Using Next.js to build a personal site from the ground up using Tailwind CSS was super easy!

Going through the docs and getting up and running was very simple and quick. After making a quick design mockup in Figma, I was able to make the basis of my portfolio and journal website. It was simple enough to start mobile first with the design and know that I would optimize for desktop later.

The technology was similar to what I use on a daily basis, so mostly going through the documentation for it let me learn what makes it useful compared to vanilla React. Next includes things like lazy loading and dynamic routes with their library, so those tools are incredibly easy to include.

After abstracting away common content components and configuring tailwind classes for primary and secondary text colors, the site was simple to throw together in a weekend. Using Vercel I was able to set up automatic deployments off of main from my Github branch. They also allow you to buy domain names through their site and assign them to Vercel projects, so it was super easy to get my site online!

Room for Improvement

The design right now is really simple. I'd like to see if I can continue studying other portfolio sites and improve the design without sacrificing readability.