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How I Started My Personal Blog and What I Learned in the First Year

writing Lessons Learned

Starting a personal blog sounds like just another “side project” that never takes off for many developers. That was the case for me for years. This text is my attempt to document how I finally launched my blog — the dilemmas, decisions, and mistakes I went through — and what I learned from writing throughout the year. If you’re thinking about going down that path, this could be your roadmap or at least a nudge to get started.

The Idea and Motivation #

A year ago, I set myself a straightforward yet long-term goal: to practice writing in English. I didn’t want to write random posts without purpose—I wanted each piece to have at least some value, if not for others, then for me personally.

That’s how the idea was born: to write blog posts that document my experience with different projects. I didn’t define the topics upfront; I wanted them to emerge organically over time. The only condition was that the subjects needed to interest me and be related to the work I do.

There was also a secondary goal in the background: to finally finish a personal project outside of work. I set myself a clear framework—one blog post per month for a full year.

Technical Setup #

As often happens with developers, I couldn’t just use an existing blogging platform. The “Not Invented Here” syndrome kicked in—I wanted something custom and tailored to my needs.

I already had a WordPress blog in Serbian hosted on my personal domain. Initially, I planned to add the new content to a subdomain, such as blog.aleksandarsabo.com. However, the more I thought about personal branding and how I wanted to present myself online, the more that plan evolved. I needed a more transparent structure for all the content I wanted to share.

So, I split the content across three separate websites:

What started as a simple task evolved into a small ecosystem of three sites.

For the technical implementation, I chose the static site generator HUGO. Static sites have several advantages that were key for me: writing in Markdown format allows me to focus on content, I can easily automate deployment, and I don’t have to worry about server security.

Of course, there are downsides, like the lack of built-in comment systems and the need to know basic Git—but those were not obstacles for me. In fact, I deliberately avoided comments on the website after my previous experience showed they mostly attracted spam.

For the visual side, I chose Congo, a theme already compatible with HUGO, which helped me get the site up and running quickly. After a weekend of tweaking, the blog was ready for its first posts.

I deployed the site using Cloudflare Pages. Initially, I was torn between Cloudflare and GitHub Pages, but Cloudflare’s additional features (even though I haven’t used them all yet) tipped the scales.

Writing as a Practice #

The biggest challenge of this project wasn’t the tech—it was consistency. I made a promise to myself to write one post per month, and I stuck to it.

At first, I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to write about. Over time, I developed a few rules to guide me:

I don’t want to focus on generic technical explanations or basic how-to posts that are already well-covered online. Instead of reiterating content that others have explained better, I aim to publish writing that offers personal insight, practical reflections, and unique context based on my own experiences.

Instead, I want to write posts based on my personal experience: how I solved a problem, what I learned from a challenge, and how a tool worked in a real-world project. Sharing problems and solutions from actual work is one of the most valuable things a developer can contribute to the community.

With that mindset, the types of posts I write fall into a few categories:

  • personal learnings,
  • real-world walkthroughs (“how I did it”),
  • specific tutorials on topics with little online coverage,
  • reviews of tools or services based on real use.

Who Am I Writing For? #

This is a question I still haven’t fully answered. Most of the time, I write about problems I’ve encountered without a clearly defined audience. But if I want my writing to be more valuable, I need to start writing with a specific reader in mind.

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with the idea of writing for my past self—specifically, the version of me from two years ago. Back then, I had numerous questions and uncertainties that I can now answer with ease. If I can write posts that would have helped that version of me, maybe they’ll help someone else, too.

One Year Later #

Looking back, I achieved more than I expected. True, it took me three months to finally get started, but once I did, I followed through.

I learned how to use Hugo, deploy a static site via Cloudflare, and, most importantly, I wrote eleven blog posts, which makes this the twelfth (look at me being consistent!), and figured out the kind of content I actually enjoy creating.

Plans for the Next Year #

I’m determined to continue. My goals for the next year are simple but meaningful:

  • continue the rhythm of one post per month,
  • explore ways to promote the blog content,
  • and define my target audience more clearly.

I don’t want to force growth. This will remain a personal blog—a public notebook where I experiment with various content formats and share my experiences. However, I’m now doing it with greater clarity, better structure, and specific goals.

Suppose you’re considering starting a similar journey. In that case, I hope my story helps you gain a clearer picture of what that can look like—and how much it can mean, even if you’re writing for yourself.

If you found this text helpful, please let me know — I’d love to hear your thoughts or discover what matters most to you when it comes to blogging.