oblaat

a guide to conceiving, creating & publishing your own website

Why you shouldn't be cliche

This topic is the cause of many a debate between individuals making websites. If you browse for a while, you might find that most personal websites involve the same few elements. That's fine, of course: if you want to bake as a hobby you will consistently need flour and sugar in your pantry, eggs, milk and butter in your fridge, and a smattering of other ingredients. But you won't need to use milk to make many types of bread, and you don't need to put icing on a cheesecake.

If you feel compelled to put something on your website or make it look a certain way because you see that same thing on other websites, stop and think: does this mean something to you? Or are you copying what you see?

Remember that if you're doing what everyone else is doing without your own spin on things, there's no reason for people to visit your site over others. We all make websites because we have something to share with the world. Some of the most interesting ones consistently go against the grain.