After developing a growing interest in programming through books, online learning, and early Python experiments, I reached a turning point in my learning journey: I needed to build something publicly. Writing code privately had helped me understand the basics, but I knew that publishing a real project would push me to learn version control, file organisation, web development fundamentals, and the confidence to share my work with others.

Creating my first GitHub repository felt both exciting and intimidating. I knew very little about how repositories worked, and I spent hours watching beginner videos on GitHub, version control, and how to publish code through GitHub Pages. Still, I made the decision that the best way to learn was to start.

My First Public Project: A Simple Website Built With HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

I began with a very small goal: create a working website from scratch that included HTML structure, external CSS styling, and a small interactive feature using JavaScript.
I wrote the project in Visual Studio Code, using what I had learned so far about:

• creating clean HTML5 page structure
• linking stylesheets and scripts correctly
• separating content, design, and behaviour
• writing basic JavaScript functions to interact with the page

After a few attempts and some troubleshooting, I built an interactive button that displayed a message when clicked. It was a small feature, but seeing it actually work on a web page I wrote myself was a huge moment of motivation.

Publishing to the World: My First GitHub Repository

Once the project worked locally, I prepared it to be shared. This involved learning how to:

• initialise a Git repository
• commit files and changes
• write a README to introduce the project
• push the code to GitHub
• deploy the site using GitHub Pages

I did not get everything right the first time. I made formatting mistakes, organised files incorrectly, and even broke the button once. But iterating on the code and making fixes helped me understand how real development works — write, test, break, fix, repeat.

You can view the repository here:
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/adam-atkinson/example-website
Live Demo: https://adam-atkinson.github.io/example-website/

Publishing that demo page publicly was the moment it all became real.
For the first time, I could send someone a link and say: I made this.

What I Learned From Going Public With My Code

This project taught me more than just syntax. It helped me understand:

• how code becomes a website that others can access
• the value of writing clear and organised files
• how version control prevents losing work
• how to document projects for others to read
• the confidence boost that comes from sharing something you built

Most importantly, this experience showed me that I can write and publish code — even as a beginner — and that progress is made by building and improving, not waiting for perfection.

Looking Ahead

I plan to continue updating this project as I learn more about web development. My goals include:

• adding a navigation menu
• making the layout responsive
• introducing a dark mode switch
• expanding the project into multiple pages

This was just the starting point, but publishing my first project publicly has motivated me to continue creating, experimenting, and sharing what I learn next.