Creating my own website

This is my own site: https://may.sites.carleton.edu/

This is my first time building a website, and I’ve found the process both challenging and rewarding. Initially, I was confused by new terminology and the sequence of required steps. However, through systematic online tutorials, I gradually became familiar with core concepts and the management interface. The initial setup proved far simpler than I anticipated. The process is standardized: install WordPress with one click. and add a plugging .

The key difference from using the public and prebuilt websites is that I can totally use code to change the settings and control the website on my own. Unlike prebuilt services where design and functionality are largely predetermined, self-setting WordPress demands some personal ideas and also some skills of coding(eg. CSS). While I could select and change themes, true customization often involved tweaking settings and, more significantly, adding or modifying code. This hands-on approach granted me complete control over the site’s appearance and behavior, allowing precise tailoring to my interests and needs rather than being confined by templates.

I plan to use this website for several purposes: I will serve as my personal portfolio to showcase assignments and projects. It’s also a quiet and more private space for writing longer articles or publish some own thoughts, free from the distractions of social media. Additionally, managing this site allows me to learn practical web technology skills along the way.

This experience clearly highlights the fundamental difference between managing a self-hosted site versus using social platforms or blog services. The primary advantage lies in the degree of freedom and ownership. All content resides on my own hosting account, eliminating concerns about third-party platforms changing terms of service, deleting content, or shutting down. Functionality is also highly scalable; I’m not confined to built-in features and can add nearly any functionality through plugins or custom development.

All in all, this assignment has given me a completely personal online space. Although maintaining it requires more effort and may encounter technical issues, the feeling of having full control over one’s own online territory is quite different.

Tag: CSS, private website