The Small Web and Indie Web movements have played a crucial role in reclaiming personal space on the internet. They emphasize decentralized ownership, creativity, and alternatives to big tech platforms—and for many, they’ve been a breath of fresh air.

But over time, these movements have also developed their own cultures, ideologies, and norms—many of which can feel just as limiting as the systems they were built to oppose.

The Sovereign Web was born from a desire to go even deeper.
Not just to escape corporate control, but to completely dissolve expectations around how a personal website should look, feel, or function.

Here’s how it differs:

❖ No Social Constructs

While other movements often develop spoken and unspoken community standards or preferred aesthetics (such as retro design, hand-coding, or specific tools), the Sovereign Web says:
You choose your tools. You define your vibe. No explanations required.

❖ No Group Identity to Conform To

The Sovereign Web isn’t a club or collective—it’s a philosophy of freedom.
You don’t have to “fit in” to belong. There are no shared values you must publicly perform.
You create from your truth—not from group consensus.

❖ Modern, Retro, or Beyond—All Valid

Some corners of the Small Web focus heavily on nostalgia, hand-coded HTML, and vintage aesthetics. These are all valid paths, but have often lead to regressive mindsets that actively reject anything or anyone who chooses to move in a more modern direction with personal website building.
The Sovereign Web welcomes building from nostalgic values—but also openly embraces modern tools, AI, automation, futuristic design, and unconventional approaches.
Experimentation, innovation, and intuition are equally sacred here.

❖ No Ideological Favoritism — Equal Freedom

Unlike some movements that operate under codes of conduct rooted in specific ideological values, the Sovereign Web takes a different approach.

We don’t prioritize one group’s comfort over another’s.
We don’t allow toxic behavior to be excused based on who it’s coming from—or who it’s aimed at.
We don’t believe in double standards.

Here, everyone is equal.
Everyone is welcome.
And everyone is responsible for their own experience.

This movement isn’t governed by moderation policies or virtue signals—it’s governed by personal sovereignty.

You are free to express yourself honestly and interact however you choose—respectfully or not. This does not equal being a safe haven for bad actors. Others are equally free to curate their experience, set their own boundaries, be exclusionary of bad actors, and build the kind of community or solitude that works for them. It is each individual’s own responsibility to curate their own experience, and that experience will look different for everyone based on personal preferences.

There are no universal rules of engagement in the Sovereign Web. There is only personal choice (yours), and the freedom to create, connect, ignore, or disengage as you see fit.

This isn’t a sanitized space—it’s a sovereign one.
True freedom includes the responsibility to self-govern.

❖ Sovereignty is the Core

At the heart of this movement is a radical belief:
You are the sovereign creator of your digital world.
No one dictates your direction. No one defines your boundaries. You are free to evolve, contradict yourself, burn it all down, start again—and find others who resonate with what you’ve built.