The Problem With the Old Site
My previous personal website was technically functional but strategically empty. It had a homepage, a few project thumbnails, and a contact form. What it didn't have was a point of view — any visitor could spend five minutes there and still not know what I actually do, how I think, or why they should care.
A portfolio site without a perspective is just a digital business card. I wanted something more useful — for visitors and for myself.
Defining Purpose Before Design
The first step wasn't choosing a color palette or a framework. It was answering a harder question: what is this site actually for?
After some honest reflection, I landed on three goals:
- Demonstrate how I think, not just what I've done.
- Create a home for writing that I actually maintain.
- Make it easy for the right people to reach me.
Everything downstream — structure, content, design — flowed from those three goals. When I felt uncertain about a decision, I could refer back to them.
Structure Decisions
With clarity on purpose, the site structure became obvious:
- A short, focused homepage that answers "who is this person and why should I keep reading" within the first scroll.
- An articles section organized by theme, not just chronology. I wanted writing to be discoverable by topic.
- A minimal about page that tells a story rather than listing credentials.
- A contact page that sets expectations about what kinds of conversations I welcome.
What I Chose Not to Include
Some of the most important design decisions were subtractions. I deliberately excluded:
- A live portfolio grid of past client work (too context-dependent; writing shows thinking better)
- Social proof counts and follower metrics (vanity over substance)
- A services page (not the purpose of this particular site)
- A newsletter popup on page load (an immediate trust-breaker)
The Writing Challenge
The hardest part wasn't technical — it was content. Writing about yourself in a way that's genuine without being self-congratulatory is genuinely difficult. I went through several drafts of the about page before landing on something that felt honest.
The approach that worked: write for a specific imagined reader — someone who might genuinely benefit from working with me or reading my work — rather than writing for a general audience or trying to impress everyone.
Ongoing Lessons
A personal site is never truly "done." The most valuable lesson from this rebuild was treating it as a living document rather than a project with a finish line. The goal is regular, low-friction updates — not a perfect static monument.
If you're considering a personal site rebuild, start with purpose. The design will follow.