From Backend Developer to Content Creator: Building a Personal Blog with Custom CSS

Transitioning from a dedicated .NET backend engineer to creating a publicly accessible website presented a unique and rewarding challenge. My background primarily resides behind the scenes—developing robust systems and infrastructure that operate quietly but reliably. Stepping out of that comfort zone, I decided to build a lightweight, personalized platform to share my insights and showcase some reusable libraries I’ve developed.

For this project, I opted for 11ty (Eleventy), a static site generator renowned for its speed and straightforward setup. This choice allowed me to focus on the creative aspect without getting bogged down by unnecessary complexity.

Throughout the process, I gained valuable experience that expanded my skills beyond traditional backend development—ranging from front-end design nuances to optimizing site performance. It’s been a refreshing change of pace, moving away from the intricacies of memory management, garbage collection, or race condition troubleshooting.

I’m excited to share the final product: the ByteAether Blog. Alongside, I’ve included Lighthouse performance benchmarks to highlight the website’s efficiency.

If you’re interested in web development or curious about static site setups, I hope you find inspiration and insights in my journey. Feel free to explore the site and enjoy the content!