Portfolio Site Renewal with Next.js

Hello, this is Kentaro.

I’m currently in the middle of renewing my portfolio site. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and I finally got around to it over the New Year holidays. Let me share a bit about why I decided to rebuild it.

Why the Renewal?

There are several reasons I decided to start fresh:

1. The Old Site Stopped Working

My previous portfolio was built with GatsbyJS and WP REST API, but keeping it up to date became a nightmare. Packages kept breaking, and eventually, the whole thing just stopped working. I got tired of troubleshooting and decided to move on.

2. Managing Content with Markdown

The old site wasn’t just hard to maintain; I didn’t really like the design either. I also wanted to manage blog posts with Markdown files instead of relying on a CMS or plugins. Having .md files locally feels simpler and more reliable.

3. A Safe and Familiar Setup

I’m used to working with Markdown, and I like how straightforward it is. Plus, having everything local and independent from external platforms gives me peace of mind.

4. A Space to Experiment

I wanted a place where I could play around with coding and design. Something flexible and open-ended to test ideas or try new things without restrictions.

5. Why Next.js?

I considered using AstroJS, which is great for content-heavy sites. But since I might want to build more dynamic features in the future, I figured Next.js would offer more flexibility. (Though, to be honest, I’m still figuring things out.)

A New Space for Sharing

Since I’ve stopped using social media, I wanted this site to become a place where I can share updates, thoughts, and projects. From blog posts to small experiments, this site will be my go-to space for posting and documenting things I’m working on or thinking about.

Having everything centralized here feels more personal and manageable, and I’m looking forward to making this a platform that reflects my work and ideas.

Current Status

I started rebuilding the site over 2–3 days during the holidays, so it’s still very much under construction. The basic structure is there, but there’s a lot of work left to do. I’ll keep tweaking things and adding new features as I go.

If you have any suggestions or feedback, feel free to reach out. Thanks for reading!