How I Build My Developer Portfolio (Without Burning Out)

I was motivated by a post on Dev.to to prepare this post, where it was a challenge to find a hidden page in someone's portfolio.

Let’s be real — building a dev portfolio sounds exciting… until you open your IDE, stare at an empty repo, and get hit with imposter syndrome.

Here’s exactly how I do it — and how you can too.

🧭 Week 1: Planning > Coding
I need to know and only after write code:

1. What kind of work do I want to get hired for?
2. What tech stack do I enjoy working with?
3. Who’s my target audience: recruiters, founders, or other devs?

These questions help to tailor my portfolio to the field, company or my dream position.

Then I picked 3 project ideas that would reflect the kind of developer I am and want to be:

1. A real-world CRUD app with user auth
2. A fun frontend UI clone (Here I always select specifically Spotify)
3. A public API integration project (weather, GitHub, etc.)

🛠️ Week 2: Build Smart, Not Big
Do not polish it, you will burn out. You're an artist here, take your time.

✅ No over-engineering
✅ No perfectionism
✅ No scope creep

Why? You also evaluate the company you're applying to. Leave a couple of mistakes/errors/hints just to understand whether they will be found or not.

🌐 Week 3: The Portfolio Site
By this point, I have 2–3 projects ready to show off. Time to build the portfolio site.

What I include, typically:

• About Me (keep it short, human)
• Projects (screenshots + live links)
• Contact (simple form or email)

🚀 Week 4: Polish & Publish
This week was all about fixing bugs.

💡 Final Thoughts
You don’t need 6 months and 10 projects to build a great portfolio.
You need clarity, consistency, and a deadline.

If you're a junior or mid-level dev struggling to get noticed, start small. Build 2–3 solid things, present them well, and hit publish.

Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments; I would be happy to answer/discuss!