Monetization

Andy and I have put a lot of work and thought into Every Layout. We want it to be the best resource it can be. Naturally, we would like to be paid for the value we are giving you. However, we know that not everyone can afford the things they’d like to have. We’re trying to address this in two ways:

1. A large selection of free content, including all of the “rudiment” articles that cover the basics of (our take on) contemporary CSS
2. An honor system, wherein you can claim to be eligible for the full Every Layout for free

What makes you eligible for (2)? If you are currently out of work, you are a full-time student or under 19 years old, you are trying to get your first job as a web developer or designer, or you are an unpaid volunteer for a charitable organization not involved in proselytism: consider yourself a match. Also, if you are the sole person of your ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation at your company or in your local developer community: we will gift Every Layout to you. If you have a disability that makes accessing equivalent resources difficult, you can have this resource for free. We are trying to make it as accessible as possible.

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It would be logistically and ethically implausible for us to vet, or otherwise judge, if you deserve to have Every Layout without a charge. If you believe you fit into the criteria above, let us know. That’s the honor part.

Are we suckers? Perhaps, to some. But while you alone decide if you qualify, we decide if you disqualify. That is, if we see you saying or sharing racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, or fascist sentiments, or you’re caught engaging in what we consider, in any way, punching down, you get fuck all for free from us.

I’ve tried a handful of websites based on “tip with micropayments” in the past. They come and go. That’s fine. From a publisher perspective, it’s low-commitment. I’ve never earned a ton, but it was typically enough to be worth it.

Now Bruce has me trying Coil. It’s compelling to me for a couple reasons:

• The goal is to make it based on an actual web standard(!)
• Coil is nicely designed. It’s the service that readers actually subscribe to and a browser extension (for Chrome and Firefox) that pays publishers.
• The money ends up in a Stronghold account¹. I don’t know much about those, but it was easy enough to set up and is also nicely designed.
• Everything is anonymous. I don’t have access to, know anything about, or store anything from the users who end up supporting the site with these micropayments.
• Even though everyone is anonymous, I can still do things for the supporters, like not show ads.