thoughts on a web authoring experience

going back to a few notes ago where I was looking for some new software to make my web publishing faster and less systematic. I think a blog requires an amount of system, but IMO the web has become less creative and too systematic.

Even block-based editors seem too … blocky and stiff.

going back to macromedia dreamweaver mx 2004 hardly seems like an option.

I’m looking at a few options based on a conversation with ChatGPT.

Oh my. How long have I wanted something like this! Its native mac. It has a more solid feel than any web UI, including ubiquitous wordpress.

I love rapidweaver.

But, it doesn’t feel that creative either.

What is WYSIWYG about the RapidWeaver authoring experience? Its almost like a sorely needed UI for the Jekyll authoring experience (but isn’t).

Here’s a higher bar: If my nephew came to me and said, Uncle Justin, how do I make a website? Would would I say? In 2024, would I say Squarespace? WordPress? None of this is great. And this is such an old problem!

I find myself looking down those old roads, Bluefish, Composer which takes me right back to 10th grade!.

Look at Composer: This isn’t WYSIWYG, right? This is word processing that exports to HTML.

What am I missing?

Last stop the Fedora/KDE ecosystem.

OK. Just bluefish. Which is a text editor.

Here’s what I want

  • Dragables (non-grid conforming elements)
  • Native App
  • to whatever OS its on
    • TK interface?
  • Talk in terms of Sites
  • A publish button is a must
  • not just in terms of files

I’m now stumbling down this web 1.0 / neocities trail There’s An Entire Conference Dedicated to Geocities-Style Websites

This is so great!

But where’s the editor!!!??

I should just go back to Dreamweaver MX 2004!


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