Building My Portfolio Website

When I set out to build softwaresammy.com, I originally planned to use Django. Django is a high-level Python web framework that is fast and reliable and supports both databases and user authentication. Django was the obvious choice for me and had everything I needed. However, as a young developer, I realized I could not get away from learning HTML and CSS. That is when I decided to use JavaScript to build my website. Since my academic career was back-end intensive, I thought it would be beneficial to learn front-end as well. Almost every web development class mentions JavaScript, and it seems that no one can get away from it.

During my research to create softwaresammy.com, I came across Next.js as a framework for React (a javascript library) and Vercel. Vercel was a platform I could use to develop and run my portfolio website serverless. I have to say this was a fantastic choice. I programmed on my laptop using Webstorm, pushed out my code to GitHub, and with Vercel integration, I could deploy code automatically, seeing my changes live within a few minutes, if not seconds.

My portfolio website depicts my progress toward learning JavaScript and Next.js as I took the time to dissect code and research complications, further developing my knowledge. For example, I quickly learned that running a serverless web application does not allow for the easy application of a contact form. However, I was able to address this issue by using an API called Formspree.io to handle my now seamlessly working contact form. I must admit, I do miss having the Django admin application to power my blog.

Currently, I am working to integrate Sanity into my website for structured blog post content. My goal for softwaresammy.com is to build it into more than just a project portfolio. I see the future morphing into a digital technology experience for me to evolve, learn, share, and become a more well-rounded software engineer.