Building the Webstacks Dev Blog in Under 8 Hours
Friday, March 7th, 2025
The Challenge
Let me start with some context. We'd just wrapped up our yearly engineering kickoff where we introduced Cascade to the team. There was genuine excitement about how this AI pair programming assistant could transform our workflow, but also the natural skepticism that comes with any new tool. You know how engineers are – they want to see real results, not just promises.
That's when it hit me: what better way to demonstrate Cascade's capabilities than to use it for a project we'd been putting off for months? Our team had been talking about creating a dedicated space to share our technical insights, document our learnings, and showcase our development approach. We build complex solutions for clients every day, but we weren't doing a great job of telling our own story.
I kept pushing this blog down our priority list until I finally decided to take matters into my own hands: could we build something meaningful in a single workday using Cascade? This would be the perfect case study to show the team just how far we could take our new AI assistant.
I set myself a challenge – create a fully-functional, visually distinctive dev blog in under 8 hours using our existing tech stack with Cascade as my pair programmer. No designers, no extended planning sessions, just pure execution. This wasn't just about having a blog; it was about proving the efficiency of our tools and processes while creating something that genuinely reflected our team's personality and technical values.
The Vision: Terminal Nostalgia Meets Modern Web
I've always had a soft spot for that retro terminal aesthetic – the monospace fonts, the command prompts, the subtle patterns that remind you of old hardware. There's something authentically "developer" about it that resonates with our team's identity. So rather than going with yet another minimalist developer blog, I decided to lean into this nostalgic direction while keeping things clean and readable.
The creative vision was clear: create a blog that feels like you're reading technical documentation on an old-school terminal, but with all the performance, responsiveness, and accessibility of a modern web application. In my mind, this would be the perfect balance – a design that signals our technical roots while showcasing our modern development practices.
The Four Pillars
For this sprint, I relied on four key technologies that we've come to trust for rapid development:
- Next.js: I've been using Next.js since version 9, and it's become our go-to React framework. The file-based routing, built-in image optimization, and server-side rendering capabilities make it perfect for content-heavy sites like blogs. In this project, it gave us a solid foundation without any configuration headaches.
- Sanity CMS: Content modeling is often where projects get bogged down, but Sanity's flexible schema approach lets us move quickly while still planning for future needs. I particularly love how it handles relationships between content types, which was crucial for features like multiple authors per post.
- Windsurf: Our internal agentic IDE has been a game-changer for our team. It's like having your development environment and your documentation in one place, with AI assistance baked in. For this project, it helped me navigate our existing codebase and quickly implement new components.
- Cascade: Our AI pair programming assistant was my constant companion throughout this build. What I find most valuable about Cascade isn't just code generation – it's the way it helps think through problems and suggests approaches I might not have considered. For a time-boxed project like this, that kind of collaboration was invaluable.
Content First, UI Second
One lesson I've learned repeatedly is that starting with content modeling saves time in the long run. So my first hour was spent entirely in Sanity, defining the schema for our blog posts, authors, and categories.
Here's what our main webstacksDevPost schema looked like:
webstacksDevPosts.ts
typescript
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export default {
name: 'webstacksDevPost',
title: 'Webstacks Dev Post',
type: 'document',
fields: [
{
name: 'title',
title: 'Title',
type: 'string',
validation: Rule => Rule.required()
},
// Other fields omitted for brevity
{
name: 'author',
title: 'Author',
type: 'array',
of: [{ type: 'reference', to: [{ type: 'person' }] }]
},
{
name: 'blogCategories',
title: 'Blog Categories',
type: 'object',
fields: [
{
name: 'blogTopic',
title: 'Blog Topic',
type: 'reference',
to: [{ type: 'blogTopic' }]
},
// Technology and blogTag fields omitted
]
}
]
}I made the deliberate choice to support multiple authors per post – we often collaborate on technical content, and I wanted the blog to reflect that team-based approach. This decision influenced the UI design later, as I needed to create an avatar group component that could handle variable numbers of authors.
For categories, I went with a structured approach using three reference types: blog topics (like "Tutorial" or "Case Study"), technologies (like "React" or "Node.js"), and tags (for more specific classifications). In retrospect, this was probably more rigid than necessary for our initial launch, but I was thinking ahead to how we might want to filter and organize content as the blog grows.
Building the UI
With the content model in place, I turned my attention to the UI. This is where the retro terminal aesthetic really came to life. I started by creating two core components: DevHeader and DevFooter, which would provide the consistent framing for our blog.
For the header, I wanted something that immediately signaled the terminal vibe:
index.tsx
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const DevHeader: React.FC<{ isDark: boolean }> = ({ isDark }) => {
return (
<header className={`w-full ${isDark ? 'bg-gray-900 text-white' : 'bg-white text-gray-900'}`}>
<div className="max-w-screen-xl mx-auto px-4">
<div className="flex justify-between items-center py-4">
<Link href="/dev" className="font-shareTechMono text-xl">
webstacks.dev
</Link>
{/* Navigation omitted */}
</div>
</div>
</header>
);
};I kept it intentionally minimal, using our custom monospace font (font-shareTechMono) to reinforce the terminal feel. One thing I've learned from past projects is that headers often become cluttered over time, so starting with a clean, focused design gives us room to grow.
The most challenging and fun part was designing the blog post listing. I wanted each post to feel like a distinct "card" while maintaining the terminal aesthetic. Here's where I spent the most time iterating:
index.tsx
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<div className="mt-12 space-y-0 lg:mt-12 font-ttFors divide-y divide-dashed divide-gray-300">
{devPosts.map((post: any, index: number) => (
<li key={post._id || index} className="py-10 first:pt-8 list-none">
{/* Categories as chips */}
<div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2 mb-3">
{post.blogCategories?.blogTopic && (
<div className="inline-flex items-center rounded-full border border-gray-300 px-2.5 py-0.5 text-xs font-medium text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 dark:border-gray-700 font-mono">
<span>{post.blogCategories.blogTopic.name}</span>
</div>
)}
{/* Similar elements for technology and blogTag */}
</div>
{/* Post content and author section omitted */}
</li>
))}
</div>I used dashed borders (divide-dashed) to separate posts, which is a subtle nod to ASCII art and old-school terminal interfaces. For categories, I went with pill-shaped chips that have a slight terminal feel while still looking modern and clickable.
The author avatar group was particularly satisfying to implement. I wanted that modern overlapping avatar stack that you see in tools like Figma or GitHub, but with our retro aesthetic:
index.tsx
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<div className="flex -space-x-2 mr-3" style={{ marginRight: '0.75rem' }}>
{post.author && post.author.length > 0 ? (
<>
{post.author.slice(0, 3).map((author: any, i: number) => (
<div
key={author._id || i}
className="relative inline-block h-8 w-8 rounded-full ring-2 ring-white dark:ring-gray-900 overflow-hidden"
style={{ zIndex: 10 - i }}
>
{/* Avatar content omitted */}
</div>
))}
{post.author.length > 3 && (
<div className="relative inline-block h-8 w-8 rounded-full bg-gray-200 dark:bg-gray-700 ring-2 ring-white dark:ring-gray-900 flex items-center justify-center text-xs font-medium text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300">
+{post.author.length - 3}
</div>
)}
</>
) : (
<div className="relative inline-block h-8 w-8 rounded-full bg-gray-200 dark:bg-gray-700 ring-2 ring-white dark:ring-gray-900 flex items-center justify-center text-xs font-medium text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300">
WS
</div>
)}
</div>This is where Cascade really shined – implementing this pattern with all the proper z-indexing, fallbacks for missing images, and accessibility considerations would have taken much longer without AI assistance. I've implemented similar patterns before, but Cascade helped me avoid the usual trial-and-error cycle.
The Knurling Effect
One of my favorite elements of the final design came from a moment of inspiration about halfway through the project. I was looking for a way to add more visual interest to the page without breaking the terminal aesthetic, and I remembered the knurling pattern you see on old hardware – those fine parallel lines that provide grip on knobs and dials.
I quickly implemented this as an SVG pattern at the top and bottom of the content area:
index.tsx
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<div className="w-full h-6 overflow-hidden">
<svg className="h-full w-full" preserveAspectRatio="none">
<defs>
<pattern id="knurl-pattern" width="4" height="4" patternUnits="userSpaceOnUse">
<path d="M 0,4 l 4,-4 M -1,1 l 2,-2 M 3,5 l 2,-2" stroke="rgba(0,0,0,0.1)" strokeWidth="1" />
</pattern>
</defs>
<rect width="100%" height="100%" fill="url(#knurl-pattern)"></rect>
</svg>
</div>This small detail ended up tying the whole design together, creating a contained feel for the content while reinforcing the hardware-inspired aesthetic. It's a good reminder that sometimes the most effective design elements come from unexpected places – in this case, from the physical world rather than digital design trends.
Making Retro Work in a Modern Context
Building a retro-inspired interface wasn't without challenges. Here are a few problems I encountered and how I solved them:
Challenge 1: Responsive Design for Retro Elements
Retro terminal interfaces were never designed to be responsive – they were fixed-width by nature. Making our terminal-inspired design work across device sizes required some creative thinking.
My solution was to be selective about which retro elements appeared on smaller screens. The decorative SVG patterns, for example, are hidden on mobile devices where they would consume valuable screen space. I used Tailwind's responsive variants to handle this:
html
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<div className="absolute -top-24 -right-32 isolate z-0 not-xl:hidden">
{/* Complex SVG pattern */}
</div>The not-xl:hidden class hides this element on all screens smaller than the xl breakpoint. This approach let me maintain the retro feel on larger screens while keeping the mobile experience clean and content-focused.
The Role of AI in Rapid Development
I want to take a moment to reflect on how Cascade, our AI assistant, influenced this project. There's sometimes a perception that using AI means "cheating" or taking shortcuts, but my experience was quite different.
Cascade didn't replace my decision-making or creativity – instead, it accelerated implementation and helped me explore options more quickly. For example, when designing the author avatar group, I described the pattern I wanted (overlapping avatars with a "+X" indicator for additional authors), and Cascade generated an initial implementation that I then refined and integrated into our design system.
What I found most valuable was the way Cascade helped me avoid common pitfalls. When implementing the date formatting, for instance, it pointed out that I was using the wrong field name (publishedAt instead of publishDate), saving me debugging time later.
In total, I estimate that Cascade saved me 2-3 hours of development time, which was significant for an 8-hour project. But more importantly, it allowed me to focus on the creative and strategic aspects of the build rather than getting bogged down in implementation details.
Future Improvements
Given the time constraint, I had to make some pragmatic decisions about what to include in the initial version. Here are a few areas where I took shortcuts and how we might improve them in the future:
1. Search Functionality
The initial version doesn't include search, which is obviously important for a content-rich blog. In the future, we'll implement this using either Sanity's built-in search capabilities or a dedicated service like Algolia. The content model is already structured to support good search results, so this should be a straightforward addition.
2. Category Pages
While we have a robust category system in the content model, we don't yet have dedicated pages for browsing posts by category. This is high on our list for the next iteration, as it will make the blog more navigable as content grows.
3. Search Functionality
Many developer blogs include a newsletter sign-up to build audience engagement. We've left this out of the initial version, but plan to add it in the future, likely integrated with our existing marketing automation tools.
4. Code Syntax Highlighting
As a dev blog, we'll often include code snippets in our posts. The current implementation uses basic formatting, but we plan to add proper syntax highlighting using a library like Prism.js in the next iteration.
Lessons Learned and Takeaways
This rapid build taught me several valuable lessons that I'll carry into future projects:
Start with a Clear Creative Direction
Having a well-defined aesthetic direction from the beginning made decision-making much faster throughout the project. Instead of debating every design choice, I could simply ask, "Does this fit our retro terminal aesthetic?" This clarity of vision is something I'll prioritize in future projects, even when working with a full design team.
2. Content Modeling Pays Dividends
The time invested in thoughtful content modeling at the beginning saved hours of rework later. By thinking through how posts, authors, and categories relate to each other, I created a foundation that can grow with our needs. This reinforced my belief that content structure should drive UI decisions, not the other way around.
3. Embrace Constraints
The 8-hour timeframe forced me to be decisive and focused. Rather than seeing this as a limitation, I found it liberating – it prevented feature creep and kept me concentrated on delivering a functional, visually distinctive blog. I'm considering building similar time constraints into future projects, even when they're not strictly necessary.
4. Balance Innovation and Consistency
While I wanted to create something unique, I also leveraged our existing design system and component patterns where appropriate. This balance of innovation and consistency allowed for rapid development while ensuring the blog still felt like part of our broader digital ecosystem.
5. AI Is a Collaborator, Not a Replacement
Using Cascade reinforced my view that AI is most valuable as a collaborative tool that augments human creativity and decision-making. The most successful aspects of the project came from the interplay between my creative direction and Cascade's implementation assistance.
What's Next for the Webstacks Dev Blog
With the foundation in place, we're excited to start populating the blog with content from our engineering team. We've already identified several topics for our initial posts, focusing on technical challenges we've solved and insights from our development process.
In terms of the platform itself, our next priorities are:
- Implementing search functionality
- Creating category-specific pages
- Adding a newsletter sign-up component
- Enhancing the code snippet experience with syntax highlighting
- Improving analytics to better understand user engagement
We're also planning to open-source some of the components we developed, particularly the knurling pattern generator and the author avatar group, as they might be useful to other developers working on similar projects.
Conclusion
In under 8 hours, we went from concept to a fully functional dev blog with a distinctive retro terminal aesthetic. The blog includes:
- •A responsive, accessible design that works across device sizes
- •A flexible content model that can grow with our needs
- •Multiple author support with a modern avatar group display
- •Category tagging with visually distinctive chips
- •A consistent visual language that balances retro inspiration with modern usability
Beyond the technical achievements, this project demonstrated the efficiency of our development stack and processes. It showed that with the right tools and a clear vision, we can deliver high-quality, visually distinctive web experiences in a fraction of the time traditionally required.
Most importantly, we now have a platform that truly reflects our team's personality and technical values – a space where we can share our knowledge, showcase our work, and contribute to the broader development community. And we did it all without a single meeting.
