Hi folks, I’m building a Montaigne and it allows users to build and publish a website without having to leave Apple Notes!
It’s super easy and I published an ‘Intro to’ post yesterday. Check it out and feedback, suggestions, feature requests are more than all welcome. We’re at the ‘Do things that don’t scale’ stage so please share a anything, no matter how idiosyncratic it may seem.
That’s pretty clever. It reminds me of blot.im, which uses a folder of markdown files on Dropbox (I think other services as well) to generate a website.
But of course, every Mac/iPhone/iPad user already has Apple Notes, and most people are still much more comfortable with RTF and wysiwyg editing than they ever will be with markdown.
Thanks tf2! Exactly! And I’ve got lots of notes in my Apple Notes, such as a folder full of recipes and pictures, old poems, half baked ideas which work well as micro blogs so it’s a matter of copy-pasting to publish.
Good point on markdown. I don’t think it’s super intuitive for most non tech folk!
That is really neat! How does it process images and such?
Wait… You guys are logging into this site and giving access to your Apple Notes to a website? Doesn’t sound safe.
On a different note in this thread. Yes, finally someone mentioned it. Markdown just doesn’t click with me either. Seems I have to look up the codes everytime I use it, and I don’t like that it isn’t WYSWYG. Seems a step backward.
Then don’t use it. Don’t feel you have to use it. What is it about Markdown that causes otherwise self-directed people to feel pressured to use it? Perhaps it is a severe case of fear of missing out. Markdown works well for some people in some situations, but not for all. Once you find which camp you are in, relax and get on with the tools that work for you. 
I signed up but haven’t tried it yet. My understanding is that you are giving access to one folder only using Apple’s built-in sharing functionality. You can revoke that at any time.
I might have that wrong, so curious to know any security implications, but it’s an innovative and easy use case!
Looks like it functions as an outside iCloud account, and you’re sharing access to a single folder. That said, as with anything on the web … I’d advocate posting only if you’re ok with the world seeing it.
Funnily enough, I think I raised this, and markdown clicks extremely well with me – I use markdown extensively, almost exclusively when it comes to writing (until I have to use someone else’s collaboration service). I find it faster, even on my phone, than clicking or tapping around on formatting buttons. It took a little while to become second nature, so I’d recommend they anyone trying it give it a little time.
That said, I recognize that it isn’t intuitive, or even all that appealing, for many people. In which case, of course, just skip it.
Hey @mmoran, you only share one particular folder per site with us! And of course, as the content will be published, privacy shouldn’t be a concern!
@jaketheo You’re absolutely right, you share the folder you’d like published. Rest assured, the rest of your Apple Notes account will remain private!
Do you have any specific questions as to how it works? Happy to answer if you do!
@manda this is a great idea. Thank you for creating this. I say that because for a few like us, writing is more important than managing.
Could you please comment on the pricing?
I ask because I’ve been burned several times by “free” offerings or providers who charge $12/month or so. In that range, SquareSpace is hard to beat.
As an aside, if you need support while you build this (except coding), I’ll be happy to help!
Thanks!
Hey @savingsomemoney
“writing is more important than managing.” This is music to my ears. This is why montaigne exists.
Pricing - I don’t have a clear picture right now and I haven’t thought about it much so I don’t want to mislead. Can I ask, how were you burned in the past?
I’m super open for support. I’ve sent you a DM!