This site leverages Next.js to do static-site generation for better performance. It uses a Jamstack architecture with MDX to provide a more intuitive and richer blogging experience. This was also my first foray into TypeScript for better maintainability over JavaScript, and I used the MUI React component library and style utilities to follow industry best practices for user experience.

This project stemmed from me taking screenshots of the NYTimes crossword app to ask my friend if she knew a 4-letter word that would fit the clue "___ plaisir!" and other such French clues. I thought - what better way to celebrate the diversity of all my friends' unique perspectives? We might not be able to solve a Saturday puzzle by ourselves, but dagnabbit, we could do it together. And thus, the live, collaborative crossword app was born.

I started with a React front-end, and realized I needed better state management so later added Redux. For tracking friends' edits and cursors in real-time, I used the WebSocket API with socket.io. For a quick way to verify one was playing with one's actual friends, I added Google authentication. I also used Firebase's Real-Time Database to persist weekly games and Firebase Cloud Functions to pull the crossword puzzle daily.

Check out my first baby projects!

Some desktop-only sites:

• a landing page for learning Flexbox,
• a sign-up form with form validation,
• an admin dashboard that uses CSS Grid,
• and a personal library using your browser local storage.

And my first responsive designs:

• a rock-paper-scissors game that uses plain Javascript DOM manipulation,
• and a travel journal (with mock destinations) created with React.