Sites Directory

I made a small website to link my various projects together. The design is offensively simple - which I like.

I have 2 main websites currently, my blog (this one), and my main website. They are similar in the respect that they are both blog-format websites centred around my hobbies and interests, and that they are static websites using only HTML, CSS and JavaScript. But they are made quite differently.

My main site is built and maintained using a CMS (Content Management System) module I made myself in Python. My blog is made using a proper CMS (publii). I began using Publii through curiosity, and I like the experience. While my main website satisfies an urge to get stuck in to the technical details, Publii allows me to just blog with ease. I would highly recommend the software for anyone who wants to write a blog quickly and efficiently, and has a little technical understanding when it comes to computers and the web.

The different approaches mean my websites are quite distinctly different from each other. No brand. But I like it. I could make a CSS plugin for my blog, or make my main sites CSS a closer match. But they are different websites. I like them both, I like that they are different. I don't care about having a brand; I'm a hobbyist, I'm here for fun.

Nonetheless, I wanted the sites to link to each other. And to link to any future projects I might come up with. And I don't want to be pinned down to branding when I come to create those other projects. So I decided to just link from my websites to a site directory: sites.aaronwatts.dev.

I thought the tree structure, with the site directory acting as a root, was fun. And decided to design the site like it was documentation, or a man page in a UNIX terminal. I was researching ARIA patterns at the time, so while the site may look like just a lot of monospace text, if you view the page source, you'll see that it's a proper website. It even has a script that parses the XML feeds of my websites and creates links to the most recent articles for each category. There is rational use of semantic HTML, and while the typographical hierarchy leaves a bit to be desired, the document is as easy to figure out as a man page. Ironically, I struggle with to man pages myself, and rely on the zsh plugin colored-man-pages to be able to read them - but I feel like the vertical space between elements on my site aids readability in this sense.