Portfolio Revamp v.I.Do.This.2.Much

Overview

I built my first portfolio site way back in 2018. Honestly, looking at it now makes me cringe a bit, but I’m still genuinely proud of that original creation. It marked my first real step into web development, and it was something tangible that represented the skills I’d learned at that time. Since then, my personal site has become my longest-running project—something I revisit periodically, hyper-fixate on for a while, then leave untouched for months or even years at a time.

It had been a while since the last update, so it was definitely due again.

Old Setup

The previous version of my site was built on Astro, but I cheated a little—actually a lot—and used a ready-made template (this one). Props to Maxence Wolff for creating something clean and functional. It was a great template, fast, and looked nice. But it didn’t really capture my personality or reflect my journey as a developer, and that felt off to me.

You can actually still check out my very first deployment from 2018 here. Fair warning: it’s rough, but it’s important because it reminds me how much I’ve grown.

New Setup

This time around, I wanted to do things differently—completely from scratch. Astro was still my framework of choice because I’ve enjoyed working with it, especially for client projects. The latest Astro updates, particularly the hybrid rendering mode, were exactly what I needed. Static generation for speed, server-side rendering for dynamic features—it felt like the perfect balance.

I integrated Vue using Astro Islands. Vue has long been my favorite frontend framework, comfortable and intuitive, and pairing it with Astro’s island architecture let me use JavaScript selectively, keeping everything performant and clean.

For styling, I used Tailwind CSS, mostly because it saves me from writing endless custom CSS and keeps everything consistent and maintainable. The color scheme is heavy on emerald green, mainly because it’s my favorite color. Simple, clean, and honestly just feels right.

One of the cooler things I did was build a simple, file-based CMS powered by Astro’s content collections and markdown files. To make content updates easier, I threw together a Vue-based admin interface using TipTap for rich-text editing. It was probably a bit over-engineered, but honestly, that’s half the fun.

Why I Finally Did It

My personal site has always been a kind of snapshot of my growth and skills at any given time. Using a generic template didn’t align with that vision—it felt like a shortcut. It was important for me to create something uniquely mine, reflecting both my technical growth and personal taste.

Also, I really just enjoy experimenting with new tech. Astro, Vue, and file-based CMS architectures were things I wanted to dive deeper into anyway, so this revamp was the perfect excuse. I got to learn, experiment, and create something I truly cared about.

AI and Web Development

AI tools have started to play a role in my workflow recently. For me, AI is particularly useful for quickly scaffolding components, handling repetitive tasks, and prototyping ideas rapidly. It streamlines my development process significantly.

However, AI isn’t the answer to everything. I tend to avoid it for complex backend problems or logic-heavy scenarios where precise, intentional code is crucial. But in the context of frontend development, especially with tools like Astro and Tailwind, AI is a huge productivity booster. It frees me up to focus on more interesting, creative parts of the project.

Beginners should definitely use caution, though—understanding fundamentals is critical. But for developers who know their stuff, AI is an excellent way to enhance productivity without sacrificing quality.

Implications for Future Projects

The best part about this rebuild is the workflow improvements it introduced. The new CMS, reusable Vue components, and streamlined Astro setup mean future side projects and client sites will be easier and faster to build. It’s nice knowing I have a robust, tested framework I can reuse over and over again.

Lessons Learned

Creating something personalized, built exactly how I want it, is incredibly satisfying. It’s tempting to grab quick templates and shortcuts, but in the long run, investing time into something custom-built pays off hugely. Not only is maintenance easier, but the satisfaction of creating something genuinely reflective of who I am and where I’m at professionally makes it totally worth the effort.

Conclusion

Revamping my personal site feels like coming full circle again. Each update reflects who I am at that moment, both personally and professionally. This version genuinely captures that, using Astro, Vue, Tailwind, and a touch of AI-driven development. I’m proud of this iteration, and knowing my pattern, I’ll probably leave it alone for another year or so.

Until next time!