Building a Portfolio Site

Daryl White
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Image credit: Photo by Vojtech Okenka from Pexels

TL;DR

Here’s what I did to create this site and give myself a (well, almost) free site to build out a portfolio.

  1. Create an account with a Git service provider.
    I used GitLab I already had, but GitHub also works.
  2. Select a starter template from Forestry.io for the desired SSG (static site generator) and create it on Forestry. Forestry.io automatically adds a new repository and branch on your Git provider.
    (I used the Hylia template for 11ty.)
  3. Authenticate with your Git service provider and import the site to Forestry.
  4. Publish the site to Netlify.
  5. Add content using Forestry.io’s headless CMS WYSIWYG editor, and Netlify automatically finds the changes as you make them and updates your site in nearly real time.

Update

In anticipation of different responsibilities brought on by a job change, I modified how I create my site.

  • I switched from 11ty to Hugo.
  • I now use the Mainroad theme for Hugo.
  • I found the Forestry.io interface to be more frustrating to navigate for my own personal use rather than helpful, so I use VS Code exclusively.
  • I switched from Netlify to Gitlab Pages.