graphics
this is my entire collection of graphics. favorites are highlighted on the sides.
buttons
buttons are typically used to link to different sites, though they are also used decoratively. here is my entire colleciton. some are linked, so have fun finding new things.
stamps
stamps aren't necessarily for linking, they're mostly used for profile decor on sites like deviant art and myspace (or spacehey for you modern users).
blinkies
blinkies are also commonly used for decoration on profiles. the contemporary user could liken them to userboxes.
inspiration
a list of websites that i look at and i go "ooh, that's real neat. i want to do that too". but then i realize that it's way out of my skillset, so i settle for the best i can do. i hope i can inspire you in the same way these sites inspire me <3 buttons, where applicable, will be linked to the right.
atomic gothic
atomic gothic is the homepage for the webcomic of the same name! i love the characters this webmaster has, and the story is super intriguing to me. it seems like they haven't updated in a while but i'm sure that whatever update they put out will be great.
cinni's dream home
man, cinni isn't just a webmistress, she's an artist. a savant. she knows exactly what she wants from her website and executes it in what i think is the perfect way.
dimden
i absolutely would love to be as good a programmer as dimden one day. currently they're developing their own website hosting service called "nekoweb", and have also developed navlink ads - a service made specifically for personal websites to advertise freely on other sites. you can add the navlink ads widget to your own website to help promote others, and it's free to join!
doko demo
dokodemo is an outstanding website filled to the brim with content. webmaster suni has done an amazing job at making a website that is visually pleasing to navigate and also actually interesting for what is discussed - from videogames to collectables to their personal life.
freakphone
there are plenty of portfolio sites out there, but freakphone has an artstyle that itches the brain just right. definitely a site to check out.
sadgrl.online
the pioneer of the yesterweb movement, sadness is someone a lot of people new into the small web tend to find themselves going to for her array of useful tools like her layout builder or button maker, or for her resources list. though she is currently on hiatus, i absolutely reccomend taking advantage of the tools she's provided on her site.
uncanny valley
uncanny valley is an absolute treat. awesome artwork and visual design, fun and whimsical little guys, all tied together with some really stellar coding ability. this was the site that made me want to create an oc wiki.
welcome home
i'm blasting you with my cringe beam. you will look at the funny 70s inspired horror arg and you will like it. all goofs aside, welcome home is genuinely a really well made mascot-horror project and love oozes from every line of code, every illustration, every audio file and every video. if you think that mascot-horror is cringe right now or you have perhaps been turned away by the fanbase, i am begging you to please check it out on your own time. from the bottom of my clit i mean it when i say the individual (yes, that's one person - his name is clown) working on this series is unbelievably talented. if you want to read more about the series from the man himself, here is the landing page for welcome home that lists out some content warnings.
resources
here are some links for you to look at if you're interested in making your own funky little webbed site. buttons, where applicable, will be linked to the right.
32-bit café
what was once an 18+ sfw discord server offshoot of the yesterweb discord server has become a kind and welcoming space for people to learn about "old-web" spaces. they also have a forum that will be mentioned below.
99gifshop
lovingly hosted by one of my fellow neo-netizens, cinni, 99gifshop is a curated collection of old gifs and web assets that are free for you to use on your own site.
anlucas 88x31 button collection
a huge collection of 88x31 buttons from the 90s and early 2000s. a great resource if you're trying to go for the y2k look on your site.
bonnibel's graphic collection
webmaster bonnibel uses their website to host various collections - but what we're interested in is the graphics colleciton. there's a huge library of graphics here that could definitely come in handy!
catbox.moe
catbox.moe is an image hosting service - which is super useful if you end up using forums, and you don't want to take up space and bandwidth hotlinking from your own website.
codepip
codepip teaches coding through little mingame puzzles. personally i recommend flexbox froggy and grid garden, since those cover some pretty commonly used css formatting.
cyber dabamos 88x31 button collection
this is one of the biggest collections of 88x31 buttons i've found on the web. if you're looking for someone's button or just looking for a fun way to decorate your website, this is a great place to look.
freecodecamp
freecodecamp is another way to learn how to code if you're interested. it's how i started to learn, and it's a pretty solid way to start if you just wanna jump right into it. if you get stuck on something they do have forums to consult, though i find it's less comprehensive than w3schools.
gifcities
in a similar vain to 99gifshop, gifcities is a searchable gif collection hosted by the internet archive. it isn't curated like 99gifshop, which means there is a bit more of a variety, though it might be harder to pin down a particular aesthetic.
the ichigo directory
run by previously mentioned webmaster cinni, this directory links to a bunch of archived cutesy kawaii graphics, webrings, websites, cliques, and webrings. if you want the pastel pink aesthetic, look here for some resources.
mazeguy smilies
bro has been making free to use smilies for 20 years. there's such a huge collection here, so definitely take some time to peruse all the categories.
mozilla developers
made by the same people who made the firefox web browser, this resource has been documenting web development and creating guides since 2005! very good resource to have in your arsenal imo.
w3schools is an amazing resource that i've referenced in the making of this website more times than i can count. it functions both as an encyclopedia and as a place to get free html, css, and javascript lessons, among many more kinds of coding languages like c (and its varients c++ and c#), python, php, and a bunch of others. ultimately a great resource if you're looking to learn, and definitely one to keep in the bookmarks bar.
yesterweb
though it's now pretty defunct, the principles of yesterweb are great to keep in mind as you make your site and navigate your way through the old web. run by sadness, the same webmaster of sadgrl.online. definitely still worth checking out.
carrd lightning round
people have been doing this funny thing recently of condensing a bunch of resources into a single carrd - and while i would love to add every single resource from every single carrd onto this page, i feel like that would be a bit cumbersome. so i'll link to the carrds here and you can peruse them at your leisure.
- autism
- neogeo
- pochi
- supplies.ju.mp
- yokai carrd (no longer updated)
- xyz
each of these carrds have their own list of resource carrds, so you could really go down an endless rabbithole if you want lol
as for hosting services, i reccomend neocities first and foremost. it offers a free tier with 5 gb of space - which doesn't seem like a lot, but it really is. most html sites are not that data heavy so you should be totally cool for a while. A new hosting site that popped up recently is nekoweb. it's more barebones than neocities at the moment, but new features are planned.
social websites
part of the fun bit of the small web is going to different forums and small social medias and seeing what's going on inside. here are some smaller forums i'm either apart of or have been intrigued by for a variety of reasons, as well as a couple small socials. buttons, where applicable, will be linked to the right.
agora road's macintosh café
agora road is not one that i've looked into all that much. it's very much so adjacent to 4chan, so i can only really dip my toes in for so long before i feel the need to gtfo. they pride themselves on being the best kept secret of the internet.
32-bit café forums
32-bit café is another resource that i've posted about earlier, but this is the forum site that they have. not a lot goes on here, but the 32-bit café people are kind. so if you're new to forums it's a nice place to start posting for the first time.
basement community
basement community is a forum site i found in the aftermath of the yesterweb forums death. very cool and kind people there.
cohost
cohost functions basically like tumblr in its early days. no real algorithm, you curate your own experience here. while i do have one of these, i hear that it's been running rough for cohost for a while. there is a lot of nsfw content, though people have been very kind which is always something i look for in a social.
knockout
knockout is a general forum site that i believe was initially a branch of the facepunch forums. they're very chill though, and i lurk here often.
something awful
i do not have an account with something awful, it is something you need to pay for. they say it's a precaution to prevent inactive users, bots, and the like. there's a huge variety of discussion being had here though, so if that's something that intrigues you, definitely lurk for yourself to see if an account is worthwhile.
the web raft
the web raft forums were made in lieu of the yesterweb forums demise. it is mostly comprised of people who share the goals and ideals of the yesterweb movement, so they're pretty based by default.
ok that's my whole list. idk i might add a section for webrings and cliques as like a seperate thing since they're not quite like a social thing !! in the way that it's less of interacting with people directly and moreso just belonging to a group.
sites mentioned
top 5 blinkies of the whenever
