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{% block title %}BōcPress — From Quill to Cloud{% endblock %}
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<main>
<h1>BōcPress</h1>
<p>
From Quill to Cloud. A blogging platform where words endure and stories take flight.
</p>
<ul class="lead">
<li><b>A matter of mere moments to join</b> → <a href="{% url 'user_create' %}">Sign up</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Hosted at <username>.bocpress.co.uk or yourdomain.com</li>
<li>Write your posts in markdown</li>
</ul>
<li>
View <a href="https://jjrobinson.bocpress.co.uk/blog/the-importance-of-user-journey-testing/">example post</a>
/ <a href="https://jjrobinson.bocpress.co.uk/">example blog</a>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Features</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="{% url 'methodology' %}">Respects your privacy, keeping all trackers, advertisements, and hidden scripts at bay</a>
</li>
<ul>
<li>No cookies for analytics or tracking</li>
<li>No email required for signup</li>
</ul>
<li>Freedom to move your blog—no platform lock-in</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="{% url 'export_index' %}">Export your blog at anytime</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hey.mataroa.blog/blog/monthly-auto-exports-via-email/">Monthly automatic exports via
email</a> (premium feature)</li>
<li><a href="https://hey.mataroa.blog/blog/redirect-to-new-domain/">Redirect to new domain</a></li>
</ul>
<li>
<a href="{% url 'guides_customdomain' %}">Use your own custom domain</a> (premium feature)
</li>
<li>
<a href="{% url 'guides_images' %}">Image hosting is included</a>
</li>
<li>Feed Subscriptions available for readers</li>
<ul>
<li>via RSS & Atom</li>
<li>via Email (newsletter)</li>
</ul>
<li>
<a href="https://rslstandard.org/">Really Simple Licensing</a> support for your content
</li>
<li>Additional conveniences::</li>
<ul>
<li>Analytics (backend based)</li>
<li><a href="{% url 'api_docs' %}">API endpoints for advanced control</a></li>
<li>Import text/markdown files</li>
<li>Export content as an ePub book</li>
</ul>
<li>100% Affero GPL <a href="https://github.com/linuxgoose/mataroa">free software</a></li>
<li><a href="{% url 'transparency' %}">Business Transparency and Oppenness</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Pricing</h2>
<ul>
<li>Free — most features</li>
<ul>
<li>No custom domain</li>
<li>No auto-exports via email</li>
</ul>
<li>Premium — all features</li>
<ul>
<li>£12/year</li>
<li>5% of revenue funds <a href="#">CO₂ removal</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="cta">
<a class="cta-link" href="{% url 'user_create' %}">Start your blog</a>
— <a href="https://jjrobinson.bocpress.co.uk">view example blog</a>
</div>
<h2>What does "BōcPress" mean?</h2>
<p>BōcPress was chosen because it blends heritage, literature, and modern publishing in a single, memorable name.
</p>
<p>Let's break it down:</p>
<ul>
<li>“Bōc” comes from the Old English word for book, evoking centuries of literary tradition and the enduring
power of the written word.</li>
<li>“Press” signals publishing and dissemination, connecting the platform to both historic printing presses and
today’s digital tools.</li>
</ul>
<p>Together, BōcPress represents a modern platform for writers while honoring the timeless craft of storytelling.
</p>
<p>This name reflects our mission: to provide a digital space where stories, ideas, and voices endure, combining
elegance, literary heritage, and modern accessibility.</p>
<h2>FAQ</h2>
<details>
<summary>Do you support custom CSS?</summary>
<div>
<p>
Not at the moment. The philosophy of BōcPress is to be as minimal as possible without enabling
too many decisions about styling. We understand that this is not what some prefer and are open to ideas.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>Can I self-host BōcPress?</summary>
<div>
<p>
Absolutely. The project is
<a href="https://github.com/linuxgoose/mataroa">open source</a>
and you can find deployment documentation
<a href="https://docs.mataroa.blog/deployment.html">in the docs</a>.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>Why should I use BōcPress instead of Substack/WordPress/etc?</summary>
<div>
<p>
BōcPress embraces a minimalist ethos: swift, unadorned, and focused on the heart of your words.
It values simplicity over bells and whistles, while offering strong data interoperability.
Your content is yours to keep, and exporting it is effortless.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>Will you add themes?</summary>
<div>
<p>
At present, there are no plans to add custom themes or templates. It's
part of our philosophy to enable one to just write and publish without
having to make too many decisions about styling. We understand that this is not what some prefer and are open to ideas.
</p>
<p>
Nonetheless, there are discussions around adding <i>some</i> minor styling decisions for authors,
but these are unplanned at the moment. Feel free to get in touch with any ideas you may have around this topic.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>What about tags or categories?</summary>
<div>
<p>
These are not currently supported, however there are plans to add them. We want to keep the platform simple,
but understand that tags or categories can help with organization and discovery. If implemented,
they will be designed to remain minimal and unobtrusive.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>What about pagination?</summary>
<div>
<p>
Pagination can be difficult as it breaks the browser search across all post titles.
Additionally, because of how fast and simple BōcPress is, speed is not an issue
even with thousands of posts. This is a feature we may consider in the future, but
it is not currently planned.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>Why doesn't strikethrough markdown notation work?</summary>
<div>
<p>
The markdown library we use
(<a href="https://github.com/Python-Markdown/markdown">Python-Markdown</a>)
supports
<a href="http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax">
John Gruber’s markdown spec</a>,
which does not define strikethrough text. Discussions have been had on migrating to another
markdown library at some point in the future, though, this is not
yet planned.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>Would you consider a rich text editor option?</summary>
<div>
<p>
At present, a rich text editor is too much for BōcPress. Something like Trix does look like it would be great,
however the added complexity is too high with 200K of JavaScript code. Saving HTML in the database instead of
simple text is also less than ideal.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>Would you add support for LaTeX-style math expressions?</summary>
<div>
<p>
This was recently introduced in V1.3.1. Please see the <a href="https://github.com/linuxgoose/mataroa/pull/20">pull request</a> for more information or give it a try yourself.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>What about supporting Mermaid flowcharts?</summary>
<div>
<p>
We would not add
<a href="https://github.com/mermaid-js/mermaid">mermaid-js</a>
as it is
<a href="https://github.com/mermaid-js/mermaid/blob/develop/dist/mermaid.min.js">
2.7MB minified
</a>
JavaScript which is far too heavy for BōcPress' mission. However, we would be interested
in implementing something similar if it was rendered on the backend.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<details>
<summary>Do you support ActivityPub Federation?</summary>
<div>
<p>
We do not, however, we'd like to. This is unplanned work that might
happen at some point in the future.
</p>
</div>
</details>
<p>Forked from <a href="https://mataroa.blog/">mataroa</a></p>
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