The website—a personal project
How I built my personal website and what I learned along the way
The website—a personal project
As an IT specialist and photographer, it had long been a dream of mine to build my own website that showcases both my professional skills and my creative work. After months of planning and development it is finally online—and I want to tell you the story behind it.
Why a personal website?
In an era dominated by social media and professional networks, a personal website may seem old-fashioned. For me it was important to create a space that is fully under my control—a digital home that reflects my personality and my work authentically.
The site was not supposed to be only a portfolio but a platform that brings together different sides of my life: my professional expertise in PLM and CAD, my passion for photography, my IT projects, and my personal interests.
The technical foundation
I chose Next.js—a framework that gives me the flexibility I need while supporting modern web standards and performance optimizations. Next.js features like server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG) make it possible to build a fast, SEO-friendly site.
Design philosophy
The design should be modern but not overloaded. I went for a glassmorphism look with subtle animations—a style that feels professional without being loud. The color palette follows my brand: accents in blue, cyan, and orange that read as both technical and creative.
Content management
Instead of a heavy CMS I use Markdown files for content. That gives me full control while keeping maintenance simple and everything versionable in Git.
Challenges and solutions
Performance optimization
One of the biggest challenges was image optimization. As a photographer I have many high-resolution images that can blow up load times fast. The Next.js Image component was the answer—automatic optimization, lazy loading, and responsive images keep things fast without sacrificing quality.
Responsive design
The site has to look right on every device—from phones to 4K monitors. With Tailwind CSS and a mobile-first approach it was work, but doable. Every component was tested carefully across screen sizes.
SEO and accessibility
A beautiful site is useless if nobody finds it. I invested in SEO: semantic HTML, meta tags, structured data, clean URLs. Accessibility mattered too—the site is tuned for screen readers and uses sufficient contrast.
What I learned
Building this site was an intense learning journey. I deepened my React and Next.js skills and learned a lot about design, UX, and performance. Especially valuable was seeing a project through from idea to launch.
The future
The site is never really “done”—it keeps evolving. Planned additions include:
- A blog area for regular updates
- Expanded photography galleries
- More interactive elements
- Integration of additional projects
Conclusion
Building my website was more than a technical project—it was a way to unite my interests and skills in one digital space. It is a living project that grows and changes with me.
If you have questions about the implementation or are planning your own site, feel free to contact me. I am happy to share what I learned.
This site was built with Next.js, React, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. Source code is on GitHub (link to follow).