On Personal Websites

Why every developer should have a personal corner of the internet, and what to put there.

webwritingpersonal

Social media platforms come and go. MySpace, Google+, Twitter (or X, or whatever it's called now). The only constant is change, and usually that change involves someone else making decisions about how you present yourself.

A personal website is different. It's yours.

Why Have One?

Control. You decide the design, the content, the URL structure. No algorithm determines who sees your posts. No character limits. No ads (unless you want them).

Longevity. A simple HTML file will work in browsers decades from now. Your tweet from 2015? Good luck finding it.

Identity. yourname.com is a clear signal: you care enough about your online presence to claim a piece of the web.

What to Put There

The beauty of a personal website is that it can be anything. But if you're stuck, here are some ideas:

A Blog

Write about what you're learning. Share your projects. Document your process. It doesn't need to be groundbreaking—the act of writing clarifies your thinking.

# Today I Learned

Quick notes are better than no notes. A TIL section can be:
- Snippet of code that solved a problem
- Explanation of a concept you finally understood
- Link to an article with your thoughts

Projects

Show what you've built. Include:

  • What problem it solves
  • Technical choices you made
  • What you learned
  • Link to the code or live demo

A projects page is a portfolio that's always up-to-date.

Now Page

A now page is a simple idea: what are you focused on right now? Update it monthly. It's like a blog post that overwrites itself.

Mine includes:

  • Current projects
  • What I'm learning
  • What I'm reading

About

This one's simple: who are you, what do you do, and how can people reach you? Three paragraphs max.

The Tech Doesn't Matter

You can build a personal website with:

  • Plain HTML and CSS
  • A static site generator like Hugo or Jekyll
  • A framework like Next.js or Astro
  • WordPress if that's your thing

The tech doesn't matter. What matters is that you start and that you keep it simple enough to maintain.

I've rebuilt my personal site probably a dozen times. Each time I think I need some new feature or framework. Each time I end up back at something simple: static pages, markdown files, minimal dependencies.

Just Start

The hardest part is starting. You'll want to:

  • Design the perfect layout
  • Choose the perfect color scheme
  • Write the perfect introductory blog post

Resist this urge. Start with:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Your Name</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Your Name</h1>
  <p>This is my website.</p>
</body>
</html>

Deploy that. You can make it better later.

Make It Yours

The best personal websites have personality. They're not trying to be Medium or a SaaS marketing page. They reflect the person who made them.

Add a weird color. Use an unusual font. Write in your actual voice, not "professional blog voice." Link to things you find interesting.

It's your website. Make it weird if you want to.

Conclusion

Everyone's on platforms, and that's fine. But having your own space on the web—a place that's truly yours—is worth the small effort it takes to set up and maintain.

You don't need permission. You don't need a content strategy. You just need a domain, some HTML, and something to say.

Start today.