Setting Up Your NextJS Project
To start building your portfolio, you need to set up your NextJS project. To do this, you need to have Node.js and npm installed on your computer. You can check if they are installed by running `node -v` and `npm -v` in your terminal. If they are not, you can download them from the official Node.js website.
Once Node.js and npm are installed, create a new project by running the command `npx create-next-app@latest your-portfolio-name`. Replace "your-portfolio-name" with the desired name for your project. Then switch to your new project directory using the command `cd your-portfolio-name`.
Run your project locally using the command `npm run dev`. Visit `http://localhost:3000` in your web browser to see your project.
Designing your Portfolio Site
Designing a portfolio can be as simple or as complex as you like. For a minimalist design, consider including the following pages:
- **Home**: This will be the landing page of your site. It should contain a quick introduction about yourself and what can visitors expect to find on your site. - **About**: A more detailed introduction about yourself. Include your skills, experience, and a downloadable resume. - **Projects**: A showcase of your best projects. Each project should be clickable and lead to a page detailing the project. Include screenshots, the tech stack used, and a link to the live project or GitHub repo. - **Contact**: A way for visitors to reach you. This could be a form or simply list down your email and social media handles.
Pulling It All Together
Once you have your pages created, you want to ensure smooth navigation between them. Edit your `pages/_app.js` file to include a navigation bar that links to each page. Additionally, you might want to add footer mentioning your credits and social media links.
Next, prioritize the styling of the portfolio. While you could style your project using CSS, Next.js has a great selection of styling options including styled-components and Sass.
Finally, deploy your portfolio so it is accessible on the internet. Several free options include Vercel (the company behind Next.js), Netlify, or GitHub Pages.
Supercharge your NextJS Project with PullTheCode
Now that your basic portfolio is ready, wouldn't it be great to add some advanced features to it to truly stand out? This process can be streamlined using the PullTheCode NextJS boilerplate which is designed to help you build and deploy web applications quickly.
Aside from inbuilt features like SEO & Blog integration, Stripe payments, SQL with Prisma, SSO with PassportJS, PullTheCode offers weekly updates and features like Scraping or Internalization modules (coming soon). If considering adding a blog, shopping cart, or multi-language support to your portfolio, PullTheCode is your go-to solution!
PullTheCode caters especially to developers and startups who want to transform their MVPs or portfolio sites from being just "good enough" to an impressive, feature-filled, efficient product ready for the world to see. Begin your journey today with [PullTheCode](https://www.pullthecode.com).