avo.re

TL;DR

Platform

MDX + modern React framework
Enables structured storytelling with real components, not screenshots.

CMS

No traditional CMS
Fewer abstractions, more intent; content is treated as part of the system.

Hosting

Vercel
Zero-ops deployment, fast iteration, reliable previews.

erova.com

remains my evergreen brochure site
Stable, scannable, changes infrequently.

avo.re

Living system
Writing, case studies, experiments, and iteration.

Context

This site wasn’t built to showcase technical prowess for its own sake.
It was built to support how I think, write, and work — and to stay adaptable as those evolve.

I chose to build avo.re using modern tooling (MDX, component-based architecture, server rendering) rather than defaulting to platforms like WordPress. That decision was intentional, and worth explaining.

Why Not WordPress?

WordPress is powerful, familiar, and battle-tested. It’s also optimized for a very specific set of needs:

Content managed primarily through a visual editor
Plugin-driven extensibility
Long-lived page templates with limited structural variation

None of those were my primary constraints.

What I wanted instead was:

Full control over layout and information hierarchy
The ability to mix narrative writing with live components
A system where structure is explicit, not theme-implied

WordPress can be bent to do this — but that bending becomes the work.

Why MDX?

MDX lets me write in Markdown while embedding React components directly in content.

That unlocks a few important things:

Narrative + artifacts live together
Case studies can include real components, not screenshots.
Structure is intentional
Headings, callouts, metrics, and sections are part of the design system.
Content evolves with the system
Writing, layout, and components change together, under version control.

For someone who designs systems for a living, this feels like the right abstraction level.

Architecture (High Level)

At a high level:

Content lives as .mdx files
Pages are rendered via a modern React framework
Styling is handled via utility-first CSS
Hosting and deployment are handled by Vercel

There’s no admin UI. No plugins. No database.

That’s not minimalism for its own sake — it’s fewer moving parts aligned to actual needs.

avo.re vs erova.com (Two Sites, Two Jobs)

I maintain two sites intentionally:

erova.com

Evergreen, brochure-style
Optimized for quick scanning
Changes infrequently
Designed to be stable and predictable

It answers:
“Who is this person, at a glance?”

avo.re

Living system
Writing, case studies, experiments
Actively evolving
Structure adapts as my work and thinking evolve

It answers:
“How does this person think, work, and make decisions?”

Trying to make one site do both jobs well usually means neither does.

Hosting on Vercel

Vercel made sense because:

Deployments are automatic and atomic
Preview URLs make iteration easy
Performance and caching are handled by default

More importantly, it removes operational distraction.
I don’t want to maintain servers — I want to write, design, and iterate.

Benefits of This Approach

Speed of iteration
Structural changes are straightforward.
Expressiveness
Content isn’t constrained by a CMS schema.
Clear signal
This site reflects curiosity, judgment, and comfort working adjacent to engineering.

Tradeoffs (Real Ones)

This approach isn’t free:

There’s no visual editor
Writing assumes some technical comfort
Simple changes sometimes require touching code

For me, those are acceptable tradeoffs.
For many teams or use cases, they wouldn’t be.

Architecture should match intent.

Why This Matters Professionally

I’m not trying to be a developer.
I am trying to be a design leader who understands systems, constraints, and modern production realities.

Choosing MDX over WordPress isn’t about novelty — it’s about staying fluent in the tools and patterns shaping how products are built today.

That fluency informs better decisions everywhere else.