I spent 3 months building a static website and it says more about me than any stack

The author, a web developer, previously lacked a personal website that accurately represented his current skills and values. He initially attempted visually appealing, AI-assisted websites, but found them lacking substance and true reflection. A side project, TrueStreak, led to practical experience in various web development aspects, including performance and optimization. This experience motivated him to build a new personal website using HTML, SCSS, and vanilla JavaScript, rejecting frameworks for simplicity and control. He then created SiteForge, a static site generator, to streamline the process and manage the build pipeline. The author realized the core issue was narrative, not design, causing a disconnect between his online presence and his professional reality. He shifted his use of AI to ask questions and accelerate iteration rather than replace his judgment. The resulting website focused on demonstrating engineering habits like performance, SEO, and security, prioritizing clarity, responsibility, and maintainability. It took three months to build, as the most challenging part was defining the narrative and essential elements of the site. His goal was to create a site that reflected his core values and principles in software development, creating a narrative system. He recommends starting with fundamental values before focusing on visuals for a portfolio.