Retro Garden

Dial-up soul, garden-path links, modern static bones.

Search indexed :: responsive images online :: webmentions ready :: RSS flowing :: accessible by default

home.exe

Retro Garden // IndieWeb x 90s personal site mixtape

A garden for dial-up charm and modern publishing parts.

Build a small web home with responsive images, static search, RSS, WebC components, OG cards, IndieWeb hooks, and accessible defaults without sanding off the weird edges that make personal sites memorable.

  • Microformats
  • RSS
  • WebC
  • OG cards
  • Pagefind
  • Responsive images
  • Tailwind
View source friendly Readable templates, markdown posts, and shortcodes you can actually edit.
Accessible by default Skip links, strong focus rings, reduced motion guards, and contrast that holds up.
Personal-site energy Badge walls, retro chrome, webring vibes, and room for personality over polish.
journal/

Latest entries

Fresh notes from the Retro Garden demo

Browse the archive
examples/

Example pages

Built to show what you can keep, trim, or remix

  • Style Guide

    Shows typography, badges, panels, code blocks, and the full palette system in one place.

    Full width page
  • Customize

    Maps which parts of the theme can be removed, swapped, or extended without rebuilding the whole starter.

    Optional sidebar page
  • Search

    Uses a Pagefind index generated from the finished site, with no hosted search service or runtime database.

    Static search page
  • About

    A plain content page that demonstrates the cleaner no-sidebar default for standalone pages.

    Full width page
palettes.css

Built-out palettes

Four moods plus a system-aware default

Open the full style guide

sunset modem glow

Ember

Warm oranges with a bright blue companion accent. This is the most overtly nostalgic default.

ember.theme
Main #ef7f45
Soft #fff1dd
Strong #b94f18
Secondary #3f93ff
RSS FEED

icy portal chrome

Surf

Cool blue panels with teal highlights. Good when you want the retro shell to feel lighter and more technical.

surf.theme
Main #2578e7
Soft #e5f3ff
Strong #174da2
Secondary #17b7b3
RSS FEED

garden terminal

Mint

A greener palette that leans a little more handmade and zine-like while still keeping strong contrast.

mint.theme
Main #00a878
Soft #e8fff5
Strong #076451
Secondary #f28f3b
RSS FEED

after-hours CRT garden

Midnight

A true dark palette with violet and electric green accents. System mode selects it automatically for visitors who prefer dark color schemes.

midnight.theme
Main #9b8cff
Soft #272447
Strong #c9c2ff
Secondary #62e6a7
RSS FEED