, 3 min read
Hello, world: how this site is built
A short tour of the ideas behind ananthpranav.com: a fast static site, posts written as files, and a build that does the busy work.
Welcome to my home on the web. This is where I share the work I do, the apps I build and notes on what I learn along the way.
For the first post, here's a short tour of how the site is put together, and why.
Static, so it's fast
The site is built with Next.js, and every page is turned into plain HTML before anyone visits. There's no app server waiting to do work when you open a page, so it loads quickly from a content delivery network close to you, and there's very little to go wrong.
| Part | Choice |
|---|---|
| Framework | Next.js and React, as a static site |
| Design | Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui |
| Motion | Plain CSS, plus a 3D scene that loads on scroll |
| Posts | Markdown files with a few interactive extras |
| Delivery | A global content delivery network |
There are no animation libraries. The little motion you see is CSS, and it all stops if your device asks for reduced motion. The 3D diagram on the services page is the one heavy part, so it only downloads when you scroll to it.
Tap through what happens when you open a page, and when I publish a post:
1. Your browser
Asks for a page, for example the blog.
Writing posts
Each post is one Markdown file with a few details at the top:
---
title: My post
description: One line about the post.
date: 2026-10-09
tags: [Notes]
---The build turns it into a page, adds it to the sitemap and the RSS feed, and makes a social preview image for it. A post with a future date waits until its day comes.
Made for people and for AI assistants
Every page ships as plain HTML with structured data, so search engines can read it without running any code. The site also has an llms.txt file, a short plain-text summary that AI assistants can read when someone asks them about my work.
Privacy first
Google Analytics only loads after you say yes in the cookie banner. Ads show only at the end of blog posts, and they're only personalised if you allow it. My email address isn't in the page at all, and the contact form checks you're a person before it sends anything. You can change your cookie choice at any time from the Cookie settings link in the footer, and the privacy policy has the details.
What's next
Native iOS and Android apps for the site are on the way. More on those soon.
Thanks for reading!
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