Redesigning my site for different eras of the internet
Overview
This article is a review of some of my site designs, from the first one to the current iteration. For each version, I’ll discuss how it relates to the era of web design when it was created and also how it reflects my growth as a web developer.
Background
I started designing and building websites in the early 2000s. This was an era where eyeball-searing Flash sites were commonplace and no one had ever heard of a design system. Now, I’m working at the start of web 3.0 era. Not only has aesthetics and functionality completely changed, the concept of what a website is has changed as well. While some people might see the need for a personal website as passé (some say sites like Github, Medium, behance do a better job), I will always enjoy the work involved in creating something of my own.
2007: Early Web 2.0 / Maximalism & bad UI
Still easily my favorite version of my website. I remember seeing this scratchy, hand-drawn aesthetic a lot in later-era Flash sites. In the mid-00s era of web design, standardization of UIs was still a little ways off. Web site creators were still using the actual structure of their website to express themselves instead of just the content itself. This homepage has no content and no standard nav, but the design makes the user actively interact with the links.
The footer in this site also brings in content about me from other sources (lastfm & flickr). This is always something I enjoy doing with my sites and will probably implement in later versions of my current site.
2009: Web 2.0 / intro to skeuomorphism
This splash screen really showcases some of the defining elements of the Web 2.0 aesthetic: gradients (both linear and radial), bright colors, rounded corners, and utilizing depth & shadow to create depth. Advances in browser technology made a lot of interesting designs possible.
I’ve never been a great designer … and I think it shows here. I basically threw every Photoshop blending option at this. I like to think this was a stepping stone to a more restrained expression of my style
2010: Late web 2.0 / on trend letterpress
I think when people look back on Web 2.0 and the whole skeuomorphism trend, they forget about the letterpress look. We remember the rounded corners and jelly buttons, but there was a whole other aesthetic that was using new CSS properties like text-shadow
& box-shadow
to make things look OLDER.
My color theory has always been pretty awful. I think this design shows my shift to a very limited palette, which has continued on to my current site
2013: Late Web 2.0 / one pagers, long scrolls and all the CSS3
This made during the era of long scrolls and one-page websites. Because of sites like Facebook & Twitter, we all realized users had no problem scrolling down a single page, so why not just put everything on there? This was also the start of the era of design systems and social media, which condensed a lot of internet usage to a few sites with similar UIs and aesthetics. Great for users, a little unfortunate for creatives.
This site is basically the beta of my current site. The monochrome aesthetic, square corners and flat shadows are all there. This site also featured the color change feature I still use. In developing my current site, I did have it modulate between colors live on page, but it’d ridiculously CPU intensive and would probably make someone sick. So, I kept it to changing on page load. I do like the google font choice though and may bring it back. Also, my first responsive site 📱
2021: Current era / JAM stacks & lighthouse
In the current era, users have an expectation of how a website should look and how it should function. Lots of people have done a lot of work to figure out how to serve those expectations. There is less room for creative expression with a site, which is sort of good. It requires you to stand out based on the content, which really is the most important part. That is also where I have focused most of my mental energy with this version of my site.
From a technical perspective, this site is very 2021. It’s built on Gatsby, it’s very fast, and has good accessibility. Look at that lighthouse score!
I think it’s good that these are the things we focus on now. I started in an era where your personal expression was the most important part of your website. Now, we’re in a user-centric era. That seems only right as they are what’s important, not my cool drawing of blob.
I look forward to see what the next trend is for the internet. I wonder if having a personal website will even still exist in a few years. But Web 3.0 and NFTs show a demand for people to own a little piece of the internet, so maybe having a personal website will be even more popular in the future.