The IndieWeb has captured my imagination in a way that nothing has since I was introduced to Linux in the early 2000’s. I feel the same sense of exploration and community, but I also sometimes get the same sense of impenetrability that characterized the Linux experience in those days. Most of my early reading on the IndieWeb turned up talk of principles and protocols. I kept running into terms like “ActivityPub” and “Micropub” and “webmention” when what I was looking for was more like a how-to guide. It’s all fascinating reading, but it was daunting as someone who was just trying to figure out how to write something on the IndieWeb.
Fortunately, it turns out that I didn’t have to know any of that to post on the IndieWeb. Most of that information is directed to people who want to build an IndieWeb site. Now that I have my bearings, I thought it would be fun to see if I could get a second account on the IndieWeb in 5 minutes. I got pretty close! It was essentially 3 steps. Here’s the short version:
- Create a Micro.one account
- Start a Micro.one subscription ($1/month)
- (optional) Get a domain name ($16/year)
The best thing about this is that it can all be done from Micro.one without any specialized knowledge.
The rest of this post will cover the steps I took in detail. My hope is that this can act as a quickstart for people like me who are interested in joining the IndieWeb but don’t want to build a website to do it. Even if you’ve never considered running a web server or registering a domain, you should be able to get your own site on the IndieWeb by following this guide. If you’re still having trouble after reading it, then I’ve fallen short of my goal. Please let me know in the comments and I’ll improve the guide. I’ll also help you out as much as I’m able.
Let’s jump in!
The subjects: My cats
The one hitch in my 5-minute IndieWeb plan was that I’d already set up this site, so I didn’t need another one. Fortunately, I have a couple of cats who still haven’t gotten around to setting up their own site. So I thought I’d be a good cat caretaker and get them on the IndieWeb. It’s time the internet met Cooper and Cole.
As you can see, they’re extremely busy.
The Platform: Micro.one
Micro.one is a thoughtfully designed, IndieWeb-friendly blogging service from Manton Reece. It supports short-form and long-form posts, photos, podcasts, and even things like bookshelves to keep track of your reading. It’s a great place to make your first home on the IndieWeb.
It’s a paid service at $1/month. This allows Manton to provide Micro.one without ads.
Create a Micro.one account
Go to the Micro.one homepage and click the “Sign Up” button in the top right.
You’ll be taken to a Registration page that asks for the usual sign up info: name, username, email address. Fill in the information and click “Register.”
You’ll get an email from Micro.blog at the address you used to register. Open the email and click the “Confirm your account” button to complete the registration. When you do, you’ll be taken to the timeline on Micro.one. Congratulations! You’re on the IndieWeb!
Start a Micro.one Subscription
Great! Cooper and Cole are on the IndieWeb. But before they can post on their new Micro.one blog, I need to start a subscription for them (I don’t trust them with their own credit cards yet). If you try to post before setting up a subscription, you’ll see a prompt to upgrade your plan.
Click the “Please upgrade” link and you’ll be taken to the Plans page (you can also get there by clicking “Plans” on the left-hand sidebar). Select the Micro.one plan and click the “Start Subscription.” button.
You’ll be prompted for your credit card information. Once you’ve entered it, your plan will be upgraded and you can post! Go ahead and click the New Post button and give it a try. The cats could hardly wait to get started.
After you click “Publish Post,” you’ll see a message that the post was published to your blog at the top of the screen. In the lower right corner, there will be a message that says “Finished publishing post” with a link to view the post. Click that link, and you’ll be taken to the post on your blog.
Your blog’s address will be your_micro_one_username.micro.blog. In my cats' case, this is cooperandcole.micro.blog. You can stop right here and you’ll have a home on the IndieWeb. Your posts will be published to your blog, and you can share its address with friends and family (or not! It’s up to you).
But in just another couple of minutes, you can make that home your home. Instead of your_micro_one_username.micro.blog, your site can have a unique identity like your_nickname.com or your_full_name.net. There are a lot of reasons why you may want to do this, but one of the main ones is that it’s just fun to have your own address on the internet. It’s also a core principle of the IndieWeb. Let’s set that up now!
Get a domain name
In internet terms, the address of your website is called a domain. You can get a domain name without even leaving Micro.one. Click the “Account” link on the left-hand sidebar. Go down to the “Blogs” section and click the “Get a Domain” button.
You’ll be taken to a screen where you can search for a domain name. Cooper and Cole wanted to make it clear that their site presents a feline perspective, so they settled on cooperandcolethecats.org. Enter the domain name you want into the box and click the “Check Availability” button to see if it’s available for your site.
If the domain is available, you’ll be asked to enter your contact information. This is a standard requirement for registering a domain. It helps to ensure that domains are registered to real people. But don’t worry, your contact information won’t be exposed to the internet. Instead, the domain will show the contact details for name.com (this is who Micro.one uses for domain registration).
The cost for the domain will be charged to the credit card you used to register for Micro.one. The cost will depend on the type of domain you register (.com, .org, .net, …), but you can expect it to be something like $15-$25 a year.
Click the “Register” button at the bottom of the page, and Micro.one will register the domain and configure it to work with your site!
This step takes some time. In my case, it took about two hours for the domain registration to go through. While you’re waiting, it’s a great time to set up your Micro.one profile. You can add a photo, name, and an about statement and they’ll be displayed on your site.
When the registration is complete, you’ll get an email from Name.com with a prompt to confirm your email address. You need to do this in order to complete the domain registration. Click the button in the email, and in a couple minutes your Micro.one site will show up on your new domain! You can see the cats' site at www.cooperandcolethecats.org
Welcome to the IndieWeb!
Congratulations! You now have a home on the IndieWeb. There’s all sorts of things you can do from here: post some thoughts, write an article, share some photos, follow interesting accounts and ideas (Maggie Appleton’s post on digital gardens is a great example of both to get you started).
If you’d like to learn more about the philosophical and technological underpinnings of the IndieWeb, the IndieWebCamp wiki has all kinds of great material. If you want to hang out with other people who are passionate about the IndieWeb, their discord server is supportive and friendly.
Above all, have fun! It’s a vibrant community that fosters creativity and nourishes curiosity. I can’t wait to see what you bring to it!
