How I built my personal website
January 2023 · Derick Zr · 2 minutes read
Most people build a portfolio site, add some projects, and call it done.
I rebuilt mine three times in two years.
Not because the old versions were broken. Because my site is where I experiment. It's my corner of the web where I can try new tech without consequences.
Here's how it evolved.
Version 1 (2020-2022)
Built with React and Next.js 10. Used styled-components for styling. Integrated Google Analytics API to show view counts. Deployed on Netlify.
The header had SVG animations. Looked cool. Performed terribly on mobile.
Version 2 (2023 - Present)
Rebuilt from scratch. Focused on typography over images. Orange tones everywhere.
Stack:
- Next.js 13 with App Router
- Contentlayer for MDX (it's like Prisma for content)
- Rehype Pretty Code for syntax highlighting
- Framer Motion for animations
- Prisma + MySQL on PlanetScale
- Deployed on Vercel
I fetch the Spotify API to show what I'm currently listening to. Completely unnecessary. I love it.
It's Never Done
This site isn't perfect. It never will be.
There are bugs I haven't fixed. Features I want to add. Pages I want to rewrite.
But that's the point. It's a perpetual experiment.
I learn more from building and rebuilding this than from any course or tutorial.
Version 3? Probably coming soon.