Building My First Personal Website

Building a personal website has been on my mind for a while, but I finally took the leap. As a sophomore at UCSD looking to join a computer vision research lab, I wanted a platform to showcase my skills, projects, and interests. This blog post shares my experience building my site and what I learned along the way.

Why I Built This Website

The main reason behind creating this website was to have a professional online presence. Instead of relying solely on LinkedIn or a résumé, I wanted a space where I could share my projects, write about my interests, and make it easier for professors and researchers to find me.

Some of my goals with this site:

• Showcase my skills and projects
• Write about topics I’m passionate about
• Connect with researchers and potential collaborators
• Learn more about web development in the process

The Process

I started by exploring different options for building the site. At first, I considered website builders like Wix or WordPress, but I wanted something more customizable. After some research, I decided to use [ Jekyll, Next.js, and plain HTML/CSS] to build my site from scratch.

Some key steps in the process:

1. Choosing a tech stack – I wanted something lightweight and easy to maintain.
2. Designing the layout – I looked at inspiration from other personal websites.
3. Setting up hosting – I explored options like GitHub Pages, Vercel, and Netlify.
4. Adding content – Writing my bio, listing projects, and setting up a blog.
5. Making it responsive – Ensuring it looks good on both desktop and mobile.

What I Learned

• Keep it simple – A clean and minimalist design works best.
• Good hosting is key – I found that [github] was easy to use and deploy.
• Content matters – The site isn’t just about the tech; it’s about presenting myself well.

Next Steps

Now that my site is live, I plan to:

• Regularly update my blog with my learning journey.
• Add more projects, especially in computer vision.
• Improve the design as I learn more about web development.

This process was both fun and challenging, and I’m excited to see where this site takes me. If you’re thinking of building your own website, go for it! It’s a great way to learn and establish an online presence.

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“Your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
— Jeff Bezos

If you’re interested in computer vision, research, or web development, feel free to connect with me! You can check out my website at [https://qingyuanyuu.github.io/].