I've built websites for so many different people at work over the last eight years, however it has probably been five years of me saying that I need to do the same for myself... I've finally done it! Not counting the multiple abandoned projects sat in Github...
In typical developer fashion I used it as an opportunity to learn a new technology and for me this was the combination of using Gatsby with React and Netlify CMS for content management. Up until this point with CMS work I have mostly used WordPress so this was quite a big shift for me, some parts were fantastic, others were challenging to say the least. I am going to follow up with a separate post where I address some of the challenges that I have hit along the way, some of which were due to me being new to the technology, others were with fundamental shifts in approach that were required.
Either way I have managed to finally carve out my own little corner of the web and have some goals that I want to achieve with it:
- Develop further to make it more optimised – I am aware that as my first build of this type that I have more work to do. Performant websites are something I care about so I can't be a hypocrite.
- Develop my writing skills – I'm not a natural writer, I envy the rare few who are but most people need to work hard and practice to get there. I am going to use my blog to practice this skill myself so any feedback is welcomed.
- Display my personality – if you are reading this you are probably a developer too, but coding isn't the entirety of who we are. My other big passion at the moment is learning and improving my photography skills so I'm going to be showing them on here too.
- Engage with the community more – my relationship with the development community has probably been a little one-sided up till now but I want to change this and contribute back.
- Document my progression – I've never been one to keep a diary or anything like that, but I wish I had kept a record of my progression so far in my career to look back and remember how far I have come. So at least I can start now and look back in 10 and 20 years (hopefully).
I don't think these are lofty goals, and may even change over time, but I am looking forward to seeing how it goes! A pre-emptive thank you also goes out to my girlfriend, Phoebe, as I am fairly certain she will keep pushing me at times when I start to slack on this... She's kept her blog going for over 10 years now so she knows a thing or two about dedication.