portfolio

Integrating a Next.js Portfolio as a Subdomain: A Technical Deep Dive

Jan 3, 2026 - 9 min read

Joaquin Romo

Introduction

As a documentation engineer and technical writer, I needed a way to showcase both my technical writing work and my development projects. I had already built a documentation site using Astro and Starlight at devportals.tech, and I wanted to add my Next.js portfolio site without disrupting the existing architecture.

This post walks through the technical decisions, implementation challenges, and solutions I encountered while integrating these two separate applications into a cohesive experience.

The Challenge: Two Sites, One Domain

I had two distinct applications:

Main documentation site: Built with Astro + Starlight, hosted at devportals.tech
Portfolio site: Built with Next.js, deployed separately on Vercel

The question was: how do I connect these two sites in a way that feels unified to visitors while maintaining deployment independence?

Architecture Decision: Subdomain vs. Subdirectory

I considered three approaches:

Option 1: Separate Domain

Pros: Complete independence, simplest DNS setup
Cons: Weakens brand cohesion, splits SEO authority, requires users to remember two URLs

Option 2: Subdirectory (`devportals.tech/portfolio`)

Pros: Single domain, better for SEO, unified URL structure
Cons: Requires complex proxy/rewrite rules, complicates deployments, potential routing conflicts

Option 3: Subdomain (`portfolio.devportals.tech`)

Pros: Deployment independence, clean separation, simple DNS, maintains brand
Cons: Splits SEO slightly, requires DNS configuration

I chose the subdomain approach because it provided the best balance of deployment flexibility and brand cohesion. Each application can be deployed independently, use different frameworks, and scale separately while still feeling like part of the same ecosystem.

Building a GitHub Contribution Graph with Next.js Server Components

Jan 1, 2026 - 3 min read

Joaquin Romo

When building a portfolio, showing your GitHub activity tells a story about your consistency, the technologies you work with, and how you balance personal and professional projects. In this guide, I walk you through building a production-ready GitHub contribution graph using Next.js 14 Server Components and TypeScript.

Why Server Components?

Unlike client-side rendering, Server Components allow us to fetch data directly on the server, keeping our GitHub API token secure and improving initial page load performance. This is especially important for portfolio sites where first impressions matter.