Making this Website
I've always wanted a really nice portfolio website. My friends in the industry always had these sweet, custom websites with Javascript particle effects and fancy CSS animations.
Meanwhile, I would always write inline CSS (it's so much easier to keep track of!), struggle with basic Javascript, and mess up semantic HTML.
I was initially turned off by making my own site. I had done some very simplistic HTML development in college classes, but I knew it was nothing in comparison to what my friends could do. I figured I just didn't need my own portfolio site.
The one reason I changed my mind was honestly seeing my one friend who bought a domain. He went on namecheap.com and bought hisfullname.me for 9 dollars.
He only spent $9 for a year with that domain.
That was the push I needed to start building my own site.
That night, I bought jasongomes.me for $8.88.
Once school started to wind down, I scoured different sites, trying to find the perfect template and theme. I definitely did not want to use an existing template, but I also did not have the creativity/ability to design a site from scratch.
I settled on emulating a friend's site with a simple, minimalistic style and a white background. I wish I could attach a screenshot of the site, but the site has (reasonably) been updated since.
I wish I could say I dove into website development with passion and vigor but that wouldn't be the case. I cobbled together a few pages, wrote some static web pages with in-line CSS, looked up some CSS properties, and called it a web site.
Over a period of around 3 years, I added bits and pieces.
I took a very simple Web Design class at Rutgers that taught me the basics of semantic HTML. During my junior year, I got really into the NBA Draft and had a friend help me with some Javascript to organize the content. After I finished and published the NBA Draft pages, I learned how to embed Google Analytics trackers in the pages.
And finally, working at iCIMS showed me the importance of accessibility and mobile responsiveness.
So, this is my website right now.
I know it's not perfect. There's a LOT I still have to learn, and a lot of improvements I can make.
But ultimately it's mine. It shows a lot of the progress I've made as a developer and I'm sure in a few years I'll make even more improvements and progress.
At least now I have a site that I can show off to my friends.