How I developed and deployed my optimized website within a day

The author says the personal website needed updating and that the old version, built in plain HTML and CSS, was no longer working well. After looking at React, Vue, and other tools, the author settled on static site generators, especially Gatsby, for a faster and more optimized build process.

Reading notes

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• The old personal website was built in plain HTML and CSS and needed updating because some parts were no longer working.
• Free HTML templates and website builders were considered, but they were seen as weak on SEO, performance, customization, or speed.
• A static site generator takes source files and content, applies them to a template, and generates static HTML pages ready to view.
• Compared with a dynamic CMS like Wordpress, static site generators avoid database retrieval and page generation on each request.
• Gatsby was chosen for its optimization options and plugin ecosystem.
• Gatsby starters work like templates that can be customized and deployed.
• The author lists the benefits of Gatsby sites as fast load times, security, lower cost through free hosting options, and better SEO.
• The starter project mentioned includes dark mode, high Google Lighthouse ratings, and beginner-friendly code.
• The author notes that a fully featured website and web development mastery still take more than a day.