Get to learn how I built (and rebuilt) my UX design portfolio
I built my first UX portfolio website in 2022. I designed it in Figma and developed it in Webflow. At the time, it was huge milestone. I was proud of it. It looked clean, modern, and futuristic. But looking back, it had many beginner mistakes. The storytelling wasn’t clear, and the case studies lacked depth. It didn’t position me strategically, and unsurprisingly, it didn’t secure me a job.
Because of the high cost of hosting on Webflow, I later transferred it to Google Firebase and connected it to a custom domain. That solved the cost issue, but it introduced another problem. Since I had built it visually in Webflow but hosted it elsewhere as a static site, making changes became difficult. Every small update required extra effort, redesigning it in webflow, grabing the code, linking and uploading to firebase every now and then.
And here’s something I strongly believe: things remain alive only when we maintain them. My portfolio stayed unchanged for months until it felt outdated The website still exists somewhere on the internet — but unmaintained.
For a while, I stayed without an active portfolio, or rather, I kept using that old one. Deep down, I knew I was missing out. I always advocate for building an online presence, yet I wasn’t actively maintaining mine. That contradiction pushed me to rebuild — this time with something more flexible, easier to maintain, and future-proof.
That’s when WordPress came into the picture.
My experience with WordPress
I was already familiar with WordPress from my first job. However, there were still areas I hadn’t fully understood — things like hosting environments, email hosting, nameservers, and cPanel configurations. When I decided to take full ownership of my portfolio project, I realized I still had a lot to learn.
And honestly, that learning process was part of the growth.
Buying my domain
Hostinger has always been my go-to for domain subscriptions. I even used it to buy my first portfolio domain back in 2022. For the second time, I chose a .dev domain because it reflects both my design and development capabilities. I did consider a .design domain, but it was slightly more expensive, longer, and did not clearly communicate what I do, so I chose practicality over preference.
Paying for hosting
I paid for a hosting-only plan on Host Pinnacle. What attracted me most was the unlimited features: unlimited websites, unlimited email accounts, and unlimited bandwidth — all at a friendly price point. After purchasing hosting, I pointed the nameservers from Hostinger (where I bought the domain) to my hosting provider. It was a small technical step, but one that made me feel more confident managing infrastructure.
Installing WordPress and customizing It
Once the hosting was active, I installed WordPress and added a premium theme I found online. Instead of building from scratch like I did with Webflow, I intentionally chose a flexible theme that I could fully customize to fit my vision. This approach allowed me to move faster, work smarter, and build a site that’s both scalable and easy to maintain.
Rather than obsessing over layout perfection, I focused my energy on minimalism, strong storytelling, compelling case studies, and clear positioning — ensuring the website not only looks good, but communicates real value and impact.
Setting up professional email hosting
Unlike before, when I purchased Titan email hosting, this time I decided to use cPanel and Softaculous to set up custom domain emails. I created professional email addresses under my domain and configured mail forwarding to my personal Gmail for easier monitoring and day-to-day management.
At first, I used the default 1 GB disk allocation. Later, I realized I could increase it based on the total disk space allocated by my host, so I upgraded it to 4 GB, which is more than sufficient for my needs.
To make everything feel more polished, I also added a proper email signature to enhance trust and credibility. Small details like this matter more than we think — especially when positioning yourself as a UX professional.
Optimizing for speed and SEO
Speed matters — especially for a portfolio meant to convert visitors into opportunities.
I deleted unnecessary pages, removed unused images, and installed a caching plugin to optimize performance. I also installed Yoast SEO for per-page optimization and connected the site to Google Analytics to monitor traffic sources and behavior.
My goal was simple: build something lightweight, fast, and discoverable.
The day I lost everything.
Towards the end of 2025, I decided to experiment with a subdomain. I wanted to test a client project before launching it live. The client needed a job board website, so I installed a basic theme and the necessary plugins on the subdomain.
On December 4th, 2025, I received a new user signup notification. It felt odd because the website was just a barebones setup under a personal subdomain. I didn’t take it seriously — and that was my mistake.
That user somehow escalated privileges and added themselves as an admin. That loophole allowed them to infect the hosting environment and delete core files. By December 11th, all my websites were gone.
Everything.
The only solution was to request a full reset from my hosting provider. I had to rebuild from scratch.
It was painful — but it was also a lesson in security, backups, and vigilance.
What I learned.
A portfolio is not optional. It is a necessity.
But more importantly, it must be easy to maintain. Choose a low-code development tool that allows you to update quickly, host affordably, and scale without friction. For me, WordPress provided that balance of flexibility, cost-efficiency, and control.
And one more lesson: never ignore suspicious activity on your website. A single oversight can cost you months of work.
Building my portfolio wasn’t just a design project. It was a lesson in infrastructure, ownership, security, and long-term thinking. And in many ways, rebuilding it made me a better UX designer — because I finally understood the full lifecycle of digital products, not just the interface.
If you’re looking for a designer to collaborate with or need help bringing your next product idea to life, feel free to reach me at letstalk@njenga.dev or book a call here!
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