anasiguer.com
The Opening Line That Changed Everything
"Hi, I'm A.I. (Anas Iguer. Artificial Intelligence? You decide đ )"
Sometimes the universe has a sense of humor. When my parents named me Anas Iguer, they unknowingly created the perfect initials for someone destined to work in artificial intelligence. But turning that coincidence into a compelling digital identity? That required intentional design, clear thinking, and a story worth telling.
This is the story of building anasiguer.comânot just a website, but a digital extension of who I am as a builder, creator, and AI product manager.
The Challenge: Beyond the Digital Business Card
By late 2024, I found myself in a familiar predicament that many builders face: I had experience launching products and building companies, but my digital presence was scattered across platforms I didn't control. My thoughts were trapped in social media posts, my insights buried in comment threads, and my professional story was incomplete.
I needed more than another developer portfolio. I needed a digital home that could:
- Establish my identity as "a builder at heart" who launches products and inspires other creators
- Document the journey of building products, companies, and hopefully "Morocco's first unicorn đŚ"
- Share my philosophy: "build fast, break things, learn fasterâand keep shipping"
- Create a platform for the different types of content I wanted to produce
The challenge wasn't technicalâit was editorial. How do you create a digital presence that feels authentic, provides value, and serves your professional goals without becoming either too corporate or too personal?
The Architecture: Content as Strategy
The breakthrough came when I realized the site's structure should reflect how I actually think and create. Not everything I want to share fits into a traditional blog format, so I designed an architecture around different content types:
Notes: Quick thoughts and personal observations that add personality and relatability to technical content. These capture the informal, conversational side of building.
Blog: In-depth technical insights and tutorials that establish credibility and provide value to other builders. This is where I dive deep into product management, AI, and development practices.
Deep Dives: Comprehensive explorations of complex topics that showcase expertise and depth of knowledge. These are the pieces that take weeks to research and write.
Projects: Case studies and product stories that demonstrate real-world impact and building capabilities. This is where the theory meets practice.
This isn't just organizationâit's editorial strategy. Each content type serves a specific function in building both authority and relationship with readers.
The Technical Foundation: Gatsby as the Engine
I chose Gatsby as the foundation for several strategic reasons:
Performance by Default: Static site generation means content loads instantly anywhere in the world. When you're competing for attention online, every millisecond matters.
Content-First Architecture: The ability to write in Markdown and have it automatically transform into beautiful, SEO-optimized pages. This keeps the focus on ideas rather than formatting.
Scalability: Starting simple but planning for complexityâthe plugin ecosystem means I can add features without rebuilding from scratch.
Developer Experience: Hot reloading, automatic image optimization, and modern tooling mean I can focus on content and strategy rather than build processes.
The technical stack supports the editorial strategy: Gatsby + React for the frontend, GraphQL for content management, and Markdown for writing. Simple, powerful, and focused on what matters.
The Voice: Authentically Me
The most important architectural decision wasn't technicalâit was editorial. How do you sound like yourself while providing value to strangers?
The solution emerged from being genuinely authentic about who I am and what I'm building:
The A.I. Hook: Starting with the wordplay on my initials immediately establishes personality and professional focus. It's memorable, slightly humorous, and uniquely mine.
The Builder Identity: "I'm a builder at heart. I launch products, share the journey, and inspire other creators" establishes my core identity and mission from the first paragraph.
The Ambitious Vision: Stating the goal of building "Morocco's first unicorn đŚ" signals serious ambition while staying grounded in my specific context.
The Philosophy: "Build fast, break things, learn fasterâand keep shipping" becomes my operating mantra, clearly communicated to anyone who visits.
This isn't just personal brandingâit's honest communication about what I do and why I do it.
The Deployment: Simple and Reliable
The site deploys automatically from a GitHub repository to Netlify, providing:
- Continuous deployment: Push code, site updates automatically
- Global CDN: Fast loading times worldwide
- HTTPS by default: Security without configuration
- Form handling: Contact functionality without backend complexity
This infrastructure supports the "build fast, keep shipping" philosophyâI can focus on creating content rather than managing servers.
The Evolution: Continuous Improvement
The site launched with significant enhancements and continues evolving based on usage and data:
Performance Monitoring: Regular optimization ensures fast loading times across all devices, with ongoing improvements based on Core Web Vitals metrics.
SEO Analysis: Continuous refinement of search optimization based on ranking performance and search console data.
Content Analytics: Understanding which content resonates helps inform future editorial decisions and content strategy.
Technical Enhancements: Ongoing improvements to the custom routing logic, analytics integration, and content management systems.
The goal isn't perfection at launchâit's launching with strong fundamentals and continuous improvement based on real usage, performance data, and reader feedback.
The Philosophy: Building in Public
Creating anasiguer.com reinforced my belief in building in publicâsharing not just finished products, but the process, thinking, and journey behind them.
The site itself demonstrates this philosophy:
- Transparent about process: Showing how things are built, not just what's built
- Honest about challenges: Sharing failures and lessons learned alongside successes
- Focused on helping others: Creating content that genuinely helps other builders
- Committed to shipping: Publishing regularly rather than waiting for perfection
This approach builds trust and community around shared values rather than just personal promotion.
The Lesson: Your Platform, Your Rules
Building anasiguer.com taught me that the best personal websites aren't just showcasesâthey're extensions of your thinking and approach to your craft.
The technical decisions matter, but the editorial decisions matter more. What story are you telling? What value are you providing? How are you helping others while advancing your own goals?
For fellow builders considering their digital presence: focus first on what you want to say, then on how you want to say it. The technology should serve the message, not the other way around.
The world needs more builders, more creators, more people willing to share their journey while inspiring others to start their own.
Your move.
Technical Specifications
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Built with | Gatsby.js, React, GraphQL |
| Content | Markdown-driven with organized content types |
| Hosting | Netlify with continuous deployment |
| Design | Minimal, performance-focused, mobile-responsive |
Acknowledgment: Built upon Tania Rascia's excellent Gatsby foundation. While her code wasn't intended as a template, it provided the initial technical structure. I've since implemented comprehensive SEO optimization, redesigned content architecture, performance enhancements, and custom routing logic. The content, voice, and design are my ownârepresenting the best of open source collaboration.