Building My Portfolio with Next.js and Modern Web Technologies

Building a personal portfolio is always an exciting journey. It's not just about showcasing your work—it's about creating a digital representation of who you are as a developer. In this post, I'll walk you through how I built my portfolio using modern web technologies.

The Tech Stack

I chose a modern, performant stack that would allow me to build quickly while maintaining high quality:

• Next.js 14 - For the framework and routing
• TypeScript - For type safety and better developer experience
• Tailwind CSS - For rapid styling and consistent design
• shadcn/ui - For beautiful, accessible components
• MDX - For writing blog posts in Markdown with React components

Design Philosophy

My design philosophy centered around three core principles:

1. Simplicity - Clean, minimal design that puts content first
2. Performance - Fast loading times and smooth interactions
3. Accessibility - Ensuring the site works for everyone

Key Features

1. Responsive Design

The portfolio is fully responsive, adapting beautifully from mobile to desktop. I used Tailwind's responsive utilities to create a seamless experience across all devices.

2. Dark Mode Support

Built-in dark mode that respects user preferences and provides a toggle for manual control. This was implemented using CSS custom properties and React context.

3. Blog Integration

A fully functional blog built with MDX, allowing me to write posts in Markdown while still being able to use React components when needed.

4. Smooth Animations

Subtle animations using Framer Motion and custom CSS transitions that enhance the user experience without being distracting.

Technical Challenges

Performance Optimization

One of the biggest challenges was ensuring fast loading times. I implemented:

• Image optimization with Next.js Image component
• Code splitting and lazy loading
• Efficient bundle sizes with tree shaking

SEO and Metadata

Proper SEO was crucial for a portfolio site. I used Next.js metadata API to generate dynamic meta tags and structured data.

Lessons Learned

1. Start Simple - It's easy to over-engineer a portfolio. Start with the essentials and iterate.
2. Content First - Design should serve the content, not the other way around.
3. Performance Matters - Users expect fast websites, especially on mobile.
4. Accessibility is Non-Negotiable - Building accessible sites is not just good practice—it's essential.

Future Improvements

I'm already thinking about the next iteration:

• Adding a newsletter subscription
• Implementing a search functionality for blog posts
• Adding more interactive elements
• Creating a project showcase with live demos

Conclusion

Building this portfolio has been a rewarding experience. It's not just a showcase of my work—it's a living project that I can continue to improve and iterate on. The modern web stack made it possible to build something I'm truly proud of.

The code is open source and available on GitHub if you'd like to explore it further or use it as inspiration for your own portfolio.

What technologies did you use to build your portfolio? I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments!