SECTION 1

Intro to Media Queries

At its simplest, a website is a folder of text files broadcast from a computer to the rest of the world. This folder will likely have media too (nice pictures and songs and such). (And it’s likely being broadcast far beyond our world, into outer space and the ethereal realms.) It is continuously illuminating to realize websites are just text files in folders, like any other writing you’d keep on your computer. And too that, beyond this, a webpage is whatever you want it to be. Today, most webpages look the same. They don’t have to. There is no reason for their look beyond convention, false assumptions, and probably a type of soul-tiredness prevalent today. Your webpage can, and should, look however you want. It can, and should, be about anything you want. It does not need to be perfect, or finished, or even good. A webpage, at best, is a space you manifest to hold an idea or dream. It is whatever that means for you.

SECTION 2

The Calc Method
You need two tools for making a website: a text editor and a browser.
You will use other tools in the future–a server to broadcast your page and a domain name in which to find it–but these are topics for a future zine.

And really, for the creation of your website you just need a text editor. The browser is only so you can marvel at your work.

SECTION 3

The Flexible Box Layout module - 1
The browser reads you quite literally and doesn’t pick up on subtle clues like linebreaks.
It saw text and, to please you, displayed it as quickly and efficiently as it could.
If you want your text to be structured, you have to be explicit with that structure, using a language the browser understands.
Text of the future. Hypertext. I’m talking Hypertext Markup Language, baybee! Good ol’ HTML.

SECTION 4

The Flexible Box Layout module - 2
By text editor, I mean a computer program that lets you fill a blank page as simply as possible. Programs like ms word and google docs won’t work, as they’re deceptively complex. They add a bunch of hidden chaff to your words that becomes visible gibberish in a browser.
You want to be able to read and edit the text exactly as it is, without flourish. This unadorned text is called “plain text” and you want a “plain text editor”.
Ultimately, your text editor is a deeply personal choice, like picking your preferred pen or notebook. When you find the one right for you, it can be like discovering both a new way of speaking and a long-lost friend.

SECTION 5

More Responsive Stuff
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