A note about the site
Built to be small.
This portfolio is self-hosted on modest, repurposed hardware. That constraint encouraged a lightweight approach, but simplicity quickly became part of the design itself.
01 · Why
Use the complexity the problem actually needs.
The site is served from Hearth, my homelab, which is built largely from hardware I already owned. A static portfolio does not need much computing power, and I did not want the implementation to become more complicated simply because more complicated tools were available.
Plain HTML and CSS are enough for what this site needs to do: present information clearly, work across devices, and remain easy for me to understand and maintain.
02 · Construction
Mostly just documents and styles.
There is no frontend framework, build pipeline, webfont dependency, client-side rendering layer, or required JavaScript. Caddy serves the files directly.
Keeping the stack this small means there is very little between editing a page and seeing the result. It also makes the site cheap to serve, quick to load, and straightforward to inspect when something goes wrong.
03 · Design
Quiet enough to let the work speak.
The visual design follows the same philosophy. I wanted something warm, low-noise and comfortable to read rather than a portfolio built around effects, animation, or attention-grabbing interface elements.
The palette is influenced by Everforest, while the content-first restraint owes something to lightweight websites I enjoy, including Low-tech Magazine. The goal was not to imitate either of them, but to carry some of those values into a design that still feels like my own.
04 · Accessibility
Simple should still mean usable.
Lightweight does not mean stripping away useful behaviour. The site supports keyboard navigation, visible focus, skip links, narrow layouts, enlarged text, and reduced motion preferences.
I have also tried to keep the document structure meaningful without relying on the visual layout: real headings, real links, sensible navigation, and a custom error page that actually returns an HTTP 404 response.
05 · Still changing
The site is allowed to grow.
Lightweight is a constraint, not a competition. If an image, script, or new feature makes the site genuinely better, it can earn its place here.
For now, I like that the site is fast for a very ordinary reason: there simply is not much unnecessary stuff to download.