Web Page Buildout

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rZNEn2hCNZ7nYQkPn9ctQHCp4t4HgrWBi_BMZBldLDM/edit?tab=t.0

Punch list

Design Decisions

Start with just a few sections to get incremental progress.

Don’t want to rely on search bar. Keep it simple

Footers - the thing with footers is you need to scroll to the bottom. Otherwise, the footer info is hidden. 


Gemini Prompts

12/24/24:

That's a great start! A home page, experience page, and blog are excellent foundational elements for a personal branding website, especially for an Observability and DevOps SME. Here are some additional elements and pages you should strongly consider to further enhance your brand:

Essential Pages/Sections:

  • About Me (Expanded): While your home page introduces you, an "About Me" page allows you to delve deeper. This isn't just a resume rehash. Focus on your story, your passion for observability and DevOps, what drives you, and what makes you unique. Include a professional, high-quality headshot.

  • Projects/Portfolio: This is crucial for showcasing your practical skills. Detail specific projects you've worked on, highlighting your contributions and the technologies you used. Quantify your achievements whenever possible (e.g., "Reduced incident response time by 40%," "Automated deployment pipeline, resulting in 20% faster releases"). Consider including:

    • Project descriptions

    • Technologies used

    • Screenshots or demos (if applicable)

    • Links to GitHub repositories (if open source)

  • Skills/Expertise: Clearly list your key skills and areas of expertise. Use keywords relevant to observability and DevOps (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD, Terraform, AWS, Azure, GCP, SRE principles). This helps with search engine optimization (SEO) and makes it easy for potential clients or employers to quickly assess your capabilities.

  • Contact/Hire Me: Make it easy for people to get in touch. Include a contact form, your email address, and potentially links to your LinkedIn profile or other professional networking sites. If you're open to freelance work or consulting, clearly state that here.

Content and Features to Consider:

  • Case Studies: If you have specific examples of how you've helped organizations improve their observability or DevOps practices, turn them into case studies. These are powerful testimonials that demonstrate your value.

  • Testimonials/Recommendations: If you have positive feedback from previous clients, colleagues, or supervisors, feature them prominently on your website.

  • Speaking Engagements/Presentations: If you've given talks or presentations at conferences or meetups, list them here. You can even embed slides or videos if available.

  • Resources/Tools: Consider creating a page with useful resources, tools, or links related to observability and DevOps. This establishes you as a knowledgeable and helpful member of the community.

  • Search Functionality: If you have a lot of content on your blog or website, a search bar will greatly improve user experience.

  • Call to Action (CTA): On every page, have a clear call to action. This could be "Contact Me," "View My Portfolio," "Read My Latest Blog Post," or "Download My Free Guide."

  • Blog Categories/Tags: Organize your blog posts with categories and tags to make it easier for visitors to find relevant content.

  • Newsletter Signup: Offer a newsletter signup to build an email list and keep your audience updated on your latest content and activities.

  • SEO Optimization: Use relevant keywords throughout your website content to improve your search engine rankings.

  • Mobile Responsiveness: Ensure your website is fully responsive and looks good on all devices (desktops, tablets, and smartphones).

  • Fast Loading Speed: Optimize your website's performance to ensure fast loading times. This is important for user experience and SEO.

  • Analytics: Implement website analytics (e.g., Google Analytics) to track your website traffic and understand how visitors are interacting with your content.

For an Observability/DevOps SME Specifically:

  • Focus on practical examples: In your blog and portfolio, prioritize showcasing practical implementations of observability and DevOps principles. Share code snippets, configuration examples, and real-world scenarios.

  • Highlight your expertise in specific tools: If you're proficient in specific tools like Prometheus, Grafana, Kubernetes, or specific cloud platforms, emphasize that.

  • Consider creating demos or tutorials: Short video tutorials or interactive demos can be very effective in showcasing your skills.

By incorporating these additional elements, you'll create a much more compelling and effective personal branding website that showcases your expertise and helps you connect with potential clients, employers, and the wider observability and DevOps community.