Building my first website — from framework to my own CSS
Hi friends!
I wrote this edition about coding and styling my personal website, but I’d be remiss if I proceeded without talking about what’s going on in the world. I don’t need to provide you with another information dump, but I want to acknowledge and be very mindful of your experiences. If you need a friend, I’m here. If you need help looking for resources, I’m here for anything you might need. Today, more than ever, be gentler.🌻
I started working on my website because I needed a portfolio but more importantly a platform, or playground, if you will, where I can upskill, practice and experiment.
To start off, I almost finished FreeCodeCamp's Responsive Web Design course — it was a great start that introduced me to the absolute basics of HTML and styling using CSS, but, I got (and I say it with my sincerest apologies) a little bored by the end of the course. To the point that I didn't feel inspired enough to finish the projects at the end of the course. My project had to be something I conceptualize and deliver from start to finish. And, so, my website was born!
The first iteration of the website's homepage looked pretty straightforward without much styling. No columns and excessive usage of bullet lists, but hey, I managed to put something together!
To start with my website's styling, I used a free, open-source pre-built framework called Bulma and while it looked far better than my original version (or so I think!), it didn't feel *mine* enough.
So! I pivoted! I browsed around for some style inspiration and finally landed on a very complicated FiveThirtyEight piece. The webpage's design caught my attention. And thus began my styling adevnture!
On the website now, I have a background that looks like a grid, the font is new and I used Google Fonts for it. I’ve tried to make it a really fun design, and hopefully delivered successfully.
I also added a new page that’s my virtual playground—a place where I’ll catalogue the projects I’m currently working on, a curated list of interesting things on the internet and a list of books I’ve read and what I’m currently reading.
The website is my space to learn, try new things, show what I know and of course, hopefully impress a recruiter! Here’s a snapshot of what the homepage looks like now:
I’ll say this again, hug your close ones tighter today. Be kind, fam.
Pssst. Next week I’ll be in Atlanta for NICAR, but I’ll be back in your inbox the week after!