Overview

Web Applications Portfolio

Showcasing my web development projects built with modern frameworks like Next.js and React, focusing on responsive design, clean code, and exceptional user experience.

Portfolio Website

A responsive Next.js portfolio website with smooth animations, interactive UI, and an elegant design to showcase professional work and coding projects.

Explore project details

Modern Web Features

Implementation of modern web development features including animations with Framer Motion, responsive design, and component-based architecture.

View feature details

My Web Development Approach

I focus on creating web applications that are not only visually appealing but also functionally robust. My approach emphasizes clean code, component reusability, performance optimization, and thoughtful UX design to deliver exceptional digital experiences.

Technologies I work with:

React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion, JavaScript/TypeScript

Portfolio Website

A deep dive into the development of this portfolio website, showcasing the design decisions, technical implementation, and UX considerations.

Project Overview & Objectives

This portfolio website was designed to showcase professional work and coding projects in an elegant, interactive manner. The primary objectives included:

  • Creating a responsive, modern interface that works across all devices
  • Implementing smooth scrolling and animations for an engaging user experience
  • Building a maintainable component structure for easy updates
  • Optimizing performance for fast loading and smooth interactions
  • Showcasing projects in a visually appealing, organized manner

Key Design Decisions:

  • Fixed sidebar navigation for easy access to all sections
  • Snap scrolling for focused section viewing
  • Animated transitions between sections for visual continuity
  • Consistent color scheme and typography for brand identity
  • Card-based layout for project showcases

Sidebar Component Implementation

Sidebar.js
import { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import Link from "next/link";
import { FaLinkedin, FaEnvelope, FaFilePdf } from "react-icons/fa";
import { useRouter } from "next/router";

export default function Sidebar() {
  const router = useRouter();
  
  // Helper function to determine if a link is active
  const isActive = (href) => {
    // Exact match for homepage
    if (href === "/" && router.pathname === "/") {
      return true;
    }
    // For other pages, check if the pathname starts with the href
    return href !== "/" && router.pathname.startsWith(href);
  };

  const handleLinkClick = (e) => {
    const currentPath = window.location.pathname;
    const clickedPath = e.currentTarget.getAttribute('href');
    
    if (currentPath === clickedPath) {
      e.preventDefault();
      window.scrollTo({
        top: 0,
        behavior: 'smooth'
      });
    }
  };

  return (
    <aside className="fixed left-16 top-16 w-[20%] h-screen flex flex-col items-center px-8 py-6 text-center">
      {/* Header: Name */}
      <header className="w-full">
        <Link href="/" className="block mb-12">
          <div className="sidebar-header">
            <span className="text-3xl font-extrabold tracking-wide block">
              MILTIADIS
            </span>
            <span className="text-3xl font-extrabold tracking-wide block">
              STEFANIDIS
            </span>
          </div>
        </Link>
      </header>

      {/* Main Navigation */}
      <main className="w-full flex flex-col gap-14">
        {/* Navigation sections... */}
      </main>

      {/* Footer: Social Icons */}
      <footer className="w-full mt-16">
        <div className="flex justify-center space-x-4">
          <a href="https://linkedin.com" target="_blank">
            <FaLinkedin />
          </a>
          {/* More social icons... */}
        </div>
      </footer>
    </aside>
  );
}

Modern Web Features

A closer look at the modern web development techniques used in this portfolio

Smooth Animations

The portfolio integrates Framer Motion for fluid, engaging animations that enhance the user experience.

animation-example.js
import { motion } from "framer-motion";

export default function AnimatedComponent() {
  return (
    <motion.div
      initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 20 }}
      animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
      transition={{ duration: 0.5 }}
      className="card"
    >
      <h2>Card Title</h2>
      <p>Card content goes here...</p>
    </motion.div>
  );
}
  • Page transitions with opacity and movement effects
  • Hover animations for interactive elements
  • Scroll-triggered animations for content sections

Responsive Design

Implemented with Tailwind CSS, the portfolio features a fully responsive design that adapts to all device sizes.

responsive-layout.js
<div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-6">
  <div className="bg-white p-6 rounded-lg shadow-md">
    <h3 className="text-lg font-bold mb-2">Card 1</h3>
    <p className="text-gray-600">Content...</p>
  </div>
  
  <div className="bg-white p-6 rounded-lg shadow-md">
    <h3 className="text-lg font-bold mb-2">Card 2</h3>
    <p className="text-gray-600">Content...</p>
  </div>
</div>
Desktop
Tablet
Mobile

Component-Based Architecture

Built with a modular, component-based architecture following React best practices for:

Reusability

Components are reused throughout the site

Maintainability

Changes automatically propagate

Scalability

New features added without affecting existing ones

Technologies Used

A breakdown of the key technologies and tools used to build this portfolio website

Next.js

React framework providing server-side rendering, static site generation, and optimized routing.

  • • File-based routing system
  • • Optimized performance
  • • Server-side rendering capabilities
  • • Built-in API routes

React

JavaScript library for building interactive user interfaces with reusable components.

  • • Component-based architecture
  • • Virtual DOM for performance
  • • Hooks for state management
  • • Context API for shared state

Tailwind CSS

Utility-first CSS framework for rapid UI development with consistent design elements.

  • • Responsive design utilities
  • • Customizable design system
  • • Dark mode support
  • • Performance optimization

Framer Motion

Animation library for React that makes creating smooth, interactive UIs simple.

  • • Declarative animations
  • • Gesture recognition
  • • Spring physics
  • • Variants for orchestrated animations

React Icons

Library providing popular icon packs as React components for easy integration.

  • • Multiple icon sets (Font Awesome, etc.)
  • • Customizable size and colors
  • • Tree-shakable imports
  • • SVG-based for scalability

JavaScript (ES6+)

Modern JavaScript with ES6+ features for clean, functional programming patterns.

  • • Arrow functions
  • • Destructuring
  • • Async/await
  • • Array methods