The difference between "smolweb" and "small web"

2025-08-12 07:45

People often use these two terms interchangeably, but they actually point to different things. Both are reactions to the modern web's complexity and the dominance of big platforms, but they come at it from different angles.

The "small web" is the broader movement. It's about getting back to a more human-scale internet. Think personal websites, independent blogs, smaller communities. The idea is to step away from the algorithmic feeds and corporate platforms that dominate today's web. It's not necessarily about the technical side, but more about the philosophy - making the web feel personal again, like it did in the early days when people built websites because they had something to say, not because they wanted to optimize for engagement.

The "smolweb" is more specific. That deliberate "smol" spelling gives it away - it's about being intentionally tiny. This is where the technical minimalism really shows up. Smolweb sites are usually built with basic HTML and CSS, they load fast, they're simple to navigate. The aesthetic matters here. It's cute, it's small, it's purposefully limited. Think websites that could load on a dial-up connection without breaking a sweat. They also follow some guidelines.

There's definitely overlap between the two. Both movements value simplicity over complexity, independence over platform dependence. Both question whether we really need all the JavaScript frameworks and tracking scripts that make modern websites feel heavy and invasive.

But where small web is more about the social and philosophical aspects of decentralization, smolweb focuses on the craft of making something deliberately minimal. You can have a small web site that's technically complex, and you can have a smolweb site that's not particularly concerned with broader internet politics.

Both are trying to fix something that feels broken about the current web. The small web says the problem is centralization and corporate control. The smolweb says the problem is bloat and overcomplification. They're probably both right!

Let me know how do you see things? on the Fediverse