Personal experience · LLM and web development
+Building My Portfolio Website with LLMs
+From no-code limitations to working with Cursor and Hermes Agent
+ ++ I needed an up-to-date website for my work and résumé. This case follows my experience working with LLMs on the site: how I explored different tools and changed my process. +
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- FormatPersonal project +
- My roleSet the direction and structure, review the result +
- ToolsCursor, Hermes Agent, HTML/CSS, Figma, Lunacy +
- StatusSite works; content and promotion are next +
A portfolio site I needed
++ I did not have an up-to-date website with my work and résumé. I knew how to build pages by hand with HTML and CSS, and I had spent a lot of time with no-code platforms such as Weebly and Tilda. So I started with a website builder. +
+ +Where the builder fell short
++ I quickly ran into platform limits. Changing the site structure and experimenting with the design across multiple pages was cumbersome. +
+ +The homepage became my first experiment
++ I started looking for another approach. First, I generated a homepage in several LLM-powered services. After a few iterations, I found a version I liked, saved the project, and continued in Cursor, an IDE I was learning at the time. +
+ +A workflow without finished mockups
+I set the structure; the model wrote code
++ When I started working in Cursor, it only had a code assistant. I wrote prompts, the model generated files and code, and I reviewed and approved the result. I planned the page structure myself. +
++ The design came together gradually and is still evolving. I described the style and elements I wanted, looked for references with ready-made code blocks, and combined them with my own decisions. +
+ +I checked the site in the browser
+ ++ I opened the site on a laptop, desktop, tablet, and phone, watched how it behaved, and decided what to refine. Website builders offer previews at different sizes too, but getting from an idea to an edit took more steps. +
++ In Figma and Lunacy, I prepared individual assets: screenshots of apps and websites for case studies, graphics, an avatar, and vector icons. +
+ +A design system for the whole site
++ I started building a design system and shared components early on. That kept the pages consistent and made it easier to update an element in one place. Without it, I would have had to visit each page and change every instance by hand. +
+Git branches for trying different directions
++ Version control and Git branches let me test different directions for the site. I described what I wanted, reviewed the agent's work, and either moved on or asked it to try again. +
+ +Moving to agent-driven development
+Cursor: from code assistant to agent
++ A few weeks after I started working on the site, Cursor added an agent window. I switched fully to the agent and did not return to the classic IDE workflow. +
+ +Hermes Agent: flexibility and cost
++ Later, I began exploring Hermes Agent. It was more flexible to configure and let me connect any LLM provider. There was no subscription for the tool itself, which made development cheaper. When my Cursor quota ran out, I had to wait until the next month. That got in the way of work. +
+ +The working version is ready
++ The site is fully functional. Next, I plan to work on its content and promotion. +
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