Making a website for your crush without being weird about it

The difference between charming and too much is mostly restraint. A short page they finish beats a long one they skim and feel cornered by.

4 min read

Aim lower than you think

The instinct is to put everything in — every reason, every feeling, the whole case. Resist it. Someone who does not yet know how you feel needs an opening, not a verdict.

One good observation beats five declarations. 'You do this thing where you laugh before the end of your own joke and I think about it more than I should' is disarming. A list of everything you admire about them is a lot to receive from someone you have not kissed.

Make it easy to respond to

End with something that invites a reply rather than requiring a decision. A question, an inside joke, an offer of coffee with a specific day attached.

A page that ends with 'so, do you feel the same?' puts them on the spot. A page that ends with 'there is a terrible café near college that I think you would find funny — Thursday?' gives them something easy to say yes to.

Keep it private

Put a password on it and send the password separately. It signals this was meant for them specifically, and it means a shared phone or an over-the-shoulder glance does not turn into a story.

Do not post it anywhere. The whole effect depends on them being the only person who has seen it.

If it does not land

Send it once and leave it. No follow-up asking if they opened it — the page already said what you wanted to say, and asking again undoes the calm of it.

Sending something honest and well-made is not embarrassing even when the answer is no. Sending it four times is.

Templates that suit this

Every one has a full working sample — no account needed to look.