Case study: Shipping rbthompson.dev

https://www.rbthompson.dev/ — personal site on Next.js 15 + Payload CMS + Vercel. Repo: https://github.com/rb-thompson/rb-portfolio

What I did

Own page → CMS → deploy. Content updates without a code deploy for every edit.

What changed

I can ship site copy without opening an editor for every change. Hero and contact stick to what I can show on this page: Pizza Hut after about 4pm ET; building before that; open to remote part-time or contract. No year count. No project count. Older public work labeled older.

What I refused to overbuild

Took “10+ Years shipping” and “20+ Projects built” off as hiring claims — not because they’re false, but because they’re not verifiable here. Prefer a sourced posture over impressive numbers I can’t prove on this page.

Stack

Next.js 15, Payload CMS, Vercel.

Snippet

export const revalidate = 3600 // ISR — CMS write, then wait or redeploy

Proof

• Live: https://www.rbthompson.dev/
• Locked CTA: Building in SW Virginia — open to remote part-time or contract.
• Tiles: SW Virginia / Daytime ET / Pizza Hut + building
• Diagram below — Payload → Neon → live.