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At the risk of sounding pompous. I really like my portfolio site: https://jefflombard.com/ https://jefflombard.com/. Why? I built it for myself. Not for what I

At the risk of sounding pompous. I really like my portfolio site: https://jefflombard.com/ https://jefflombard.com/. Why? I built it for myself. Not for what I thought recruiters/employers wanted to see. I simply wanted a place to collect some of the projects I work on. And more importantly one that captured my personality a bit. It's not perfect, I look at it and see a ton things I'd refactor. But it get's people to laugh or start a conversation about something I've done. That to me makes it all worth it. My $0.02: Don't build a portfolio site because you think you need one, build one if it serves a purpose for you. i.e. learning a new skill, organizing your work, or just having fun. I think the results are much more interesting that way. (Also, don't be afraid to iterate. I think this is the 5th one I've attempted to make)

codesternews 8y ago
Bro it's so amazing and unexpected. Great work and creativity.
- jefflombardjr 8y ago
  Thank you for this. Made my day :)
eppsilon 8y ago
I like the "hello" button. :) The font weight of the body text is almost painfully light though.
mrspeaker 8y ago
"I'm a javascript developer. What did you expect to see here without Javascript enabled?". Instant whitelist!
- theandrewbailey 8y ago
  I got a completely blank page running Firefox + uMatrix with no scripts running.
  - jefflombardjr 8y ago
    https://github.com/jefflombard/jefflombard.com-v4/issues https://github.com/jefflombard/jefflombard.com-v4/issues Sorry, you have to file an issue. Please read the issues guidelines before submitting :) </tongue-in-cheek-humor>
johnsonjpj 8y ago
could you explain how you're implementing the goodreads part of your site? i'd love to add something similar to my portfolio. Thanks!
- rebolyte 8y ago
  Looks like he's just wrapping the GoodReads RSS feed in his GraphQL server: https://github.com/jefflombard/jefflombard.com-v4/blob/master/schema/resolvers/books.js https://github.com/jefflombard/jefflombard.com-v4/blob/maste...
  - jefflombardjr 8y ago
    Exactly!
elhudy 8y ago
As a non-coder it feels like the learning curve for building a website portfolio is super high - even though I am told by coders that it is not. Could anyone lend some guidance on where to start?
- sotojuan 8y ago
  I mean, if you really want the easy way out, just pay Squarespace or another WSIWYG website builder. That's what a lot of my artist and photographer friends use.
  - rchaud 8y ago
    That's what I was going to suggest. If you're a non-coder who needs a portfolio site, you already have a body of work ready to show. Put that up on a Squarespace site with a nice template instead of wasting time going through HTML/CSS video courses to create one from scratch. If you're genuinely interested in building from the ground up, definitely go ahead. But if that's not really your goal, you will almost certainly be disappointed with your first site. HTML/CSS courses don't cover design (typography, element spacing, color palettes), so you'll look at your site, you'll know it's ugly but you won't know why. And you won't want to put it online, thereby wasting even more time. Don't do that. Let your work speak for you, and don't feel embarrassed about using a template. Your audience cares about the quality of your content only, they will be completely oblivious to what is happening behind the scenes.
- Hoasi 8y ago
  > As a non-coder it feels like the learning curve for building a website portfolio is super high - even though I am told by coders that it is not. It is not high if you don't try to reinvent the wheel. Fortunately, you can build upon generous people's work. Using frameworks is fine unless you end up using things you don't need. There is still a learning curve, of course, because you need to learn where to look for answers. But building a portfolio site is indeed not that complicated. Non-coder here, I started with WordPress, spent a lot of time learning how to code my own theme. Then I ditched it, learned the basics about how Git works, set up a static site using Jekyll, styled it with Tachyons. Then I added a gallery functionality and a few custom tweaks, just looking things up as I went. My site is now way simpler to maintain and faster. What took hours to look up and fix now seems easy. Putting your portfolio site together yourself is time well spent.
blueprint_for 8y ago
What's it like being a developer in the Philadelphia area? That's near my hometown but I have a tough time searching around there.
- jefflombardjr 8y ago
  It's different, but not bad once you establish yourself... really helps to have a network. Speaking of which.. if you're nearby come join us and say hello! https://www.meetup.com/Functional-Philly/ https://www.meetup.com/Functional-Philly/
bobbydreamer 8y ago
Nice and clean. I like it. There are so many fancy sites and bootstraps but finally in the end, if you have coded it and it can last next 10 years without a major change to the site design and you can focus on adding content to the site. That's a win. I am working on my site http://www.bobbydreamer.com http://www.bobbydreamer.com Got side tracked and built this, a note taking app. https://Stash.bobbydreamer.com https://Stash.bobbydreamer.com It's still in development.
prani10 8y ago
i like the design ., but the small font really annoys me, atleast one size big would be better!
larrywright 8y ago
I love the books page - borrowing that idea.
joelx 8y ago
My blog joelx.com is fun for me and has thirteen years of posts chronicling my transition from employee to founder /CEO of a 130 employee company.

codesternews 8y ago

Bro it's so amazing and unexpected. Great work and creativity.

jefflombardjr 8y ago
Thank you for this. Made my day :)

eppsilon 8y ago

I like the "hello" button. :) The font weight of the body text is almost painfully light though.

mrspeaker 8y ago

"I'm a javascript developer. What did you expect to see here without Javascript enabled?". Instant whitelist!

theandrewbailey 8y ago
I got a completely blank page running Firefox + uMatrix with no scripts running.
- jefflombardjr 8y ago
  https://github.com/jefflombard/jefflombard.com-v4/issues https://github.com/jefflombard/jefflombard.com-v4/issues Sorry, you have to file an issue. Please read the issues guidelines before submitting :) </tongue-in-cheek-humor>

johnsonjpj 8y ago

could you explain how you're implementing the goodreads part of your site? i'd love to add something similar to my portfolio. Thanks!

rebolyte 8y ago
Looks like he's just wrapping the GoodReads RSS feed in his GraphQL server: https://github.com/jefflombard/jefflombard.com-v4/blob/master/schema/resolvers/books.js https://github.com/jefflombard/jefflombard.com-v4/blob/maste...
- jefflombardjr 8y ago
  Exactly!

elhudy 8y ago

As a non-coder it feels like the learning curve for building a website portfolio is super high - even though I am told by coders that it is not. Could anyone lend some guidance on where to start?

sotojuan 8y ago
I mean, if you really want the easy way out, just pay Squarespace or another WSIWYG website builder. That's what a lot of my artist and photographer friends use.
- rchaud 8y ago
  That's what I was going to suggest. If you're a non-coder who needs a portfolio site, you already have a body of work ready to show. Put that up on a Squarespace site with a nice template instead of wasting time going through HTML/CSS video courses to create one from scratch. If you're genuinely interested in building from the ground up, definitely go ahead. But if that's not really your goal, you will almost certainly be disappointed with your first site. HTML/CSS courses don't cover design (typography, element spacing, color palettes), so you'll look at your site, you'll know it's ugly but you won't know why. And you won't want to put it online, thereby wasting even more time. Don't do that. Let your work speak for you, and don't feel embarrassed about using a template. Your audience cares about the quality of your content only, they will be completely oblivious to what is happening behind the scenes.
Hoasi 8y ago
> As a non-coder it feels like the learning curve for building a website portfolio is super high - even though I am told by coders that it is not. It is not high if you don't try to reinvent the wheel. Fortunately, you can build upon generous people's work. Using frameworks is fine unless you end up using things you don't need. There is still a learning curve, of course, because you need to learn where to look for answers. But building a portfolio site is indeed not that complicated. Non-coder here, I started with WordPress, spent a lot of time learning how to code my own theme. Then I ditched it, learned the basics about how Git works, set up a static site using Jekyll, styled it with Tachyons. Then I added a gallery functionality and a few custom tweaks, just looking things up as I went. My site is now way simpler to maintain and faster. What took hours to look up and fix now seems easy. Putting your portfolio site together yourself is time well spent.

blueprint_for 8y ago

What's it like being a developer in the Philadelphia area? That's near my hometown but I have a tough time searching around there.

jefflombardjr 8y ago
It's different, but not bad once you establish yourself... really helps to have a network. Speaking of which.. if you're nearby come join us and say hello! https://www.meetup.com/Functional-Philly/ https://www.meetup.com/Functional-Philly/

bobbydreamer 8y ago

Nice and clean. I like it. There are so many fancy sites and bootstraps but finally in the end, if you have coded it and it can last next 10 years without a major change to the site design and you can focus on adding content to the site. That's a win. I am working on my site http://www.bobbydreamer.com http://www.bobbydreamer.com Got side tracked and built this, a note taking app. https://Stash.bobbydreamer.com https://Stash.bobbydreamer.com It's still in development.

prani10 8y ago

i like the design ., but the small font really annoys me, atleast one size big would be better!

larrywright 8y ago

I love the books page - borrowing that idea.

joelx 8y ago

My blog joelx.com is fun for me and has thirteen years of posts chronicling my transition from employee to founder /CEO of a 130 employee company.