✨ How I Built My Dream Developer Portfolio with a Modern Web Stack
As a developer, I’ve always wanted a personal website that wasn't just a portfolio — but a showcase of performance, design, and clean architecture. After trying different setups, I finally built something I'm proud of using the latest modern tools. Here’s a breakdown of the stack I used and why I chose each part.
Why I Built It This Way
I wanted more than just a static site. I needed something dynamic, scalable, and performant — with full control over content, visual polish, and backend flexibility. That led me to combine Next.js 15, Strapi v5, Apollo/GraphQL, and a cloud-native deployment strategy.
The Tech Stack
🔹 Frontend – Next.js 15 + TypeScript + Vercel
The frontend is built with Next.js 15 (App Router) and TypeScript in strict mode to catch bugs early and enforce type safety. It’s hosted on Vercel, which makes deployment smooth and CI/CD seamless. I also used:
Shadcn UI + Tailwind CSS for building reusable, consistent, and beautiful UI components.
Magic UI for subtle design enhancements.
GSAP, React Lenis, and View Transitions API for smooth, high-performance animations and scroll effects.
🔹 Backend – Strapi v5 + Railway + GraphQL
The backend is powered by Strapi v5, giving me a headless CMS with full control and flexibility. Instead of REST, I used GraphQL with Apollo Client for optimized, efficient data fetching and better performance across the board.
Both the Strapi server and PostgreSQL database are hosted on Railway, which makes cloud deployment effortless and developer-friendly.
🔹 Media, Email, and More
Cloudinary handles all image/media hosting with optimization built-in.
Zoho Mail powers email functionality — especially for contact form submissions and system emails.
Key Features I Focused On
Fully dynamic blog and portfolio pages with CRUD functionality.
Framer Motion & GSAP animations for delightful user experiences.
Apollo + GraphQL for real-time performance benefits.
CI/CD-ready with Docker, both frontend and backend containerized.
Type-safe everywhere, ensuring clean and scalable code.
Final Thoughts
Building this website was a fun challenge. It’s more than just a digital resume — it’s a playground where I tested my favorite tools, optimized performance, and learned a ton.
If you're a developer looking to build something more advanced than a static site, this stack hits the sweet spot of performance, flexibility, and developer joy.