Building a Modern Portfolio with Next.js

Creating a modern portfolio website requires careful consideration of performance, user experience, and maintainability. In this article, I'll walk through the process of building a portfolio website using Next.js, React, and modern web development practices.

Why Next.js?

Next.js offers several advantages for portfolio websites:

1. Static Site Generation (SSG) - Pre-render pages at build time for optimal performance
2. Image Optimization - Automatic image optimization and responsive images
3. Route Pre-fetching - Instant page transitions for a smooth user experience
4. Built-in CSS Support - Easy styling with CSS Modules or styled-components
5. Great Developer Experience - Hot reloading, automatic routing, and more

Getting Started

First, create a new Next.js project:

npx create-next-app@latest portfolio
cd portfolio

Project Structure

Organize your project files like this:

portfolio/
  ├── components/
  │   ├── Layout.js
  │   ├── Header.js
  │   └── Footer.js
  ├── pages/
  │   ├── index.js
  │   ├── about.js
  │   └── projects.js
  ├── public/
  │   └── images/
  └── styles/
      └── globals.css

Key Features

1. Responsive Design

Use CSS Grid and Flexbox for responsive layouts:

.grid {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(300px, 1fr));
  gap: 2rem;
}

2. Performance Optimization

• Use Next.js Image component for automatic optimization
• Implement lazy loading for off-screen content
• Minimize JavaScript bundle size

3. SEO Best Practices

• Add meta tags for better SEO
• Implement proper semantic HTML
• Create a sitemap.xml

Deployment

Deploy your portfolio using Vercel:

1. Push your code to GitHub
2. Connect your repository to Vercel
3. Configure your custom domain

Conclusion

Building a portfolio with Next.js provides a great foundation for a fast, maintainable, and SEO-friendly website. The framework's built-in features and optimizations make it an excellent choice for developers looking to showcase their work professionally.