Website Refresh
A few years back, I built so many versions and trends of my website that I kinda lost track of which one was actually mine.
Most were just random builds from YouTube tutorials or straight-up GitHub clones.
I wasn’t even writing my own code—just copying and pasting without really knowing what anything did.
At some point, I had to face it:
I’d never actually built something from scratch.
And honestly? That made me feel like a fraud.
Then I stumbled across Lee Robinson’s site.
It was clean. Simple. And just... made sense.
No fluff. No distractions. Literally just words on a background—with intention.
That changed something in me.
Less But Better
This redesign wasn’t about making things prettier.
It was about stripping the noise—cutting out the stuff I didn’t care about and leaning into what I did.
I know minimalism isn’t for everyone, but for me?
Simple > fancy.
I'm convinced that flat (sometimes even boring) UI—with just enough care in the details—is the best kind of personal site.
No flashy animations.
No hundred-section scroll marathons.
Just a quiet space that feels natural—somewhere I can share my thoughts and work without the internet screaming over it.
Because at the end of the day, I don’t want my website to impress people.
I want it to reflect me.
Never Finished
A portfolio is a project that's never really finished.
Ain’t that the truth?
This whole thing feels like a digital playground—always changing, always experimenting.
I love visiting personal websites where you can see the person behind it—the little details, the design choices, the weird ideas.
That’s the energy I want mine to have too.
Shoutout to the awesome folks who helped shape that vision—Lee Robinson, Julien Thibeaut, Pranathi Peri, Emil Kowalski, Paco Coursey, and so many more.
Their work reminded me that good design isn’t about showing off.
It’s about showing up with clarity and care.
Under the Hood
While the front of the site looks clean, the stuff behind it… not so much.
I may have over-engineered parts of it—but honestly, that’s part of the fun.
It’s half website, half sandbox.
| Tech Stack | Description |
|---|---|
| Content Collections | For content writing |
| Next.js 15 | Core framework |
| Tailwind v4 / shadcn / motion | Trifecta styling |
| Better Auth | Authentication for guestbook and comments |
| Neon Postgres | Database |
| Drizzle | ORM |
| Upstash Redis | Storing view counts |
| Vercel | Deployment |
| Features | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify music player | ✅ | Using Spotify API |
| User Metadata | ✅ | Vercel built-in headers |
| View counter (blog) | ✅ | Powered by Upstash |
| Guestbook | ✅ | Send a letter to my site |
| Fuma Comment | ✅ | Blog comment system |
| Bookmarks web | ✅ | Using Raindrop API |
Wrapping Up
This refresh made me realize something:
Building something meaningful isn’t about the fanciest tools or the most complex code.
It’s about intentional design—choosing the right fonts and colors, shaping thoughtful interactions, craft animation that subtly enhance things and building a layout that just feels right.
If you’ve never built your own website, seriously—just do it.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. Doesn’t even have to be impressive.
Make something that feels like you.
Document your journey. Share your thoughts.
Write about weird stuff you love.
Even if no one reads it—you will.
I’m hyped about this refresh and excited to share more here.
Thanks for stopping by—feel free to look around.