Personal website ideas: 14 pages and projects that make a personal site worth visiting

01 A now page

A single page that says what you are focused on at this point in your life, the thing you would tell a friend you had not seen in a year.

What it says about you

Your priorities, in your own words.

First version

5 to 8 sentences at /now, with the date you last updated it.

Time

An evening.

Hard part

Updating it a few times a year.

The idea is described on nownownow.com, which also keeps a directory of people who have one. It is meant as a snapshot of the big picture, unlike social media updates about this week. Keep the date visible. The extension is a short archive of old versions, so the page becomes a record of how your focus changed.

What I am doing now (updated MONTH YEAR)

- Working on: ...
- Learning: ...
- Reading: ...
- Looking for: ...
- Not doing right now: ...

Visit A now page (nownownow.com) →

02 A uses page

A list of the hardware, software and tools you use every day, with a sentence on why you chose each.

What it says about you

How you work, and what you have opinions about.

First version

20 items in five groups: hardware, apps, desk, reading, services.

Time

An evening.

Hard part

Being honest about what you really use.

The convention is a /uses page, and uses.tech lists hundreds of them, mostly from developers and designers, but also writers, teachers and photographers. Anyone with a setup can write one. The extension is a 'retired' list of things you stopped using and why, which is more interesting than the current list.

Visit A uses page (uses.tech) →

03 A build log or changelog of you

A dated list of small things you shipped, learned or changed, each in one or two lines.

What it says about you

You finish things and notice progress.

First version

10 entries from the last six months.

Time

An evening.

Hard part

Writing entries as you go, not in bulk later.

A changelog is lighter than a blog, because an entry can be one line. Software projects keep them for a reason: they show the direction of travel. Extension: tag entries by project, so each project gets its own filtered view.

04 A year-in-review page

A yearly summary of what you made, read, traveled to and changed your mind about, with numbers where you have them.

What it says about you

You reflect, and you keep records.

First version

One page with six headings: made, read, learned, failed, loved, next.

Time

A weekend, once a year.

Hard part

Remembering the year without notes.

Make it easier by keeping a running note file through the year. Extension: a page per year, linked from a timeline, so visitors can read your history in order.

01 A digital garden

A collection of short, linked notes that you keep improving, instead of dated posts that you publish once and leave.

What it says about you

You think in public and revise.

First version

15 notes, each with a title, a paragraph and links to related notes.

Stack

Markdown files and a static site generator.

Hard part

Publishing notes you consider unfinished.

Mark each note with a status: seedling, growing or settled. That tells visitors how much to trust it and takes the pressure off. Extension: a graph or list of backlinks, showing which notes link to each other.

Build a static personal website from a folder of markdown notes.
User: a visitor reading my notes.
Pages: a home page listing notes by last updated date, one page per note showing its status (seedling, growing, settled), its last-updated date and a list of notes that link to it.
Data: markdown files with front matter for title, status and date; links written as [[note-title]].
Do not build: comments, search, accounts.
Done when: I add a note that links to another and the second note's page lists the first under 'linked from'.

02 A reading log with your ratings

A list of what you read, with a date, a rating and one sentence on what stayed with you.

What it says about you

Your taste, shown by the books themselves.

First version

30 entries from your shelf or memory.

Stack

One list page and a data file.

Hard part

Being specific in the sentence.

A sentence like 'good' is useless. Write what you would tell a friend. Extension: a 'would reread' flag and a yearly summary of your reading.

03 A principles page

A short list of the rules you try to work and live by, each with an example from your own experience.

What it says about you

How you decide when no one is watching.

First version

7 principles, two sentences each.

Stack

One page.

Hard part

Skipping platitudes; every principle needs an example.

People hiring or collaborating with you often learn more from this page than from a CV. Extension: a 'principles I dropped' section, with the story of why.

04 A notes-from-talks page

Your notes on talks, podcasts or lectures you attended, cleaned up so others can use them.

What it says about you

You pay attention and share it.

First version

5 talks with a summary of the main argument and your own reaction.

Stack

One page per talk.

Hard part

Crediting the speaker properly and linking to the source.

Write your own summary; do not copy slides or transcripts. Link to the original. Extension: a tag per topic, so a visitor can read everything you noted on one subject.

01 A project graveyard

A page listing the things you started and stopped, each with a line on what it was and why you quit.

What it says about you

You try things and are honest about it.

First version

8 dead projects with a tombstone card each.

Stack

A list page with cards.

Hard part

Writing why you stopped without blaming anyone.

Abandoned work is common and rarely shown. An honest cause of death, such as 'the idea needed customers and I had none', is useful to the visitor. If the idea is still good, post it on the board so someone else can build it, and link to the post from the tombstone.

02 A 404 page with a joke or a map

A not-found page that is useful and a little funny: a short message, links to your best pages, maybe a small game.

What it says about you

You care about details.

First version

A message, three links and a way home.

Stack

One file your host serves for missing pages.

Hard part

Keeping it helpful, not only clever.

A visitor who lands on 404 is lost. Show them the three pages most people want. Extension: log missing URLs and add redirects for the common ones.

03 A photo of the day or each week

One photo, shown large, with a line on where and why, updated on a rhythm you can keep.

What it says about you

Where you go and what you notice.

First version

12 photos with captions and dates.

Stack

A gallery page, images compressed to a few hundred kilobytes.

Hard part

Keeping the rhythm; choose each week, not every day.

Write the alt text for each image so the page works with a screen reader. Extension: a map that places each photo where you took it.

04 An "ask me about" page

A list of subjects you are happy to be contacted about, with the kind of question that suits each.

What it says about you

Where your knowledge is, and that you are generous with it.

First version

5 topics and an email link for each.

Stack

One page.

Hard part

Not promising time you do not have; say how long you take to reply.

State what you will not do too. That reduces the emails you do not want. Extension: a short FAQ built from questions you have answered more than twice.

05 A "how I built this site" page

A short page that explains the tools, hosting and choices behind your own site, including what you would change.

What it says about you

You can explain your own work.

First version

6 paragraphs: stack, hosting, domain, content, what broke, what is next.

Stack

One page.

Hard part

Keeping it current when you change your setup.

Developers and non-developers both read these. If an AI tool wrote part of the site, say which part. Extension: a public changelog of the site itself.

06 A links page of things you recommend

A hand-picked list of articles, tools and people you send to friends, each with a sentence on why.

What it says about you

Your taste, and who you trust.

First version

20 links in 4 groups.

Stack

A list page.

Hard part

Pruning dead links; check them twice a year.

A good links page is smaller than you think. Cut anything you would not tell a friend about. Extension: a note on when each link was added, so readers see what you recommended and when.