Website directories
Before Google became big, there were web directories. You could submit your own website there and assign it to a category. And then, with luck, you were found.
Modern search engines soon put an end to this by automatically indexing websites, and no one had to submit their website anywhere anymore. But these directories never completely disappeared.
Anyone with their own personal website can still submit to such directories and lists today and also discover other websites through them.
Here is a small list of lists - can't get much more meta than this!
IndieBlog is not just a directory; it is strongly focused on discovering new posts, topics, and, of course, people you wouldn't come across otherwise.
If you have a blog, you can submit your own RSS feed and then be found in the long list of blogs. But what's even more exciting is subscribing to one of IndieBlog's RSS feeds. Depending on the feed, you can receive up to 25 random articles every day or every week. A great way to discover new things!
PersonalSit.es, on the other hand, is more of a classic directory where you can submit your own sites. Each page is presented with a screenshot, and with a click, you get some details like tags presented. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to filter by these tags, so you have to browse a bit.
Want something simpler? Dead Simple Sites collects websites that stand out for their minimalism. If you like such minimal sites, you can safely scroll through this directory. Unfortunately, this directory is also very minimal, so there are no filtering options or anything similar here either.
Of course all the cool people have a /now page on their own website. A page that is generally accessible under this path and describes what you are currently doing, what you are working on, what hobbies you pursue, and so on. There are no limits to your creativity here. If you have such a page, you can list yourself on NowNowNow.
Since the Now page is very person-focused, each page in the directory is promoted with a profile picture. Again, there are no filtering options here; the site invites you to scroll through the list of all these wonderful people. Each person is also subtitled with their profession, so you still have some clues about who might interest you.
/uses goes in a similar direction. Like /now, it's a special page where you write down the things you use in your daily life. Hardware, software, notebooks... You can submit your site if you have such a page published.
In addition to the name of the respective person, there is a short description, the language used, the architecture used, the social media handle, and a tag list. Here you can filter wildly, both by tags and by language.
about ideas now is a directory of websites that have at least one of these special pages. We already know the Now page, many pages also have an /about page, and then there is also /ideas, which works like /now, only looking into the future.
Each page is displayed with a brief summary. You can filter by the three categories above, and you can also search through the summaries. Nicely made, the site invites you to browse.
Ooh.directory is a comprehensive blog directory. Blogs are not just listed here, but rather categorized and provided with numerous information to browse through. The latest posts from registered blogs are displayed, and for those who dare, you can simply visit a random blog.
Unlike what the name might suggest, this is not a directory for pages with blogrolls, but rather an extensive and diverse list of blogs and private websites. The goal is to create a community where content is available to everyone.
Most blogs and all real podcasts still offer an RSS feed today. This search engine uses these feeds for its index. It's easy to search for specific topics and find something in the IndieWeb. If your own blog is not yet indexed, you can easily add it.
Another page that initially suggests it's only about blogrolls. However, this is actually a hand-curated list of personal and independent blogs. Regularly updated. Fun to browse. Unfortunately, due to overloading (September 2024), no new blogs can be added at present.
A directory of websites created with Kirby. Here, you can't really filter, so you just have to browse through them. The highlight is that you not only see a screenshot of the website but also how the admin panel looks in the background. Perhaps a little inspiration.
Conclusion
Obviously, there are still small and large directories. Admittedly, the ones here are all quite well established in their niche. However, there are certainly numerous other such directories that I don't know yet and that are missing here. But this list is a good starting point, I think.
Do you know more of such sites? Bring it on! Leave me a comment below, and I can add more sites to the list
