Creating this website became an important project for me because it offered the perfect opportunity to showcase my web development skills while creating a personal space where I can reflect my interests and passions. As I brainstormed the content and design, I became inspired to utilize this website as an educational platform to teach others about engineering and how it connects with every part of the STEM field. What started as a personal portfolio evolved into something much more meaningful—a space where I could not only express my enthusiasm for engineering but also inspire others to discover that same passion for themselves.
Going into this project, I knew I needed a solid plan to succeed. For each page, I followed a strategic approach: first creating mockups of the design, then gathering the necessary resources, and finally diving into the programming. While this plan generally served me well, I still encountered unexpected issues and had to make several changes along the way. Looking back, my favorite part of this process was turning unexpected problems into chances to get creative and learn—essentially turning unpredictability into opportunity.
I built this website entirely from scratch using HTML in Visual Studio Code. For styling, I integrated Bootstrap for most of the design elements and visual components. Any custom styling not possible with Bootstrap was then done with additional CSS code that I wrote in VS Code.
Building this site wasn't easy, but the process taught me so much about HTML and CSS, even though I'd already learned quite a bit about them before. It also helped me exercise my adaptability and problem-solving skills. When programming, you have to be ready to pivot and troubleshoot when issues arise, but every obstacle also gives you the chance to experiment and grow. I'd definitely recommend that anyone learning a new programming language should try building a project with it, even if it seems challenging or too complex. Taking on that kind of project is honestly one of the best ways to actually learn how to code, and it teaches you valuable problem-solving skills that go way beyond programming.