How I took 6 years to code a one-page portfolio
Short answer: Lack of motivation.
Beginning my journey
I’ve always been interested in web development and started learning from Codecademy back in 2012. Progress was slow. It was tough doing freelance work in the day and taking online courses at night. By 2015, I eventually had a really basic grasp of HTML, CSS and Javascript before moving over to freeCodeCamp.
Fast forward to 2018
I started to get less freelance work and that’s when I decided to immerse myself in a Udemy course. It was a web developer bootcamp (referral link) program which took up most of my time. The course gave me an end goal and I was motivated to complete it.
I did.
It took me way longer than 43 hours because of all the research and Googling I had to do to solve problems.
After completion, I set myself another goal of designing and building my portfolio site from scratch. It was a real test of my skills and I eventually pushed the first version of my site live: https://melvin-lim.github.io/
Here’s my advice for those who are just starting to learn how to code.
Set a realistic end goal
By doing this, you’re more motivated to continue learning until you hit your objective. In my case, it was completing the Udemy course and then building my portfolio site after.
Google is your friend
I managed to solve a lot of my issues just by Googling. It helps even more if you have friends who code as well.
Don’t be afraid to copy
As I was building my portfolio, I used CodePen.IO a lot to get ideas. I’d take snippets from other people’s code and modify them for my site.
Build it like Lego
If you look at my CodePen profile, you can see the building blocks of my site. I find it easier to code little snippets that make up the foundation of a site before putting them all together.
Where do I go from here?
I’m already compiling a list of features I’d like to see in future versions of my site using ClickUp, a great productivity app that’s free!
By doing this, I set realistic and achievable tasks for myself to complete. I’m also considering taking popular Dribbble shots and bringing them to life.
Follow me on my creative journey :)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melvinlim.design/
Behance: https://www.behance.net/melvinlim
CodePen: https://codepen.io/melvinlim/
Dribbble: https://dribbble.com/melvinlim
