Building My Personal Portfolio

Godwill Taylor — Sat, 06 Sep 2025 11:14:26 +0000

For the longest time, I knew I needed a portfolio but I kept pushing it. It’s one of those things every developer talks about but often puts off. I had my projects sitting on my computer and GitHub, but I didn’t have one place where I could tie it all together . talking about who I am, what I do, and what I’ve built. I recently started a 12 weeks goal streak and one of my task was to build a personal portfolio and that got me excited as I wont be having any excuse again.

I chose React.js as it was one of the tech stack I would be learning during this period and also because it gave me the flexibility without having to start from scratch every time. The first thing I set up was the Home Page. I wanted it to feel personal, so I added a profile picture and two big buttons: Contact Me and View Projects as quick CTA’s as instructed by my coach for easy access.

Then came the About Page, where I wrote a little about myself and my skills. Writing that part was surprisingly harder than coding, talking about yourself is never easy but I was able to put something together. The Projects Page followed and I added cards with images and links to live demos of my work. Seeing them all lined up felt like I was putting together a digital gallery of everything I’d learned.

Of course, there were challenges. My images didn’t load the first time, I ran into GitHub issues while deploying, and CSS had me scratching my head more times than I’d like to admit. At one time I spent almost 72 hours trying to get my images to display. But each little problem taught me something new. I realized that even small details, like file paths and button styling, can make or break a website.

When it came time to put it online, I used GitHub Pages. Typing npm run deploy and then actually seeing my site live for the first time was a special moment, the kind that makes all the debugging worth it. Am telling you building something for me is always very satisfying.
More than just a website, this portfolio feels like a milestone. It’s not perfect (and probably never will be), but it’s a starting point. A place I can point people to and say: “This is me. This is what I’ve built. And this is where I’m heading.”

What I Learned Along the Way
• Building is the best way to learn and incorporating smart tools into your build process will make your journey easier.
• Small problems stack up, but solving them builds confidence.
• A portfolio is more than code, it’s a reflection of your journey.

You can view my portfolio by clicking here

I will love you to stay with me on this journey. This is my first post here but am surely going to keep it coming. Lets grow together, learning is fun

DEV Community: Godwill Taylor

Building My Personal Portfolio