diff --git a/Readme.md b/Readme.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..576eaaf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Readme.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+this is the source for Colin's landing page on the net. mostly it holds a blog plus some outlinks.
+
+Building
+========
+
+install [Zola](https://www.getzola.org). then build:
+
+```sh
+$ zola build
+```
+
+the output will be in `public/`. the relevant parts of that output should be linked into the root of whatever software (e.g. nginx) is serving the site.