We've all been there: wanting to spin up a project—maybe a portfolio, a blog, or a hands-on lab for CI/CD—but dreading the initial setup slog. I recently set out to build my online portfolio, aiming to use it as a real-world IaC and CI/CD practice ground. Kill two birds with one stone, right?
My plan seemed simple:
- Create a portfolio app (fast!) using templates or AI.
- Get it on GitHub.
- Configure the infra.
- Build the CI/CD pipeline.
The catch? I wanted it live quickly. 💥 Spoiler alert: thanks to Vercel and Cursor, I went from zero to a deployed, personalized site in about an hour. Here’s how I did it, the tools I compared, and what I learned along the way.
TL;DR - Key Takeaways 🎯
- Vercel is FAST for Deployment: It dramatically cuts down deployment time, especially for template-based projects using frameworks like Next.js.
- Templates Beat Pure AI (For Now): High-quality, human-designed templates often provide a better starting point for aesthetics and structure than current AI generation tools.
- Cursor Supercharges Refinement: AI code editors like Cursor can significantly speed up content updates by understanding context (like reading your resume!) and suggesting code changes.
- The Killer Combo: Pairing a seamless deployment platform (Vercel) with an AI-powered editor (Cursor) makes for a remarkably efficient workflow.
Table of Contents
- The Initial Goal: Portfolio Meets Practice
- Choosing the Right Launchpad: Vercel vs. The World
- Liftoff! Deploying with Vercel
- Personalization Power-Up: Editing with Cursor
- Bonus Round: AI-Generated Favicon via ChatGPT
- Landed: Portfolio Live and Customized
- The Specific Template I Used
The Initial Goal: Portfolio Meets Practice
My main driver was practical learning in CI/CD and IaC. Building an online portfolio offered the perfect sandbox. It's a tangible project that benefits from automation and proper infrastructure setup.
Choosing the Right Launchpad: Vercel vs. The World
The first hurdle was getting the basic app structure up quickly. I looked into several options, including AI-driven platforms like Replit and Bolt, and template marketplaces like Dora. Then I stumbled upon Vercel.
Initially, I browsed Vercel's templates just for inspiration, but I was quickly impressed by the quality and the ridiculously easy deployment process.
Quick Tool Comparison ⚙️
While AI tools that generate code from descriptions are promising, I found a practical limitation: AI isn't great (yet) at grasping visual appeal or matching my specific aesthetic sense, no matter how detailed the prompt. Selecting from Vercel's contributor templates felt much more efficient.
| Feature | AI Generation Focus (e.g., Replit, Bolt) | Vercel Template Focus | My Pick & Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Creation | Generates code based on text descriptions. | Offers high-quality, curated templates from contributors. | Vercel. Templates gave a better, more aesthetically pleasing starting point for my needs than the AI output I experimented with. |
| Efficiency | Can require significant prompt tuning & refinement for visuals. | Quick visual selection from appealing, pre-built options. | Vercel. Faster to find a template I liked than to iterate with AI prompts to achieve the desired look and feel. |
| Ease of Use | Varies by platform. | Exceptionally clean UI/UX, focused on a simple "Demo" -> "Deploy" workflow. | Vercel. The minimal clicks to deploy felt incredibly intuitive and aligned with my goal of speed. |
Liftoff! Deploying with Vercel
Vercel's process is refreshingly simple: Find a template you like, preview the "Demo," and hit "Deploy". That's it. ⚡️🚀
What Vercel Handles Automatically
Behind that single click, Vercel orchestrates a whole sequence:
- Clones Repo: Copies the template's GitHub repo to your account.
- Builds App: Runs the build process for the codebase.
- Installs Dependencies: Fetches and installs necessary packages.
- Deploys: Pushes the built app to their servers.
- Assigns URL: Makes the app live on the internet via DNS.
- Sets up CI/CD: Configures automatic deployments on pushes to the main branch.
- Integrates Monitoring: Provides options for analytics and performance tracking.
The deployment confirmation page even suggests potential next steps and enhancements. Exploring the dashboard reveals a rich ecosystem of integrations (MANY FREE! 🆓), like Vercel Analytics, which I enabled immediately.
Have you explored Vercel's integrations? Which ones do you find most valuable? Let me know below! 👇
Personalization Power-Up: Editing with Cursor ✏️
Okay, the site was live, but it wasn't mine yet. It had placeholder text and images. Time for customization. Enter Cursor, the AI-assisted code editor.
I fed Cursor my resume and asked it to update the portfolio template's content sections. It parsed the document and intelligently suggested code changes in the right places.
To maintain control and ensure accuracy (and for my own learning!), I used Cursor's diff view. This let me review each AI suggestion side-by-side with the original code, approving or rejecting changes individually before committing. It struck a great balance between AI speed and human oversight. After handling the text, I swapped out the profile picture manually.
Bonus Round: AI-Generated Favicon via ChatGPT 🖼️
One last touch: the favicon. I uploaded my new profile picture to ChatGPT and asked it to generate some favicon options with different styles. Thanks to recent advancements in AI image generation, the results were surprisingly good and gave my site a unique browser tab icon.
Landed: Portfolio Live and Customized 🎉
The result? In roughly one hour—including the time I spent exploring the tools—I had a personalized, deployed web portfolio. Vercel handled the deployment heavy lifting, while Cursor streamlined the content integration.
Check it out 👉🏻: https://jean-magic-portfolio-for-next-js.vercel.app/
The Specific Template I Used
If you're curious, the template I started with is Magic Portfolio (https://magic-portfolio.com/). It's built with Next.js and uses a component library called "once-ui," which offers a modular design that makes tweaking content, layout, and visuals relatively easy. ✨ Definitely worth checking out if you need a quick portfolio base.
I hope sharing this rapid deployment experience is helpful! It shows how combining the right tools can significantly accelerate getting projects off the ground. 🌈
What are your favorite tools for quickly launching web apps? Share your experiences in the comments!
