Understanding the IndieWeb
The IndieWeb is a movement for a more independent, human-centric web. It encourages you to own your content, identity, and data—rather than relying solely on centralized platforms.
Core Principles
- Own your content: Publish on your site first, then syndicate elsewhere.
- Own your identity: Your domain is your identity.
- Make what you need: Build small tools and workflows that work for you.
Building blocks
- microformats2: Semantic HTML classes (like
h-entry,h-card) so other tools can parse your posts and profile. See docs. - Webmention: A W3C recommendation for cross-site replies/likes. See spec and webmention.io.
- IndieAuth: Sign-in using your domain. See indieauth.net.
- Feeds: Provide RSS/Atom/JSON Feed so people and services can follow you.
- POSSE: Publish on your site, syndicate elsewhere (e.g., Mastodon/Twitter) and backfeed reactions.
Getting started (Eleventy)
- Create your site with Eleventy. Ensure posts use
h-entrymarkup and your about/contact usesh-card. - Add a feed (RSS/Atom/JSON). Eleventy has official RSS plugin.
- Enable webmentions using webmention.io and render them during build (fetch JSON in a data file and display under posts).
- Optionally set up Bridgy for POSSE/backfeed and add
rel="me"links to verified profiles.
Syndication tips
- Keep canonical URLs pointing to your site.
- Post short notes/microblog entries to reduce friction.
- Prefer open platforms (Mastodon) and standards (ActivityPub, Webmention).