When I set out to complete my developer profiles across platforms like GitHub and Dev.to, I realized something was missing: a website that truly represented me.
I wanted a personal site — clean, responsive, and live on a custom domain. It sounded simple at first… especially with AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot by my side.
But here's the truth:
🚧 Building a good website, even with AI help, is not a push-button task.
💻 You still need to understand, debug, design, and deploy.
This is the story of how I did it anyway — and what I learned.
🚀 Why I Decided to Build a Personal Site
I had just finished refreshing my GitHub and Dev.to profiles
I generated a custom avatar, a bio, and started pushing projects to GitHub
I realized a site would tie it all together and give me a place I control to showcase myself
🔧 Choosing the Stack
After trying Notion + Super.so (which I liked but found too expensive), I switched to what I really wanted:
Vite + React — blazing fast setup
Tailwind CSS — for clean, responsive styles
GitHub Pages — for free hosting
Custom domain from Name.com
I installed and ran everything on my MacBook Air with Copilot and ChatGPT as co-pilots (pun intended).
🧠 AI Helps, But You Still Need to Think
Here’s where it got tricky:
Layout issues — Elements weren’t centered, pages were blank at times
Duplicate imports & export errors — App crashed silently until debugged
Deployment errors — Git wouldn’t push until I switched from HTTPS to SSH
Missing images — Logo didn’t show due to misnamed files
GitHub Pages setup — Setting DNS records and waiting for HTTPS to activate
All of these needed step-by-step troubleshooting, guidance from ChatGPT, reading docs, and trying things again and again.
🌐 Deployment and Domain Setup
I bought a domain from Name.com and pointed it to GitHub using A records and a CNAME.
GitHub Pages finally recognized it, and after some DNS waiting time, my site was live — secure and custom-branded.
🧠 What I Learned
AI can assist you — not replace you
Frontend debugging often comes down to very small things (one typo, one misalignment)
Git setup still needs SSH keys or personal access tokens
Custom domains are great for building trust — and yes, GitHub lets you host it for free
✨ What’s Next?
Now that my site is up, I can:
Showcase my projects (like my Habit Tracker App)
Add a blog or “Now” page
Link it to my resume and profiles
And this article? It’s the first in what I hope is a long chain of weekly updates.
💬 Final Thoughts
If you’re building your first site, know this:
It's okay if it doesn't look amazing on day one
It’s better to finish something imperfect but real than to wait forever for “perfect”
Document the process — it becomes part of your journey
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