SETTING GOALS FOR RECARMDRA.NEOCITES.ORG

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Welcome to my goals page! When I set out to make this website, one of the first things I did was establish a few goals for myself. Why? Well, this is my fourth personal site, but for various reasons, none of the previous ones stuck. I sat down and examined why, and I came up with a few points that I then turned into goals!

ACCESSIBILITY.

This is definitely the most important of my goals. I want my website to be accessible for the most people possible. For example, people who utilize screen readers! This is an important goal to set for yourself early on, as it changes the way you approach your website's code.
It's important to structure your content properly within HTML, such as using your header and paragraph tags correctly. For example, while you could use a paragraph tag with inline CSS, customizing it so it looks like a title, you're much better off using your h1 tag instead. It'll look exactly the same to you, but it makes a difference when it comes to screen readers. This is sometimes referred to as "semantics."
Other things that increase accessibility are simpler, such as the use of alt text and avoiding automatic music/video. These two examples can be added and/or changed as you go, but having good semantics is a habit you need to build, so even if it seems intimidating, it's something good to keep in mind when you start a new website!
Another facet of this is having your website be mobile friendly! I wouldn't recommend this to those just starting out, as it can get complicated very quickly. This is my fourth website, yes, but it's also my first mobile-friendly website, so it took me a couple of years.
Just like with good semantics, I recommend setting this goal early on, as it changes the way you approach your website's code as well. The most important thing is having your website be "responsive."
Grids and media queries are your best friends when it comes to this. I've seen and used some templates online that utilize tables to achieve the "sidebar" look I have going on in my website, but grids will get you the same result AND they're easier to read! There are even sites online that help you generate a grid, so I recommend checking those out! Here is a link.
Making a mobile-friendly website can be intimidating, but, I'll admit, having my website work on my phone has filled me with an unparalleled sense of pride! If grids still intimidate you, I've made a template of my site publicly available for use here.
This is all stuff I've learned just recently. I don't think of my website as the peak of accessibility; there is always room for improvement, and I'm always open to feedback. I just wanted to share the few things I've learned from the amazing feedback I've already received.

TAKE MY TIME.

In the past, I've fallen into the pitfall of "Oh no, I HAVE to finish this page the same day I started it!" This would eventually burn me out really fast and lead me to abandon my sites for months at a time, if not indefinitely.
This kind of ties into my previous point, but focusing on accessibility has really helped with this, since I have to slow down and think about the details in order to do that. Especially when it comes to page responsiveness.
My second site, "Stardust," actually got hurt from this, since I coded it so fast that I pretty much forgot how everything worked, forcing me to start from scratch.
So! Take your time! Nobody is rushing you!

RELY ON MY OWN CODE.

On my previous website, "Lunar World," I made use of templates for various pages, such as my homepage and my writing page. Now, there isn't anything wrong with using templates; I've even offered my own on this very page, but to me it was detrimental.
Why? Well, I just didn’t understand them! I'd struggle for hours on end trying to change one minor thing because I never actually took the time to try and understand how everything worked. This time, I really want to understand what it is I'm doing, so I'm trying to rely on templates and code snippets I find online as little as possible.
I'm not banning myself from using them outright; I've even allowed myself to use a small JavaScript snippet on my homepage for the changing title, but I'm trying to understand what it does to the best of my ability.

EXPERIMENT.

That's what personal sites are all about, aren't they? I've previously shot down my own ideas because I thought of them as "too hard" or "too ambitious," but there really isn't any harm in trying. So I'm going to hold myself to spice it up every now and then!
At first, I wanted all of my pages to look the same, but that'd be boring, so I'm changing their color schemes! My friend even called it my "autism gallery." I hope to give them a whole different look from each other in the future. This isn't modern social media; after all, not everything has to look like Twitter 2.

KEEP TIDY.

My code is notoriously messy. This is a running trend, but previously I never had the habit of adding comments to my code, explaining everything to the programmer me of the future. All three of my websites, "YM2612," "Stardust," and "Lunar World," suffered from this, so now I'm properly slowing down to add in comments!
This is another goal I recommend setting for yourself early on, as it's a good habit to build from the start!
Releasing my code publicly is also a good motivator, as I have to explain what everything does to a potential user.

STAY POSITIVE.

I want my website to be a refuge from modern social media, not just another stressor, so I'm going to be trying my best to stay positive! This isn't only just something I'm doing to appease potential visitors, but also for myself.
I went through a lot while working on "Lunar World"; it was the worst year of my life, actually. It's pretty much tied to bad moments of my life; my blog there quickly became a cesspool of negativity. There isn't anything wrong with using your website to vent your frustrations, but it just isn't for me. It just caused me to spiral further into negativity.
So, for both of our sakes, I'm going to try and have this website be a positive space!

Thank you so much for reading this far! I hope this was an interesting dive into my mindset when it comes to this website, and I hope that it has helped you come up with your own goals as well!