How I Built My First Landing Page

#webdev #programming #javascript #beginners

A Journey from Blank Screen to Live Website 🚀

I still remember the moment I opened my code editor and stared at a completely blank screen. No header, no footer, no buttons. Just me, a blinking cursor, and the desire to build something that looked like a real website.

That’s how my journey of building my first landing page began.

The Idea That Sparked It All 💡

I didn’t want to create just any random webpage. I wanted to build something that felt real. So I asked myself a simple question:

“What would I click on if I saw this online?”

That’s when the idea hit me — a clean, bold, and simple landing page for a fictional product: a productivity app for students.

I named it FocusMate. And this was going to be its first home on the internet.

Step 1: Sketch Before You Code ✏️

Before touching a single line of code, I opened my notebook and began sketching. Yes, pen and paper. I drew a basic layout:

A bold hero section with a headline and a call-to-action button.
A few feature cards.
A testimonial section.
A simple footer.

This step might seem “non-technical,” but trust me — it saved me hours later.

Step 2: HTML — The Skeleton 🦴

With the structure in mind, I started writing the HTML. Slowly but surely, the page began to take shape:

<section class="hero">
  <h1>FocusMate</h1>
  <p>Your study partner that never sleeps.</p>
  <button>Get Started</button>
</section>

That one block of code felt magical. I refreshed my browser and — boom — I saw something alive.

Step 3: CSS — The Paintbrush 🎨

Then came the tricky part: styling.

At first, everything looked… boring. Black text on white background. But I didn’t stop there. I started adding colors, fonts, spacing — one style at a time.

I played with flexbox, used Google Fonts, and finally saw my page transform. I added hover effects, shadows, and some animation for that wow factor.

Pro tip I learned: Good design is about spacing as much as colors.

Step 4: Responsiveness — It Should Work on Phones Too 📱

It’s easy to forget how many users visit sites from mobile. So, I used media queries to make sure everything looked good on smaller screens.

Buttons became full-width, fonts resized, and images adjusted. I even tested it by shrinking my browser window and checking it on my phone.

Step 5: The Launch — Putting It Online 🌐

Once satisfied, I wanted to launch it. I used Netlify for deployment — it was free and simple. I dragged and dropped my folder and within seconds... my site was live.

It felt surreal. A project I started from scratch — no templates, no tutorials — was finally available to the world.

Lessons I Learned 👨‍💻

Start small. One section at a time.
Design first. Even a rough sketch helps.
Keep it simple. Clean is better than cluttered.
Practice. Every mistake taught me something new.

What’s Next? 🧭

Now that I’ve built one, I can’t stop. I’m planning to remake the landing page using React, maybe even connect it to a backend and make it dynamic.

But here’s the truth: nothing beats the thrill of your first creation.

🧠 Thinking of building your first landing page?

Trust me, you don’t need to be an expert. All you need is the courage to start and the patience to finish. The rest comes with time.

Your first project won’t be perfect — mine wasn’t — but it will be yours. And that’s more than enough.

Top comments (4)

Manjush • Jun 8 • Edited

Nice! I was building a project too and had similar experience.
Building from scratch even if similar tools exist is fun. I hosted it on Vercel at tmdb-movie-listings.vercel.app/

Vijay Kumar • Jun 8 • Edited

Nice!! Just peeked at your movie listings app—love it 🙌 Totally agree, building from scratch hits different even when tools exist. Vercel's such a lifesaver too. Let’s keep shipping cool stuff!