Opinions on site generators (carrd, hugo, etc.)

[Skykristal]

My first "official" website was wix and I don't like WYSIWYG. Not only because the website builders are always laggy on my end but also due to the limited features and paywalls. Literally every single drag-and-drop service has at least one feature behind a paywall and its often these you would love to use. I currently have 2 sites that are drag and drop. A carrd that I use as my 'me- summary page' and a webador site, which functions as my art archive. Easy and fast to set up, update and does what It should do. I also have these for a couple other reasons such as easy access and simple layout when I link to something real quick on other websites to someone who doesn't know much. These simple services are just easier to process for most people and I don't run into issues with anything that is getting on my nerves. Social media people have no attention span.

Anyway,
I very much love and prefer code, that's exactly why I am on neocities. Not only because of the limitation but also because of the repetitive look and feel, like others here mentioned before. Sites like carrd all have an incredibly same-y look to them no matter who you click on. And I also dislike carrd due to the fact that plenty of people only use it to put their DNI list on there, how many disorders they have etc. which is kinda weird to me. You know, the oversharing culture on social media. Whenever there is a carrd link I know exactly what to except.. ofc people also use it to link their socials, make actual 'business cards', portfolios, link-tree-style, and so on. I for example also do a similar thing. Just a simple overview of 'myself and my work'. I do since dec. 2024 btw, my card was unused and rotting for 7+ years because I simply hate it. I like the outcome of my card though, but it still is the same-y, pretty limited service to me. However, you can do unique stuff with it, its just not super common.

[candycanearter07]

My first "official" website was wix and I don't like WYSIWYG. Not only because the website builders are always laggy on my end but also due to the limited features and paywalls. Literally every single drag-and-drop service has at least one feature behind a paywall and its often these you would love to use.

Anyway,
I very much love and prefer code, that's exactly why I am on neocities. Not only because of the limitation but also because of the repetitive look and feel, like others here mentioned before.

Agreed, drag and drop sites feel insanely corporate, from the flat colors everyone has to the little customization to having to get your credit card out to do half the things you want to. I am fine with other people using them, sure, but I couldn't go back to that,

[mightytuniek]

I feel like you should use whatever suits you best . Most people wont hate on you for using such, although i have seen some rings and communities whom don't allow generated sites 

[Oceansandy02]

I do nit really care if people use a site generator or not. Personally, I prefer coding by scratch, as I honestly find it easier than site generators. So, I think it is a matter of preference, and it is up to them to decide. I also feel like we should not gatekeep people for using site generators. Maybe coding is not their thing, and that is okay! And I think there is options for learning CSS and HTML with some site generators, so they could eventually switch over if they find it easier, or stick to the generator.

[Tiffany]

I've never used a site generator or carrd, so I have no experience with them, but I don't see an issue with it. Since, if one doesn't like coding from scratch, then they shouldn't have to focus on that, especially if they want to focus on the content on their site.

I do use classicpress, a wordpress fork which I've been using one or the other since 2010, which is a content management system and I wouldn't want to code from scratch everything on my site, because I really like how my site works now. I hand code a lot with this, and I wouldn't want to do more.

I think that anything that can get folks off of social media and into their own space is a good thing, if they use if for good.

[boreal cryptid]

absolutely agree with people above. i don't see anything bad in it, even though i myself dislike using them, because i feel lack of control (i just want export and import site files without being too depended on third-party tools).
i understand when admins do not allow SSG sites in hand-coding webrings, for example, but i don't agree with... i dunno, gatekeeping web revival from people with SSGs overall? it's mean, really.
if more people will find SSGs easier to use, it's 1000 times better than "vibecoding" or social media. and! it could be the starting point of learning how to code ^_^

[oro_junestar]

I used to use drag-and-drops, but now that I know how to code, I'll never go back. Coding comes with so much more freedom and charm than drag-and-drops, and people who still use drag-and-drops are missing out on peak. This isn't to say their websites aren't "valid"; it's still their own original design with a URL, which is pretty much the barebones of what a website needs to be. Whether they dragged those squares into a spot or manually typed the positioning themselves doesn't make a difference.

First I used Carrd, then I switched to Strawpage for the gimmicks feature. I like that Strawpage lets you make multiple pages, and I like the quirky charm it has. After learning coding, I just can't stand using drag-and-drops; I tried Altervista which uses WordPress, and I hated it so bad.

[Seechain]

I recently learned how to set up Hugo, it's a great option if you want to set up a blog in minutes. What holds me back is that it's not completely static, it uses javascript injections and you need to invest time configuring it since each theme has small configurations.

P.S.: you also need basic knowledge of how to use the terminal.

[Kallistero]

I think that Carrd & Linktree in particular have a niche in the market that could very well branch into more people re-discovering bits of creativity on the Web. I'm not sure they care for it, but someone in their space or a competitor may make something exciting. Framer seems to have something more comprehensive, though again with the paywalls.

The audiences around these services feel like some of the first people in the mainstream who would feel capable of participating in this space. People want their thing to look good, they hit a wall, then they let it stick. But what if they didn't hit that wall? I see creative potential in these services or something like them! 

It just takes so long to make a CMS