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Building a Personal Portfolio Website on AWS

Overview

This project showcases my personal portfolio website, built to demonstrate both technical expertise in AWS and strategic leadership in IT management. The site serves as a live example of designing secure, scalable, and business-aligned cloud solutions.

Problem

I wanted a professional platform to centralize my portfolio and projects, but off-the-shelf website builders limited flexibility, branding, and control over security, performance, and scalability. Additionally, I needed a solution that reflected real-world cloud and IT operational practices.

Solution

I designed and deployed the website on an AWS EC2 instance, configured for high availability and scalability. The domain was purchased via GoDaddy, with DNS managed through Route 53 to streamline routing and ensure uptime.

Security and reliability were top priorities:
- Implemented SSL certificates to enforce HTTPS and encrypt traffic.
- Assigned an Elastic IP to prevent connection disruptions during restarts.
- Integrated Amazon CloudWatch for real-time monitoring of system performance.
- Configured SNS notifications to alert me immediately of any potential issues.

This approach ensured the website was production-grade, fully controlled, and aligned with both my technical and personal networking goals.

Result

  • Successfully deployed a secure, scalable portfolio website demonstrating full AWS infrastructure management.
  • Reduced risk of downtime with proactive monitoring and real-time SNS alerts.
  • Presented my technical skills and strategic mindset through a living, interactive portfolio.
  • Gained full control over branding, design, and system configuration, ensuring the site could evolve alongside my career.

Reflection

This project reinforced the importance of aligning technical execution with strategic objectives. By treating my portfolio as a production-grade system rather than a static showcase, I demonstrated leadership in planning, monitoring, and continuous improvement. It also highlights my ability to design IT solutions that are secure, scalable, and business-focused, making the website both a portfolio and a proof-of-concept for my cloud and IT management expertise.

One of the projects I’m most proud of is creating my own professional portfolio website, which I designed not only as a showcase of my work, but also as a strategic solution to demonstrate my cloud engineering and IT management skills in action.

To host the site, I deployed an EC2 instance on AWS, configured for performance, security, and scalability. I purchased the domain through GoDaddy, then redirected DNS management to Route 53, giving me more flexibility and control over routing, uptime, and scalability. To ensure reliability and accessibility, I assigned an Elastic IP, eliminating the risk of disrupted connections when instances are restarted.

Security was a priority from the beginning. I implemented SSL certificates to enable HTTPS traffic, ensuring encrypted communication and building trust for anyone visiting the site. This wasn’t just a technical choice, but a leadership decision—security, trust, and professional credibility are non-negotiable in modern IT.

To ensure the site remains reliable, I integrated Amazon CloudWatch to monitor system performance, uptime, and resource utilization. I also configured Amazon SNS notifications to alert me immediately if there are issues, allowing me to respond proactively before downtime impacts visitors. These steps reflect my belief that monitoring and visibility are as important as deployment.

Benefits of Building My Own Portfolio Site

  • Full control over branding: Hosting and configuring my own site ensures that every design choice communicates my professional identity.
  • Hands-on demonstration of skills: The portfolio itself is proof of my AWS, networking, DNS, and security expertise.
  • Scalability and flexibility: Using AWS enables growth with my career—whether adding projects, deploying new apps, or integrating cloud-native features.
  • Proactive monitoring: With CloudWatch and SNS, I maintain visibility and ensure reliability through automated alerts.
  • Business alignment: I treated the site like a production-grade system, making decisions based on security, sustainability, and ROI.

Key Outcomes

  • Deployed a secure, scalable website on AWS EC2 with full DNS control via Route 53
  • Ensured reliability with Elastic IP, SSL/HTTPS, and proactive monitoring via CloudWatch
  • Configured SNS notifications for real-time alerts to minimize downtime and support availability
  • Demonstrated strategic leadership by aligning technical execution with branding and long-term business goals
  • Created a living showcase of technical and cloud expertise that evolves alongside my career