Personal Website

12/01/2020

Project Overview

I wanted a place to showcase my projects, describe to people what my goals and interests are, and an excuse to improve my writing. So I learned how to build a website from scratch, by learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I now have a custom platform where I can share my projects as I complete them.

• Learned HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in 1 month
• Built a website in VS Code from scratch in 2 weeks
• Learned how to use the Git repository
• Hosted the completed website through GitHub Pages
• I am continually expanding the website as I complete new projects
• Building a website from scratch allows you to tailor it to your exact specifications

Discussion

I learned HTML, CSS, and JavaScript through courses from Codecademy. Their approach to programming education made it easy to quickly become adept in front-end web development. It took me a month to develop the skills required for constructing my website. I completed the website in 2 weeks. My success is owed to the vast amount of resources available on the internet for web developers. The tutorials were integral to fast implemenation of the features I wanted in my website.

• Good website layout and function is an exciting challenge
• The internet is an endless resource of web development knowledge
• Chrome dev tools is an integral part of troubleshooting a website
• A clear plan of your layout and theme is key to maximizing your time spent programming

The most difficult part of front-end development for me was the actual design of the website. I went through several iterations of the website until I was truly happy with the layout. There we many evenings spent implementing new features, tweaking existing ones, and removing entire sections of the website until it was exactly what I wanted. I love to solve problems and this project had plenty. These problems included how to implement certain features, how to make the website responsive (adapt to any screen size) and accessible to all users. Website development was a completely new concept for me but with an established plan and a clear goal in mind, I was able to do exactly what I said I would.

Lessons learned

I learned how all components of a website interact and work together to form the final result the user sees in their browser. I developed a greater appreciation for the people who work in web development professionally and now have the ability to work with them on future projects. I learned an entirely new skill set outside simply because I set a clear goal for myself and I am always up to learn something new.

• HTML is responsible for structuring a website'ss content
• CSS allows developers to style a website and make it beautiful
• JavaScript can make a website interactive with buttons and animations
• I learned an entirely new skill set outside of my domain to accomplish a goal I set for myself
• I completed my website in the time I alloted myself and can now focus on my next task

Future development

I intend to regularly update my website with new photos, videos, projects, and space related blog posts. The website will also serve to indicate my progress as I gain more experience in my field and keep recruiters in the loop.