Introduction

  • My website needed a serious updateā€”not just the tech behind it but also how it looked. It needed a fresh, modern design that matched my current skills. I believe a website should show off a developerā€™s abilities, both in coding and creativity.

Why Switch to Next.js?

  • I really like how Next.js works. It has built-in routing, server-side rendering (SSR), and client-side rendering (CSR). Plus, I get full control over what gets generated and where.

  • One big reason I chose Next.js is that I want to use it for most of my future projects. To be clear, Iā€™m using Next.js only for front-end development. For the back end, I prefer ā€œold-schoolā€ languages like C# and Java because theyā€™re strong and reliable.

  • Job security is another reason, but thatā€™s a story for another time...

  • Some people say, ā€œEverything that can be done in JavaScript will eventually be done in JavaScript.ā€ Iā€™m not completely sold on that ideaā€”at least not yet.

Moving to AWS

  • Since I started learning about cloud computing, Iā€™ve wanted to use both of the top providers. Why? Honestly, I donā€™t knowā€”it just feels right.

  • Switching to AWS isnā€™t just about using what Iā€™ve learned; itā€™s also my way of testing more complex setups. Iā€™m talking about big-company-level architectureā€”on my tiny website that gets about three visitors a month (all of whom are me, on different devices).

  • Sometimes, someone stumbles across my site through LinkedIn and is impressed that I bought a .com domain. Maybe that small effort makes them explore my site a bit. If thatā€™s youā€”thank you, my friend! But I digress...

  • Iā€™ll admit, this AWS migration wasnā€™t completely planned. My main goal was to get hands-on experience, which I did. But in the end, it doesnā€™t really matter which cloud provider you useā€”as long as your site is online and cheap to maintain.

  • Right now, the only thing I host on AWS is the images on my site. The actual website is on Sevalla because I realized hosting a Next.js site with SSR on AWS is tricky if you want to do it automatically.

  • My first attempt was using an EC2 instance, and it worked! I set up my GitHub to update the site whenever I pushed code to main. All I had to do was create a cron job andā€”BOOM!ā€”I had a working CD system.

  • The problem? It was going to cost too much, and wasting money on unnecessary infrastructure would bring shame upon me in the eyes of the AWS gods. So, I shut it down.

  • Next, I thought about using AWS Amplify. But then I got a $50 credit from Sevalla, and... well, here we are. šŸ˜

  • The AWS migration isnā€™t finished, but Iā€™ll get there in the next few months.

The Design

  • The design is simpleā€”and thatā€™s exactly what I wanted.

  • I could add crazy animations that make you wonder what youā€™re looking at and how it was done. But that would make my life harder as a developer.

  • My goal is to push out code and move on to the next project. This site isnā€™t a big deal, but it took me months to finish because I was busy building other things.

  • The design is based on v1 but looks better. Darker colors, fewer rounded borders, a bit more animation, some gradients, and just the right amount of blue to keep things interesting.

  • The first version (v1) helped me land a job. The current version (v2) is all about showing my skills and my love for writing, building, and design.

  • How did I come up with the original design? I copied another site, made small changes over time, then finally did a full redesign to make it my own. I also added a blog and a projects page while removing my resume page.

  • Thereā€™s still a lot I want to add, but at some point, Iā€™ll stop maintaining this site and switch to Notion, like Leo Radvinsky. But weā€™re not there yet...

Conclusion

  • To wrap things up, this site is my testing ground for new ideas, projects, and whatever I find interesting. Letā€™s see how it evolves over time.