I ditched React and Tailwind to build my portfolio with Eleventy, Sass, and Vanilla JS

I just rebuilt my personal site from the ground up. I spend most of my time building heavy full-stack apps and AI systems using Next.js, Laravel, and LLM agent workflows. But for my own portfolio, I wanted raw speed and absolute minimalism.

The stack:

• Eleventy (11ty)
• Sass
• Vanilla JS

No heavy frameworks. No utility classes. Just clean, fast, and maintainable code.

If you are curious how an AI Systems Engineer designs their own space without the bloat, check out the live site. I would love to hear feedback from the community on the UI and performance.

Check it out here: javecilla.com

So: Are you still reaching for Next.js for simple static sites and portfolios, or have you shifted back to pure SSGs like Eleventy and Astro? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!