This website

Why build it this way

A portfolio is a product with one user story: a stranger decides in ninety seconds whether to write to you. So it has to load fast, read honestly, and cost nothing to keep alive. I treated it the way I treat any internal tool: discuss, sign off, then build, with every cost and quota decision stated up front.

What I decided

• Static first. Every page is plain HTML generated at build time by Astro. No framework runs in the visitor’s browser except the few scripts that need it: the hero animation, the board, the rocket cursor.
• Content as files. Each case study is one Markdown file with a small front matter block. Adding work means adding a file; the site rebuilds itself.
• Free to host. Firebase Hosting serves the files; a private GitHub repository rebuilds and deploys on every push. The board’s notes live in Firestore inside the free quota, with reads cached and fetched only when the board scrolls into view.
• No surveillance. No analytics, no cookies, no third-party fonts. The theme choice lives in your browser and goes nowhere.
• Moderation without code. Notes left on the board are held until I approve them from a small admin page on my phone. Nothing a visitor writes needs a developer to publish or remove.

How it was built

I wrote the story first, in plain files, and signed off every section before a line of code. Then I directed Claude Code to build the site in Astro, reviewed each round in a local preview, and sent edits the way a product owner sends edits: by section, in plain words. The illustrations, animations and components were argued over, several thrown away, until the site read as mine rather than as a template.

Decisions I would defend

• Rejecting the first “immersive” version. A hand-drawn skyline and avatar looked clever and read as cheap. The refined version with one honest animation beat it.
• Numbers only where they were measured. Every figure on this site is either measured or labelled as assessed by the business. No implied ROI.
• A board instead of testimonials. People say more when they can leave a note than when asked for a quote.