Launched My Personal Blog

What a day! After weeks of planning and development, I finally launched my personal blog. It feels incredible to have a dedicated space to share my thoughts, projects, and learnings with the world.

The Tech Stack

I decided to go with a modern, performant stack:

• Next.js 15 with the new App Router for the best React experience
• Tailwind CSS v4 for beautiful, responsive styling
• TypeScript for type safety and better developer experience
• Markdown for easy content creation and management
• Framer Motion for smooth animations and transitions

Key Features Implemented

Theme System

One of the features I'm most proud of is the theme switching system. It supports both light and dark modes with:

• Smooth transitions between themes
• localStorage persistence
• System preference detection
• Consistent styling across all components

Content Management

The blog uses a file-based content management system:

• Markdown files with frontmatter for metadata
• Automatic reading time calculation
• Tag-based categorization
• Monthly post grouping
• Featured posts support

Performance Optimizations

• Static site generation for lightning-fast loading
• Optimized images and assets
• Minimal JavaScript bundle size
• SEO-friendly metadata and structured data

Challenges Faced

Theme Implementation

Getting the theme system right took longer than expected. The main challenge was preventing hydration mismatches between server and client rendering. I solved this by:

1. Using a mounted state to prevent rendering theme-dependent content on the server
2. Implementing proper localStorage checks with fallbacks
3. Adding smooth transitions that don't interfere with the initial render

Content Organization

Deciding on the content structure was another challenge. I wanted something flexible but organized:

content/
├── posts/          # Main blog posts
├── tools/          # Tool documentation
├── daily/          # Daily thoughts and updates
└── case-studies/   # Project case studies

This structure allows for different types of content while maintaining consistency in the data layer.

What's Next

Now that the foundation is solid, I'm planning to add:

1. Search functionality for finding content quickly
2. Comment system for reader engagement
3. Newsletter signup for regular updates
4. RSS feed for syndication
5. Analytics to understand reader preferences

Lessons Learned

Start Simple

I initially planned to build everything at once, but breaking it down into phases made the project much more manageable. The MVP approach allowed me to launch sooner and iterate based on actual usage.

Documentation Matters

Writing good documentation for the content management system saved me hours of confusion later. Future me will thank present me for the detailed README and inline comments.

Performance First

Optimizing for performance from the beginning is much easier than retrofitting optimizations later. The static generation approach gives incredible loading speeds without sacrificing functionality.

Reflection

This project reminded me why I love web development. There's something magical about taking an idea from concept to reality, especially when it's something personal like a blog. Every decision, from the color scheme to the typography, reflects my preferences and style.

The blog isn't just a platform for sharing content—it's a playground for experimenting with new technologies and techniques. I'm already excited about the next features to implement and the content to create.

Here's to many more posts, projects, and learnings to share! 🚀