Why I Built This Site
When I set out to rebuild my website, my primary goal was to explore and master new technologies while creating a platform that showcases my abilities and is easy to expand and enhance over time.
A blog was a must-have feature, and I knew I wanted the content creation process to be straightforward yet powerful. To achieve this, I chose Svelte as the core framework. Svelte 4, with its impressive new features and efficient footprint, offered the perfect balance between performance and simplicity, making it an obvious choice for my project.
To streamline the blog’s content management, I decided on mdsvex, a Svelte extension for writing components in markdown. After a quick NPM install and a few server-side adjustments, I had my dynamic site up and running. The ease of writing content in markdown allows me to maintain and grow the site effortlessly.
For the design, I returned to Tailwind CSS, appreciating its lightweight nature and mobile-first approach. Tailwind’s flexibility made it easy to craft a responsive and visually appealing site, though I continue to refine the mobile experience.
Beyond just a blog, I wanted my site to reflect my personal interests and professional growth. Extending the markdown framework, I added sections for Hobbies and Projects, allowing me to easily update and expand the site with new content as my interests evolve.
Finally, I ran into some interesting challenges with using purely AWS. The Amplify framework is excellent, I have used it in other projects. However, there is a limitation on Edge APIs that I did not fully understand with SSR style applications. So, all content, and database functionality are being hosted by AWS (S3 and Lambda) and the hosting of the app is by Vercel.
All this was built in 2 weeks time, with some guidance (and a bit of assistance from ChatGPT), I successfully deployed the site and even built a custom contact form using AWS Lambda. AWS’s robust infrastructure provides the scalability and reliability I need as I continue to add more functionality.
Looking ahead, I plan to introduce several new features, including:
- An RSS Feed for my Blog (Completed! 2024-08-16)
- A robots page and improved SEO (Completed! 2024-08-24)
- An admin tool for easier content management (Completed! 2024-09-02)
- S3 storage for markdown files (Completed! 2024-08-26)
- A commenting system for selected pages
- A reading list
- A chat program
This project has been a rewarding journey in learning and applying cutting-edge technologies, and I’m excited to continue expanding and enhancing the site in the future.
if you are interested in learning more!