Most personal websites are over-engineered. I wanted something light, fast, and fun, so I built my own minimal web template that powers my portfolio and weighs only 12.8 KB in total.
Project summary and why it matters
The current problem with many personal websites is the bloat of frameworks, multi-megabyte packages, and single-page applications for a static page with a photo and four links. That seemed unnecessary to me. I was looking for a site that would load instantly even on slow connections, that would work mostly without JavaScript, that would have a terminal aesthetic because I spend a lot of time in a console, and that would use only native HTML and CSS with a little minimal JavaScript.
Introducing lilweb-template by Cod-e-Codes
lilweb-template is an ultra-lightweight template with no frameworks or build steps. Everything lives in a single index.html file with inline styles and scripts. The template features a terminal aesthetic with monospaced typography, green text on a dark background, and a blinking cursor. It includes a small inline configuration object for customization and a script that queries the GitHub API to display repositories and live metrics. Thanks to its minimal size, it achieves perfect Lighthouse scores even on low-end mobile devices and slow 4G connections.
Demonstration on a real site
My own portfolio uses the template and exposes live data from GitHub, a list of open source tools I have created, and includes no frameworks, libraries, or trackers. It is completely static and cacheable and takes up less than 13KB in total, proving that a professional portfolio can be fast without sacrificing functionality.
What happened when I published it on Hacker News
I shared the project on Hacker News as a Show HN and added the repository and a demo on GitHub Pages. The initial results were positive: more than 300 unique visitors to the personal site in 24 hours, an increase in stars and clones of the repository, and traffic to the portfolio from the demo. There are not many forks or deep feedback from other developers yet, but it is a good start for a page with no dependencies.
Why it worked
Because it is authentic, because it solves a real problem of bloated personal sites, because the repository is immediately usable, and because the terminal aesthetic stands out among the usual offerings. Furthermore, the simplicity makes it easy for others to adapt and deploy it without a steep learning curve.
How to use the template
Simple steps: fork the repository on GitHub, customize the index.html file using the included guide, and deploy to GitHub Pages, Netlify, or any static hosting. There is no build step or dependencies to install. Ideal for those who want a fast and easy-to-maintain portfolio.
Next steps
I plan to add simple theming to toggle between light and dark, support for more social links like Mastodon, and guides for others to fork and showcase their versions. If you try it, I would love to see what you build.
About Q2BSTUDIO and how we can help you
Q2BSTUDIO is a software development company specialized in custom applications and custom software. We offer comprehensive services including custom application development, integration and deployment on cloud services AWS and Azure, artificial intelligence solutions, and business intelligence services. We are specialists in cybersecurity and data protection and we design AI agents and AI solutions for companies that improve processes and performance. We also implement dashboards with Power BI and data pipelines to transform information into actionable decisions. If you need to adapt a lightweight template, transform your web presence, develop a custom enterprise solution, or integrate artificial intelligence or cybersecurity capabilities, Q2BSTUDIO can accompany you from design to operation.
Keywords for positioning
custom applications, custom software, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud services AWS and Azure, business intelligence services, AI for companies, AI agents, Power BI
Contact and closing
Thank you for reading. If you are interested in a customized version of the template or in developing custom software with a focus on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and cloud services, get in touch with the Q2BSTUDIO team and tell us about your project. You can also review the public Cod-e-Codes repository to see the template in action and use it as a starting point.
