Most DH projects have always included a public website of some kind, whether as the final outcome of the project itself, a companion process blog, a simple download page for a project deliverable, or a creator’s personal portfolio page. The early days of hand-coded HTML pages or personal sites on university servers long ago gave way to dynamic Content Management Systems like WordPress, Drupal and Omeka, which made it relatively easy for non-coders to publish sophisticated web sites and interactive projects. While these major platforms continue to be big players in DH, the past several years have seen a proliferation of new options that have begun gaining traction: media-rich project tools like Scalar, new CMSes like Mukurtu and Backdrop, commercial web builders like Wix and Squarespace, and the return of static site publishing through options like the Getty’s Quire or using Jekyll with GitHub Pages.

Inspired by Quinn Dombrowski’s recent thoughts on “Enterprise Tools and DH,” I propose a talk session in which participants from all backgrounds and skill levels discuss the pros and cons of the current range of web platforms and static site generators, and when and where they are appropriate for the Digital Humanities.

• Which tools are good for which purposes?
• Which types of projects?
• Which creators or collaborative teams?
• Which intended audiences? 

Ideally people will share their experiences with various options and discuss the challenges and benefits or creating, hosting, customizing and maintaining DH projects amid the changing landscape of platforms.

Google Doc for session: docs.google.com/document/d/17s24EEe_joxDFeJI1RXFoqM6moK3csi92NedhJNI2Nc/edit?usp=sharing