Why I Built My Own Website
In the AI era, having your own website matters more than ever. It's not just about technology, it's about your agency in the digital world.
We Live in the Digital World
We all have digital identities: Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Medium…
But you might ask: why do I need my own website?
Think about it this way: why do you have Instagram or Facebook? You don’t need to be a successful professional to have a Facebook account. You don’t need to be an amazing photographer to have Instagram. At its core, it’s about sharing, expressing yourself, and connecting with others.
A website is the same idea, but with more autonomy and control.
Social platforms are scattered, and not under your control.
One of my posts is on Facebook, an experience on Instagram, an article on Medium. I’m sure you show different versions of yourself on different platforms—maybe you crafted it that way on purpose, or maybe it’s because you know who’s watching. Your Facebook might be full of relatives and friends you haven’t talked to in over a decade. Your Instagram might be closer friends. Your Threads might be people who share your views on certain issues—or oppose them. These are all fragments of you, but none of them is the complete you.
And platforms can restrict what you say, and decide what you get to see. Quietly, we adapt to each platform’s nature and algorithm to shape ourselves, or we choose to stay silent. But that might be a shame.
We shouldn’t be constrained by platforms in how we present ourselves, or be subtly conditioned to think they’re the only option. The digital world is as vast as the ocean—platforms are just large islands within it. We don’t need to change them, but we can build our own ships, sailing between these islands, roaming the boundless sea. What we need to do is take back our agency.
With Your Own Website, the Power Dynamic Flips
This doesn’t mean abandoning social platforms and cutting yourself off from the world. It means: when you have your own fortress, you can use these platforms to your advantage.
Imagine your website as a castle. Social platforms are the roads and infrastructure leading to it. You can open the gates and let these platforms bring you traffic. You can also bring your content onto platforms—like billboards along the highway.
You are the owner of this castle. You decide which platforms to connect with. The power dynamic with social platforms flips.
Your website is where your knowledge, life, and thoughts converge. Presented the way you want to show yourself in the digital world.
This is agency.
Technology Is No Longer a Barrier
In the past, you needed professionals to help build your castle. It cost a lot, the results weren’t always what you wanted, and ongoing maintenance added more costs and delays. But now technology is no longer a barrier. With AI’s help, we can decide how to build our castle, what features it should have, even how it interacts with visitors—all within a few conversations.
I started using Claude Code with zero web development experience, just wanting to build a portfolio site. But I’ve realized I’m actually building my knowledge and experience system.
When I started gathering notes and materials for Claude, discussing how I wanted to present things, I realized I was actually organizing my life experiences and thought processes. The website is just one way to present what emerges from that content. Once I recognized this, I knew this was the center I should be building around. I no longer worry about ideas slipping away. I can discuss my thoughts with Claude anytime, anywhere, connected to my project folder (GitHub)—imagine it like organizing everything in a Google Drive folder, with Claude living inside it. Everything I think and want to express can be recorded here. I just talk to it, and a draft emerges. Once the content is refined, it becomes the website.
Why I Want to Start with Blogging
Honestly, I’ve never been someone who writes well. In school, my worst grades were always in composition, and I never kept a diary. But I’m someone who recalls memories through sensory experiences—I remember the environment and time when I was talking with someone, and from there, I trace back to the content and feelings of that conversation.
These experiences are hard to directly convey and record, which is why I’ve been researching related technologies and possibilities. But back to the main point: I started to realize that writing can first capture the process of thinking and experiences, and through this process, I can still feel those moments.
While there are various other digital formats now, I think text is still the most accessible and the easiest to sustain. Text isn’t easily over-packaged—it’s static (passive), requiring readers to actively think and structure. Video and audio are mostly active outputs, with timelines that keep moving forward. We can only receive them one-sidedly, and then… usually there’s no “then.”
Finally, I believe text is the best format to transform and expand. When I’ve accumulated enough ideas, I can translate text into video scripts or audio scripts, letting them appear on social platforms.
In short, writing is the easiest for me to practice and execute. For others, text is gentler and more comfortable, allowing readers to read and think at their own pace.
And now with AI’s help, the barrier to writing has dropped significantly. But I want to remind myself of one thing:
AI doesn’t replace me. It helps me overcome difficulties. The core goal is to make “my ideas” visible, not to have AI generate ideas for me.
My personal experiences and thoughts are what I want to convey. And in the AI era, I believe they’ll matter even more.
AI Content Is Flooding the Internet. Why Still Write?
When you search the web, scroll through IG Reels, or read Threads posts, do you often wonder: is this AI-generated?
That instinct is right. According to various studies, over half of new content online is now AI-generated. But here’s what’s interesting: 86% of top-ranking Google results are still written by humans. AI assistants cite similar numbers—82% of their sources come from humans.
AI has surpassed humans in content volume, but not yet in impact.
Why? Because most AI articles are formulaic content: news summaries, how-to guides, product reviews. High volume, but lacking real experience and unique perspectives.
Why Do We Want to Read Articles?
Think about why you click into an article.
To confirm something, to learn different perspectives, to hear someone’s experience. These are either facts or experiences.
Objective facts—how tall is Taipei 101, how much are tickets—you’d check the official site or Wikipedia. But subjective experiences? Is the Taipei 101 New Year’s fireworks worth going to? Which restaurant is actually good? How does this camera feel in real use?
For these, you want to read what real people wrote.
I love watching Taiwanese YouTuber 蛇丸 eat his way through restaurants, and I’m a sucker for one-star Google reviews—there’s always something absurd, or the owner clapping back. This content is interesting, opinionated, and human.
A blog is where you express your subjective experience. It’s your interface connecting with the digital world. And it’s how the digital world recognizes you.
Final Thoughts
In the AI era, content online will only grow, but real experiences and perspectives become scarcer.
Your digital identity is scattered across platforms, but your website can be where it all comes together. Platforms define you, but your website is you defining yourself. AI can help you overcome writing barriers, but your experience is the core value.
This is why I wanted to build my own website.
Further reading: Web Development in the AI Era: Everything You Need to Know
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Want to learn how to use Claude Code, or start building your own website with it? Fill out this form and I’ll get in touch!