's fairly easy to put donation buttons on pages using a wide variety of payment systems. They mostly don't work
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@arunisaac @deadsuperhero I think it's because it lacks the exciting visuals and sense of a finite goal that effective crowdfunding creates
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@deavmi @chris I recently discovered #GitLab has its own answer to GitHub Pages. Would be experimental to teach this to beginners though ;)
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@strypey This may not fit your goal, but there are some "site builder" type tools on some hosting sites.
It might be an easy way for someone to throw up a simple page. (Disclaimer: I've never tried one. Not even once.)
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thanks @lnxw48a1, this is a topic that started in May in response to various articles about how over-engineered websites have become
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@lnxw48a1 this one is a good example: https://mobiforge.com/research-analysis/the-web-is-doom
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@lnxw48a1 also this article by Tammy Everts https://www.soasta.com/blog/page-bloat-average-web-page-2-mb/
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@lnxw48a1 Tammy's article has lots of helpful visualizations on the scale of web page bloat
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@lnxw48a1 as well as lots of links to articles about optimizing the different elements of web pages
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@lnxw48a1 part of the problem is that most people think learning #HTML + #CSS is impossible, and demand WYSIWYG web interfaces
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@lnxw48a1 I think this is akin to people demanding a way to make books with crayons rather than learning to write, with similar results
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@deavmi @chris but only in the same way teaching GitHub pages to newbies would be experimental. For people who already know #Git it's simple