After deleting my corporate social media accounts, I've discovered five interesting indie platforms and online communities you might not have heard of: Special Fish, Ctrl + Shift + 3, web1.0 Hosting, Pillowfort, and Blue Dwarf. A look at what makes each unique, from brutalist design to old-device accessibility, and a call to support the independent web financially.
Stacktracer's Dev Shrine
Surfing the IndieWeb is fun! Like many people my age (old millenial here, to be specific), I miss the Internet of the 90's and early 2000's. Until a couple of years age I thought it was gone for good. Luckily, I was wrong. The small web is all about non-corporate homepages and websites made by individuals. I won't go into details on why this is cool. For now, let me just point you in the right direction so you can see for yourself.
The IndieWeb Doesn't Need to 'Take Off' - Susam Pal
There's a corner of the Internet where people have been reclaiming their digital independence by hosting their own websites and promoting the idea of owning your own content. It's called the IndieWeb. The community has its own website, IRC channels, social media presence, etc. as well
Weird netizens — Open Indie
It's been a year since I wrote about Weird web pages as a prospective catalyst for the reclamation of my digital identity. There's been s...
Indiegraf: The Operating System Built for Independent Newsrooms
Manage, publish, monetize and grow with Indiegraf—supporting 180+ independent media outlets and covering all your publishing needs in one place.
anitwek/alternatives-to-us
A curated list of non-U.S.-based alternatives to popular services, focusing on privacy and global accessibility.
Which Part of the Indie Web Ethos is the Bigger Priority?
Although normally spoken about as a cohesive whole, different aspects of the indie web ethos can wind up in tension with each other, which raises the question of which one ultimately takes priority. On the one hand, we have the general interest in onboarding, i.e. helping more people onto the indie web; on the other hand, the issue of onboarding can place some strain on other commonly touted ideals. At the end of the day, which form of independence matters most? And what does the answer entail for our understanding of who the indie web is “for”?
Web Platform: What are we working on?
Web Platform What are we working on? Simone Onofri WebEngineHackFest 2025
Web of the People — Open Indie
Whether you think of web3 as the advent of peer-to-peer protocols, coin-operated blockchains or autocomplete-AI synthesizers, change is c...
A more social IndieWeb | Dominik Hofer
My entry for the IndieWeb Carnival of December 2025 about the IndieWeb in 2030.
Welcome to the Post-Naive Internet Era
The grand idealism of the free and open internet might be over for now, but in its place falls a more practical mindset. Just like Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurs are entering their “Hard Tech” era, the people building web alternatives are also entering their Post-Naive Era. Here are the names to know.
The IndieWeb Is Punk Manifesto
Three chords and a domain name. A manifesto for the DIY web.
DimensionDev/Flare
Browse Mastodon, Bluesky, X, Misskey, Nostr, Pixiv, Fanbox and RSS all in one app. One timeline, all your accounts, cross-post everywhere.