Pedagogy · Web · Workshop · 2025–2026

Cheap and Dirty Websites

A follow-along workshop on making websites without learning to code — NSCAD University — Slide 1 / 1

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A practical class on building and hosting websites using tools artists already have: Google Docs, Google Sheets, GitHub Pages. The workshop addresses two problems every website has to solve — transmission (getting an idea from your head to someone else’s) and storage (where the information actually lives) — and then works through the cheapest, dirtiest ways to solve both.

What is a website? — A location on the internet. A text file. An interactive graphical experience in a browser.

The Two Problems

Problem 1: Transmission

How do we get the idea that’s in our head onto the website, and then into the heads of the people we want to visit it?

Problem 2: Storage

How do we store the information we want to convey? Where does the file actually live, and how does someone find it?

How to Make a Website

Method 1 — Share a Google Doc to web

File > Share > Publish to web. Done.

Pros: easy, fast, hosted for you
Cons: no format control, annoying Google headers

Method 2 — Export HTML from a Google Doc

File > Download > HTML. Upload the resulting file to a hosting service (e.g. GitHub Pages).

Pros: easy, fast, can edit the resulting HTML
Cons: messy output code, need to sort hosting, no multiple pages

Method 3 — Export HTML with a custom script

Make a copy of this doc. Create links between tabs (link text must match the tab name exactly). Use Tab Export to export all tabs as .html files. Upload to hosting.

Pros: multi-page hyperlinked site from a tabbed doc
Cons: requires custom script, need to host yourself

Method 4 — Google Sheets Web App

Extensions > Apps Script. Add an HTML file called “Index”. Add a doGet() function. Deploy as a web app — Execute as yourself, access: Anyone. Follow the URL.

  • Copy this sheet for a chatroom example
  • Paste your HTML into the Index file
  • Add function doGet(){ return HtmlService.createHtmlOutputFromFile('Index'); }
Pros: interactive content, hosting covered
Cons: technical setup, single page, unwieldy URL

Where to Put a Website

GitHub Pages

  • Go to github.com, log in or make an account
  • Create a new repository — click Code > Upload files
  • Settings > Pages > Branch: main > Save
  • Your page lives at username.github.io/your-repository-name/filename.html
Pros: multiple pages, clean URL, custom domain possible, lots of control
Cons: technical, not interactive

Example: jonathaniscarroll.github.io/test-website/01-main.html

QR Code

Even with an unwieldy URL, wrap it in a QR code to make it shareable on a poster, a handout, or the website itself. Adobe and many free services generate QR codes — save the image right after you generate it.

Templates

All templates: make a copy and edit. Google Drive folder →