Workshop
A website of your own, in one evening
Go home with a small website of your own, live on the internet, and a real feel for how it’s built.
In this four-hour workshop, around six participants build a website from a blank file. No previous web development experience is needed. We work in four steps, in a set order: document first, decoration last.
What you’ll learn
You’ll learn how a web document is structured, how templates let you build pages from reusable parts, and how CSS gives a site its own character. We’ll add a few small, personal details with web components, and use a static hosting service to publish your website online. Throughout, we’ll follow one simple principle: document first, decoration last.
Format
- Introduction and setup (about 20–30 minutes): A short introduction, followed by getting everyone’s development environment ready and installing Eleventy.
- The web document (50 minutes): We build the project structure and the skeleton of the site, with an introduction to HTML and Nunjucks templates.
- CSS and identity (45 minutes): We give the document its character by styling the pages with CSS, using a simple, practical stylesheet structure.
- Whimsically yours, and live (60 minutes): We add small extras and personal details using web components, then publish the site online.
After the web document, we take a 20-minute break. That’s about 3 hours and 15–25 minutes in total, including the break. The rest of the evening leaves room for arrivals, overruns and wrapping up. The timings are a guide and may still change.
Tools and technologies
You work in a code editor of your choice, such as VS Code or VSCodium, with Node.js and npm. With those, we build the site using Eleventy, style it with a simple, practical stylesheet structure, and publish it with a static hosting service.
You only need to install a code editor and Node.js beforehand. The participant info page explains how, step by step.
About your guide
I’m Cris, and I run a pleasant view, a small web studio in Amsterdam-West. I build and maintain websites for local businesses using Eleventy, and develop an open-source plugin for it. I also help moderate the Eleventy community Discord.
This workshop is a chance to share what I’ve learned and show you that the web is something you can build yourself.