Not a tutorial clone. Not a template. A portfolio I designed and built from scratch.
Live: https://behan.vercel.app
Code: https://github.com/behan05/behan-portfolio
What it looks like
Dark immersive UI with smooth GSAP animations — designed to make an impression from the first scroll. Clean navigation, modern typography, and a projects showcase that actually shows real work.
Tech stack
Frontend: React, Vite, Material UI, GSAP
Backend: Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB Atlas
Deployment: Vercel (frontend) + Render (backend)
What's inside
- Projects showcase — Pairly, Chat App Admin Dashboard, Brandora, React Admin Panel, NewsNest
- Skills and tech stack section
- Resume download
- Contact and hire me form with backend integration
- Fully responsive across all devices
Projects I'm showing
Pairly — real-time chat platform built independently from architecture to production. Live at pairly.chat with real users across multiple countries. 395+ commits.
Chat App Admin Dashboard — production-ready admin panel with analytics, user management, moderation, and billing. Built with React and Material UI.
Brandora — full-stack digital agency platform with GSAP animations and Node.js backend APIs.
React Admin Panel — responsive dashboard with sidebar navigation and reusable UI components.
NewsNest — Next.js news app exploring App Router and live API integration.
What I learned building this
Connecting a React frontend to a Node.js backend cleanly, handling CORS across different deployment platforms, and optimizing GSAP animations for performance without sacrificing the visual experience.
About me
I'm Behan Kumar, a Full-Stack Developer actively seeking my first professional role.
- Portfolio: https://behan.vercel.app
- GitHub: https://github.com/behan05
- Live chat app: https://pairly.chat
Feedback welcome — drop a comment!
Top comments (6)
Pretty cool seeing how you put this together - feels like steady building over time really matters. What actually keeps you pushing on days progress feels slow?
Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment, Nevo— really means a lot! 🙌
On days when progress feels slow, I try to stay mindful that consistency matters more than speed. Even small wins help me move forward. I’ve learned to stay calm, break problems down step by step, and enjoy the journey rather than rushing to the finish.
Right now, I’m working on a real-time chat app using Socket.IO. It’s one of the most challenging projects I’ve taken on so far managing real-time communication, syncing data between client and server, and ensuring everything flows smoothly. But that’s also where I’ve seen my patience, focus, and consistency really grow.
Feedback like yours keeps me grounded and motivated. Would love to hear how do you deal with slow days or tough builds?
That’s really cool!
Can you tell me how you made the background look cloudy?
Hey Urvashi! Thanks so much 😊
The cloudy effect in the background comes from a dark jellyfish ocean video that I used as a full-page background. I applied some CSS filters like brightness and contrast to tone it down and make the UI elements stand out more clearly.
It’s basically a video running behind everything with a semi-transparent dark overlay to keep it subtle. Adds a cool, underwater, cloudy vibe without distracting too much.
Let me know if you'd like the code I used — happy to share!
pretty cool, i've enjoyed all of the research you've put into this project - it really adds up
you ever find that building personal stuff teaches you more than any tutorial ever could
Thank you so much, Nathan! 🙌
Yes, I agree — building this project taught me a lot more than I expected. Tutorials give basics, but real learning happens when you face challenges while building.
I really appreciate your kind words! 😊