Getting Started

Requirements: a web host running PHP 7.1 or newer — standard on virtually all shared hosting. No database, no build tools, nothing to install.

1. Download

Grab index.php from ownship.cc.

2. Drop it in

Put index.php in the folder you want to serve — your domain root, a subdirectory, wherever. That folder is now a site.

3. Add content

Create .md, .html, or .txt files in the same folder. Subdirectories work too — OwnShip builds navigation from your file structure automatically.

your-site/
├── index.php       ← OwnShip (don't edit)
├── index.md        ← home page; site title from first # H1
├── about.md        ← nav item; title from first # H1, or filename
└── contact.md      ← nav item

Add an index.md for your home page. If there isn't one, OwnShip shows a welcome page listing all available files. The first # H1 heading in index.md becomes the site title automatically — no _site.ini needed.

Optionally drop a _header.md and/or _footer.md alongside your content to add a site header and footer — see Headers & Footers.

4. Optionally configure

Create a _site.ini next to index.php to set your site title, default theme, and other options. Every line is optional — see Configuration for the full reference.

Drop an _order.txt in any folder to control the order files appear in the nav — see Nav Order.

Place a _theme.css next to index.php to override colors — see Custom Themes.

That's it

Upload to your host and browse to the folder. OwnShip handles the rest.