portfolio (wderocco8) — React Portfolio Template

SHA-256: 73f93bf4fe9ddb69384202141064f1220c088968ed8b4aff64e734fc27944b47

2026-10-12T14:21:37.756Z

[![Netlify Status](https://api.netlify.com/api/v1/badges/ce2b1432-c8f7-432a-a99d-b9dd7882bf8c/deploy-status)](https://app.netlify.com/sites/william-derocco/deploys)

# React Portfolio Template

Welcome to the **React Portfolio Template**! This repository is a template to help you quickly set up and customize your personal website or portfolio. Use this template as a base for showcasing your projects, skills, and experience.

## Getting Started

To get started, you’ll need to follow a few steps to set up and deploy this template on your own. This guide will walk you through the setup process, necessary prerequisites, and instructions for deploying to Netlify.

### Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:
- **A GitHub account**: [Sign up here](https://github.com/) if you don’t have one.
- **A Netlify account**: [Sign up here](https://www.netlify.com/) if you don’t have one.
- **Basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript knowledge**: This template uses a standard React setup (with [Vite](https://vite.dev/)). Deep knowledge of React is not critical, but it will be helpful to have some basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

### Installation

1. **Fork the Repository**
   - Click the "Fork" button on the top right of this repository page to create a copy under your GitHub account.
  
2. **Clone Your Forked Repository (optional)**
   - Clone the forked repository to your local machine to make edits:
     ```bash
     git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/react-portfolio-template.git
     ```

3. **Navigate to the Project Directory (optional)**
   - Enter the directory to access project files:
     ```bash
     cd react-portfolio-template
     ```

4. **Customize Your Portfolio**
   - Open the React files (described below in the [customize code](#customize-the-code) section) in the project to personalize your portfolio.
   - Update the content, links, and any other information specific to your profile.
  
### Project Structure

Here’s a quick overview of the project structure:

```
/react-portfolio-template
├── public/                # Static assets (unchanging files like images, icons, etc.)
│   ├── images/            # (IMPORTANT) Directory with your images (change these)
│   ├── favicon.ico
│   └── vite.svg
├── src/                   # Main source code for the React app
│   ├── assets/            # Media assets like images, fonts, and icons
│   ├── components/        # (IMPORTANT) Reusable UI components (buttons, cards, navbar, etc.)
│   ├── utils/             # Utility functions and custom hooks
│   ├── App.tsx            # (IMPORTANT) Root component that defines the app structure
│   ├── main.tsx           # React entry point, rendering App.tsx
│   └── index.css          # (IMPORTANT) Global CSS styles
├── .eslintrc.js           # ESLint configuration for code linting
├── .env.local             # (IMPORTANT) NEVER stored on GitHub, only on your computer for secret keys...
├── .gitignore             # Git ignore file
├── package.json           # Project dependencies and scripts
├── tsconfig.json          # TypeScript configuration
└── vite.config.ts         # Vite configuration for building the app
```

Within each of these files, there are a comments with `TODO:` tags, explaining where to change their contents. As noted above, the important files/folders that you should look at **first** are:

- **`public/images`**
- **`src/App.tsx`**
- **`src/components`**
- **`src/index.css`**

### Configuration

#### Environment Variables

In order to run the Chatbot successfully, you need to define an API key from OpenAI. In the tech class, Vincent temporarily gave you his, but that will not work after today. If you wish to keep this feature, you can use the [OpenAI API](https://openai.com/index/openai-api/) for more information. In the meantime, you should setup as follows:

1. Right click on the very bottom of the file explorer (below any files or folders)
2. Select `New file...`
3. Call the file `.env.local` (you MUST match this exactly)
4. In the terminal, type `git status`
5. You should not see ANY text like `.env.local`, if you do, ask one of us, or start again from step 1
5. Paste `VITE_OPENAI_API_KEY="[Vincent's temporary API key]"` into the file and save it

#### Running the Code

To run the code, we are using [GitHub Codespaces](https://github.com/features/codespaces) to avoid having to setup VSCode (though we highly recommend VSCode or some alternative for long-term local development). To run the code, do the following:

1. Navigate to your **fork** of [React Portfolio template](https://github.com/wderocco8/react-portfolio-template)
2. Click the green `Code` button
3. Click `+` (Create a codespace on main)
4. Wait for the codespace to load (it can take a few minutes)
5. Open the terminal of your codespace and run these commands
   ```sh
   npm install    # installs all dependencies
   npm run dev    # runs the server locally
   ```
6. Open the link in the browser

### Customize the Code

#### Replace Images

Replace each image withing the `public/images` directory with images that suit you. Be sure to keep the **SAME** filenames of each image, for example, replacing `public/images/actvities/activity1.jpeg` would look something like this:

1. Find and download an image for that activity.
2. Ensure the image is of type `JPEG`, if not convert it locally or using a tool such as [Cloud Convert (JPEG Converter)](https://cloudconvert.com/jpeg-converter).
3. Drag and drop the `JPEG` into the `public/images/activities` folder (you should now have the original `activity1.jpeg` and some `newImage.jpeg`).
4. **Delete** the original `activity1.jpeg` (right-click on the file, then hit delete).
5. **Rename** the `newImage.jpeg` (whatever it is currently called) to `activity1.jpeg`.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each image...

#### Replace Content

Replacing content is *technically* easier, but will involve a bit more work overall. To do so, you should navigate to the `src/App.tsx` file and read through it briefly. You will notice a series of "comments" for each component with the keyword `TODO`. Navigate to whichever file the `TODO` says and follow the instructions in that file. It might seem like a bit of an "Easter-egg hunt", but the result is a highly-organized, composable app, not unlike those that are used on real websites!

### Deployment

Once your portfolio is set up locally, you can deploy it to Netlify.

1. **Login to Netlify**
   - Go to [Netlify](https://www.netlify.com/) and log in to your account.

2. **Create a New Site**
   - Select “Add new site” from the dashboard and choose “Import an existing project.”
   - Select “GitHub” as your deployment method and connect your GitHub account if prompted.

3. **Select Your Repository**
   - Choose your forked repository `react-portfolio-template` from your GitHub account.

4. **Configure Build Settings**
   - Since this is a static site, you won’t need a build command or any advanced configuration.
   - Click “Deploy Site” to start the deployment process.

5. **Publish and Access Your Portfolio**
   - Once the deployment is complete, you’ll get a Netlify domain (e.g., `react-portfolio-template.netlify.app`).
   - **However**, I'd suggest adding a `Site Name` (i.e. `firstname-lastname`) that will be displayed instead of `react-portfolio-template`.

### Making Updates

To update your portfolio in the future:
1. Make changes in your local repository.
2. Commit and push changes to your GitHub repository:
   ```bash
   git add .
   git commit -m "Update portfolio"
   git push origin main
   ```
3. Netlify will automatically redeploy your site when it detects changes to your `main` branch of the repository.

## License
This project is open source and available under the [MIT License](LICENSE).