Personal Portfolio
A comprehensive showcase of my frontend development skills built with Next.js 16, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS v4. Features smooth animations, multilingual support, and a creative terminal-style 404 page.
The Challenge
Creating a portfolio that effectively showcases technical skills while maintaining a clean, professional aesthetic. The goal was to build something that demonstrates modern frontend capabilities without sacrificing performance or accessibility.
Technical Decisions
Next.js 16 with App Router
The latest version of Next.js provides excellent performance with Turbopack and the App Router pattern. Key benefits:
- Server Components for optimal performance
- Static Generation for lightning-fast page loads
- Built-in internationalization support
- File-based routing for clean project structure
Tailwind CSS v4
For styling, I chose Tailwind CSS v4 for its:
- Utility-first approach enabling rapid prototyping
- CSS variable theming for consistent design tokens
- Excellent performance with automatic purging
- Great developer experience with IDE support
Framer Motion
Animations are powered by Framer Motion, providing:
- Declarative API for complex animations
- Spring physics for natural motion
- Layout animations for smooth transitions
- Gesture support for interactive elements
Key Features
Multilingual Support
Full i18n implementation with English and German, including:
- URL-based locale switching
- Translated content and UI strings
- SEO-optimized alternate links
Blog Platform
MDX-powered technical blog featuring:
- Syntax highlighting with Shiki
- Custom callout components
- Reading time estimation
- Tag-based filtering
Creative 404 Page
A terminal-style 404 page that:
- Simulates command-line interactions
- Shows playful error messages
- Provides clear navigation options
What I Learned
Building this portfolio reinforced several important concepts:
- Type-first development pays off in maintainability
- Component composition makes complex UIs manageable
- Static generation is incredibly powerful for content sites
- Accessibility matters - semantic HTML and keyboard navigation
Source Code
The complete source code is available on GitHub. Feel free to explore, learn from, or fork it for your own projects.