How this site was built, and how you can too
This site was built with free and open source tools, self-hosted fonts, zero tracking, and AI assistance. Total software cost: $0.
Everything listed here is available to anyone. If you're thinking "I could do this too" — you're right. You can. Here's exactly what I used.
Fonts chosen for readability and accessibility, self-hosted for privacy.
Created by the Braille Institute, designed for low-vision readers. Characters are maximally distinguishable from each other — the "a" can't be confused with "o", the "1" can't be confused with "l". Used as the primary body font.
Braille InstituteDesigned to reduce visual stress and improve reading performance. Research-backed typography that helps readers of all abilities.
lexend.comDesigned for readers with dyslexia. Letters have weighted bottoms to help prevent visual rotation and confusion.
opendyslexic.orgNo frameworks, no build steps, no dependencies to maintain.
No React, no Vue, no build tools. Just the web platform as it was designed. Works in any browser, loads instantly, will still work in 10 years.
Design tokens (colors, spacing, typography) defined as CSS variables. Dark mode is just swapping variable values. No JavaScript required for theming.
Beautiful hand-crafted SVG icons from the makers of Tailwind CSS. Inlined directly in HTML — no icon font, no external requests.
heroicons.comAI-assisted development for code structure, CSS patterns, and content drafting. Every line reviewed and approved by a human. Read more about the philosophy.
claude.aiSelf-hosted on personal infrastructure. No cloud platforms taking a cut.
Modern web server with automatic HTTPS. Zero-config TLS certificates via Let's Encrypt. Simpler than nginx, more capable than most.
caddyserver.comSecure networking without exposing services to the public internet. Management access is VPN-only. The site itself is public, the infrastructure isn't.
tailscale.comEvery choice has tradeoffs. Here's what I consciously decided against, what I gave up, and how I addressed it.
Massive library, easy CDN integration, no hosting required.
Every font request sends visitor data to Google. Your reading habits become their product.
Self-host fonts. Same fonts, zero tracking. Fonts load from my server, not Google's.
Detailed visitor analytics, traffic sources, behavior flows, conversion tracking.
Surveillance capitalism. Visitors are tracked across the web. Data feeds ad targeting.
Don't track at all. Server logs exist if I ever need aggregate data. I don't need to know who you are.
Free CDN, DDoS protection, edge caching, SSL termination.
Man-in-the-middle by design. They decrypt and re-encrypt all traffic. They see everything.
Direct hosting with Caddy. Auto-HTTPS via Let's Encrypt. Site is small and fast; CDN unnecessary.
Infinite scale, managed services, global infrastructure, enterprise tooling.
Vendor lock-in, unpredictable costs, complexity overkill for static sites. You rent, never own.
Self-hosted on hardware I control. Fixed costs, no surprises, no platform risk. This site doesn't need "scale."
Component architecture, state management, rich ecosystem. Great for interactive applications.
This is a content site, not an app. No complex state, no dynamic data. Frameworks would add complexity without benefit.
Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS. Right tool for the job. I use frameworks elsewhere when they're warranted.
Every tool listed here is free. The skills are learnable. The web doesn't have to be complicated.
If this inspired you to build something, I'd love to hear about it.
The honest footnote: Domains aren't free. This site uses Namecheap with DNSSEC enabled—costs vary by registrar and TLD. Hardware and internet access cost money too. But the software, fonts, icons, and documentation are all freely available.