A manual for artists and independent publishers on building independent websites outside centralised platforms, covering hosting, SEO and digital sovereignty.
The Website Owner's Manual is a free resource for artists, archivists and activists. A manual and glossary, it introduces the basic building blocks of website making with and without code, covering site hosting, domain names, search engine optimisation, data protection regulation and the broader internet ecosystem. It includes useful links and online tools, a robust glossary, checklists and illustrations and diagrams to help visualise technicalities.
The manual responds to the urgent need to reclaim the web from centralised mega-monopolies like Facebook and Google that dominate online space, extract user data and erode autonomy, privacy and creative freedom. By explaining fundamental concepts around open-source tools, digital sovereignty, content management systems, site accessibility, privacy protections and creative commons licensing, the manual acts as a pragmatic tool and point of reference outlining the technical and political qualities of radical digital publishing amidst its own erasure.
Like books, websites can be many things, embracing their potential for creating community, publishing and protecting work against the controlling oversight of social media platforms. The Website Owner's Manual illuminates a handmade web: an open space where websites exist beyond the platform, continuing in the legacy of alternative publishing and imagining a better worldwide web. It is aimed at designers, independent publishers and everyone else who has a website and wants to better understand how sites work.
