---
title: "I still like writing websites by hand"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-still-like-writing-websites-by-hand-jxosop61t
source_url: https://chenhuijing.com/blog/i-still-like-writing-websites-by-hand
type: article
source: "Chen Hui Jing"
published: 2026-08-23T12:51:40.385Z
updated: 2026-08-23T13:00:17.132Z
tags: ["css", "ui-design", "astro", "typography"]
reading_time: 5
upvotes: 90
comments: 16
language: en
---

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# I still like writing websites by hand

**[Chen Hui Jing](https://daily.dev/sources/chenhuijing)** · 5 min read · 90 upvotes · 16 comments

## Summary

A web developer shares her process for building a small consultancy website for a friend, covering font and colour choices (Sansation typeface, light-on-dark theme), the Utopia fluid design system, and a CSS-based animated halftone background effect inspired by Ana Tudor's work. She also explains a simple neon glow effect using stacked box-shadows and reflects on still enjoying hand-crafted web design work.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://chenhuijing.com/blog/i-still-like-writing-websites-by-hand>

## Questions this post answers

### How do I create an animated halftone background effect using only CSS?

An animated CSS halftone effect can be made by blending two gradients together, applying a contrast filter, and then adding animation on top of that combination. Ana Tudor documented this technique, achieving the pure CSS halftone look in just three CSS declarations, which can then be layered as a decorative background div positioned behind page content.

_daily.dev surfaces deep-dive CSS effect breakdowns for developers building expressive interfaces._

### How do I create a neon glow effect with CSS box-shadow?

Stack multiple box-shadows on an element, keeping the first shadow or two tight to the box and colored white, then use the outer shadows in your desired highlight color with increasing blur radius for the glow spread. For a light glow, three shadows suffice, for example: box-shadow: 0 0 3px #fff, 0 0 7px #fff, 0 0 14px #51bef8.

_developers polishing UI details can find more CSS effect techniques like this on daily.dev._

### What does the CSS background-repeat: space value do?

background-repeat: space repeats a background image as many times as possible without clipping it, pinning the first and last images to either side of the element and distributing any leftover whitespace evenly between the repeated images. This is useful for decorative background patterns that need to fit cleanly within an element's bounds.

_daily.dev helps developers keep discovering lesser-known CSS properties like this one._

## Community discussion

Top comments from developers on daily.dev.

**@coppnic** · 17 upvotes

> Personally, I always defined making websites as "Handwerk" (Crafts/Handcrafting). You have tools, you get a blueprint, and then you build. Just like a house. Only that a developer or engineer can obviously build the entire house (the website).
>
> Keep on crafting by hand. If not for work, then to solidify your skills :)

**@nicolelozi** · 8 upvotes

> i also like doing it by hand

**@agustinbarrientos** · 5 upvotes

> Nice work, the hand-built page has personality without feeling busy

**@mheob** · 5 upvotes

> It's our craft. And it's always fun to put it into practice.

**@fabooy961** · 5 upvotes

> AI strips away the tinkering part...which was fun...i mean it still is if you shut if of... but you wanna get the tedious shit done....fast...and then there's this agent in your IDE telling you to kill all leftists...crazy...
>
> ![GIF](https://static.klipy.com/ii/4e7bea9f7a3371424e6c16ebc93252fe/d4/19/0N0HAWkMp5jS.gif)

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---

Tags: [#css](https://daily.dev/tags/css), [#ui-design](https://daily.dev/tags/ui-design), [#astro](https://daily.dev/tags/astro), [#typography](https://daily.dev/tags/typography)

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