Challenge
Fresh out of college, I embarked on a personal project to solidify my web development skills and explore advanced techniques. The goal was to create “alexanderharmon.dev,” a website that served as both a portfolio and a platform for learning. This presented several key challenges:
- Advanced Interaction and Animation: I aimed to implement complex animations and interactions within the website’s background, pushing my JavaScript and CSS skills beyond their foundational applications. This required delving into advanced animation techniques, optimizing performance, and ensuring compatibility across different browsers.
- Single-Page Navigation with Persistent Sidebar: I wanted alexanderharmon.dev to be a single page with effortless navigation between sections, while maintaining a persistent sidebar for easy access to various content areas. This involved prioritizing user experience, crafting efficient JavaScript code for smooth scrolling, and crafting responsive design principles to guarantee consistent behavior on a range of screen sizes.
- Building from Scratch: To maximize the learning experience and demonstrate my complete understanding of front-end development, I opted to build the entire website from scratch, forgoing the use of frameworks or pre-existing templates. This demanded a thorough grasp of the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Solution
To tackle these challenges, I implemented the following solutions:
- Custom JavaScript and CSS Animations: I utilized JavaScript and CSS to create visually captivating animations and interactive elements within the website’s background. This involved implementing techniques like CSS transitions, keyframe animations, and JavaScript-driven animations utilizing requestAnimationFrame for optimized performance. The focus was on delivering smooth, visually engaging effects that elevate the user experience of alexanderharmon.dev.
- Single-Page Navigation with Persistent Sidebar: Leveraging JavaScript and CSS, I implemented a single-page navigation system complemented by a fixed sidebar. This involved using JavaScript for crafting smooth scrolling animations triggered by user clicks on navigation links, and CSS for both positioning and styling the persistent sidebar. Responsive design principles were applied to ensure optimal functionality of the sidebar across a variety of screen sizes.
- From-Scratch Development: I constructed alexanderharmon.dev entirely from scratch, relying solely on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This approach allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying technologies and fully utilize my skills to achieve the desired design and functionality.
Result
The implemented solutions culminated in a unique and technically challenging personal website, alexanderharmon.dev, that successfully showcases my skills while serving as a valuable learning experience:
- Demonstration of Advanced Front-End Skills: Alexanderharmon.dev effectively demonstrates my ability to create complex animations, interactions, and a single-page navigation system using JavaScript and CSS. This serves as a powerful portfolio piece, showcasing my proficiency in front-end development.
- Enhanced Learning and Skill Development: Building alexanderharmon.dev from scratch allowed me to significantly deepen my understanding of core web development technologies and explore advanced techniques. This experience significantly enhanced my skillset and prepared me for more complex web development projects moving forward.
- Unique and Engaging User Experience: The combination of smooth animations, clear navigation, and a clean design creates a unique and engaging user experience for visitors to alexanderharmon.dev. This makes the website memorable and effectively showcases my work.