Building a Website While Rebuilding Myself

Anthony Crisa — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 20:15:29 +0000

When I started building my website, I thought the hardest part would be the technical stuff.

Syntax errors, layout issues, maybe a few bugs here and there. But I quickly realized the real challenge was just getting myself to sit down and start—especially while juggling everything else going on in my life.

I’m self-taught, figuring this out while also trying to put things back together in my life—recovering from a breakup, moving back in with my parents after a tough roommate situation, and sitting squarely in the middle of a career identity crisis. On top of that, I’m managing executive dysfunction, anxiety, and a nervous system that’s been locked in fight-or-flight for years.

My work ethic has always been tangled up with my emotional state. When I’m drowning, I shut down. When I’m hopeful, I overextend. For a long time, I blamed myself for not being consistent. Now I’m starting to realize—this isn’t laziness. It’s survival mode. And survival mode doesn’t leave much room for creative growth.

One of the first big mistakes I made was skipping something I should have known with my background in graphic design: I didn’t fully plan out my website. I had a vague layout in my head and just started building. That led to a lot of reworking, second-guessing, and feeling stuck. In hindsight, a structured visual plan would’ve saved me time and mental bandwidth.

Still, I keep showing up. Progress has been slow, but it’s mine. Every little thing I figure out—no matter how small—feels like reclaiming a part of myself.

This isn’t just about learning to code. It’s about building something during a time when everything else feels like it’s falling apart. And that makes it matter more.

One moment that really stuck with me was when I was trying to make a section of my site “stick” to the top of the screen after scrolling, while letting the rest of the content scroll past it. I overcomplicated it immediately. I thought I needed advanced JavaScript, animations, rewritten HTML, maybe some extra attributes or elements. In reality? Just position: sticky and a few carefully placed CSS properties.

That was it.

Looking back, it feels obvious. But in the moment, I had turned it into a mountain. And I’ve had other moments like that too—especially with JavaScript—where I spiral, overthink, and then finally figure it out.

It reminds me that the hardest part often isn’t the code. It’s the emotional noise around it—the self-doubt, the perfectionism, the fear of not being “good enough.” Sometimes the problem isn’t technical. It’s internal. I’m pretty sure this applies to other things in life other than coding.

And every time I figure something out, even something small, it’s proof I can. That I’m capable. That I’m still learning, still moving forward, even when it feels like I’m not.

I’m not building my site as fast as I thought I would, and I don’t feel like a “real” developer yet. But every line of code I write, every bug I fix, every tiny “aha” moment—that’s progress. That’s me, showing up in the middle of a messy, uncertain season of life and choosing to keep going.

If you’re in that place too—burnt out, overwhelmed, doubting yourself—I just want to say: your progress still counts.

Your effort still matters. Even if it’s slow. Even if it’s chaotic. You’re still building something valuable.

Thanks for reading.

Guide To Testing Your Website Using Automated and Manual Testing

Anthony Crisa — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 17:51:25 +0000

When testing your website that uses static HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript functions, it’s important to use a combination of automated and manual testing to ensure flawless and optimal user experiences.

To break down the testing regiment, here is a 5-step process:

Functional Testing
UI / UX Responsiveness Testing
Performance Testing
Security Testing
SEO & Accessibility Testing

Within each step, it’s good to apply your manual and automated testing toolkit.

Functional Testing (Automated):

For automated functional testing, for any links present on your page, you can use tools like Lighthouse CLI that can help analyze site issues like broken links.

Example:

npm install -g lighthouse
lighthouse https://yourwebsite.com --only-categories=seo

For Manual Testing:
Use the website like you would with any other, testing the navigation, clicking and scrolling around the page. For contact forms, submit incorrect info to verify successful error and message handling, and vice-versa.

UX / UI Testing (Automated):

You can use Cypress to automate basic UI validation across different viewports:

Example:

describe('Portfolio Navigation Test', () => {
  it('should load homepage and navigate correctly', () => {
    cy.visit('https://yourwebsite.com');
    cy.get('nav').should('be.visible');
    cy.get('a[href="/contact"]').click();
    cy.url().should('include', '/contact');
  });

  it('should be responsive on different screen sizes', () => {
    cy.viewport('iphone-6');
    cy.visit('https://yourwebsite.com');
    cy.get('nav').should('be.visible');
  });
});

For Manual Testing:
Test on different screen sizes using Chrome DevTools.
Check fonts, colors and layout consistency while also verifying transitions and animations.

Performance Testing (Automated):

Lighthouse CLI can be used to automatically analyze and generate performance reports.

Example:

lighthouse https://yourwebsite.com --only-categories=performance

For Manual Testing:
You can use Google PageSpeed Insights to check loading times and optimization suggestions. Also make sure to optimize your images. You can convert images to JPG/PNG or WebP to reduce their size.

Security Testing (Automated):

Run a basic security check using OWASP ZAP to scan vulnerabilities in your contact form.

Example:

zap-cli quick-scan -r https://yourwebsite.com

For Manual:
Just ensure you have HTTPS enabled and test your form validation.

SEO & Accessibility (Automated):
Run an accessibility and SEO check with Lighthouse:

lighthouse https://yourwebsite.com --only-categories=accessibility,seo

Other Notes:
-Ensure all images have alt text.
-Verify that metadata (title, descriptions) are correct.
-Manually check readability and contrast for accessibility.

Conclusion

By combining these testing methods, you’ll ensure your website is fast, accessible, and error-free. Your automation tools like Cypress and Lighthouse can streamline repetitive checks. Implementing these practices will enhance user experience while also enhancing your websites visibility and security.

Forem: Anthony Crisa

Building a Website While Rebuilding Myself

Guide To Testing Your Website Using Automated and Manual Testing