Background
When it came time to showcase my work from the past few years, I saw an exciting opportunity to practice my web development skills. So, I decided to build my website from scratch!
What I Did
I chose React, a powerful open-source JavaScript library, to create the front end of my website. I kicked off the project with the create-react-app toolchain and styled it using Bootstrap's versatile CSS framework. Leveraging React's features, like hooks and state management, I created reusable components to streamline the development process. I also integrated several NPM packages, adding functionality such as a sleek image-loading skeleton and metadata updates for each page. To manage and store the images within my portfolio, I used Cloudinary. Finally, I deployed and hosted the entire site on Netlify.
What I Learned
This project gave me hands-on experience with some of React's more advanced features, like React Hooks. I also deepened my knowledge of Bootstrap 5 and its extensive class library. Most importantly, I learned how crucial it is to ensure the app is functional across various devices, performance levels, and connection speeds. Building my personal website was a fantastic refresher and a significant enhancement of my web development skills.