Web resources

A small resource site is one of the most useful things you can build. It does not need a framework, a content management system, or a brand. It needs a clear page, a working link, and a maintenance habit. This section is about how to keep all three.

Most of the pages in this library are read on phones. That fact alone settles a lot of design arguments. Pages should be light, fast, and readable in a hand. Anything that gets in the way of those three things is a problem to fix, not a feature to add.

Closely related sections include HTML basics, web standards, and the small-site publishing notes at sajt.se-ua.net.

What a working small-site page contains

A page worth keeping has, in order:

1. A title that names the topic in plain language.
2. A short intro that says what the page covers and who it is for.
3. The main content, broken into descriptive subheadings.
4. A short summary or checklist.
5. A sensible next step - usually a link sideways into the same library.

There is nothing exotic about this. The discipline is in keeping to it page after page.

Navigation that matches the content

Navigation labels should describe the destination. "Resources" tells the reader nothing. "Radio and electronics" tells the reader where they are going. Labels written for the author rarely work for the visitor.

If a section needs a sub-menu, that section is probably two sections.

Internal linking

Inside a small library, internal links matter more than external ones. They are how the visitor moves laterally. They are also how the site explains its own structure to a reader who arrived on a deep page. A page with no inbound or outbound internal links inside the library is an orphan, even if its content is good.

A practical rule: every page should have one link in (from a section index or a related-notes block) and one link out (to a related page worth visiting next).

Maintenance

Sites die quietly. They do not break in one day; they get stale in small ways, and the staleness compounds. The cheapest maintenance habit that works is to revisit one section per month, check the links, fix the dates, and rewrite anything that has aged badly.

A small site that is honestly maintained will look more credible after three years than a polished site that was abandoned after six months.

Common mistakes

• a homepage that buries the actual subject of the site
• navigation labels written for the author, not the visitor
• a footer that grows until it carries half the site's content
• "coming soon" pages that stay coming-soon for two years

Where to go next

• HTML basics for clean page structure.
• Web standards for accessibility and standards-based publishing.
• Search and discovery for how small sites are found.

Two-minute checklist

1. Put the topic in the title.
2. Lead with the answer.
3. Use descriptive subheadings.
4. Link sideways before linking out.
5. Pick a maintenance day and keep it.