#011 - How I Built My Blog
After six days, building my blog is done!
It ain't perfect.
But it's done, and that feels good.
Day 1
To get started I used a NextJS + Sanity template repo.
I followed the instructions in the ReadMe.
and by step 10 I had both a content management system (Sanity) and the frontend blog deployed live on Vercel.
Day 2
I coded the homepage UI.
I based the UI off a portfolio site I made last year while applying for jobs.
I had riffed that UI from Simple Scott's personal site.
I probably didn't do him justice, but I tried my best. lol
(Simple Scott > RK Portfolio > v0.1 this project)
Day 3
Then, I got totally stuck on something so simple.
I couldn't get an image to show up in my posts. lol
I was so frustrated, and my energy was depleted.
Here. This is me bummed out during that time.
Day 4
I figured it out!
I got both images and YouTube videos showing up in posts.
Here's the video, docs & code that helped me.
Day 5
I added Tweet embeds to my posts.
My plan is to have a tweet at the end of each post and I'll ask readers to retweet if they'd like to say "Thank you."
Day 6
I added the ability to accept email subscribers via Email Octopus.
I also added a pop-up
to collect emails when a reader tries to exit the page.
I followed Harry's Marketing Examples lead here.
He gets 50% of his emails from his pop up without it, his newsletter is half as big.
So, yeah, I'm doing it.
And that's the build!
Summary of Tutorials
- NextJS + Sanity starter repo
- Sanity + React video tutorials
- Customize Sanity schemas
- Sanity docs
- Simple Scott's website
- NextJS Tutorials
- TailwindCSS
- Email collection via Email Octopus
- Domain via Namecheap
- Hosting via Vercel
Key Learnings
- Find a template to start from.
- Riff off other people's work.
- Stuck? Ask someone, walk away & come back.
- Perfect is the enemy of done.
And if you want to check out the site, here's the link.
Cheers!
