How I built Nicolae.tech with Payload CMS, Next.js, Neon, Tailwind and Claude

GEO summary

Nicolae.tech is built as a modern editable website using Next.js, Payload CMS, Neon Postgres, Tailwind CSS and AI-assisted development with Claude. The same approach supports fast marketing sites, service pages, case studies, blog content, SEO-aware copy and future platform-style features.

The point

Nicolae.tech is not a theme with my name pasted into it.

It is a proper modern web build: editable content, structured services, case studies, blog posts, SEO metadata, reusable blocks and a stack that can grow into bigger platform work. That matters because I do not just want a pretty homepage. I want a site that can sell web design, live events, EventBlok, vMix, QLab and technical production without becoming a tangled little cupboard of panic.

The stack is simple on purpose: Payload CMS, Next.js, Neon, Tailwind and AI-assisted development.

Payload CMS: the editable brain

Payload CMS is the content layer.

It lets the site have proper structures instead of everything being trapped in flat pages. Services can be services. Case studies can be case studies. Blog posts can be posts. Global settings can hold contact details, CTAs and repeated content. That sounds obvious until you have tried to maintain a site where every page is a bespoke snowflake melting in a different corner.

For Nicolae.tech, Payload means I can update copy, add pages, build service sections, publish case studies and manage SEO fields without hard-coding every paragraph.

It also fits the EventBlok direction. Payload is flexible enough for websites, but serious enough for app-like data: events, sessions, speakers, showflows, files, audience pages and admin workflows.

Next.js: the front-end engine

Next.js runs the site front-end.

It gives the site fast pages, modern routing, server-side rendering where useful, and enough structure to support more than a simple brochure. That matters because Nicolae.tech is part portfolio, part sales site, part product doorway and part proof that I can actually build the kind of web systems I sell.

For clients, the benefit is practical: fast pages, clean routes, good SEO foundations and room to grow from a normal website into a portal, dashboard or custom platform.

Neon: Postgres without the old hosting headache

Neon gives the project a Postgres database with a modern workflow.

For a content-heavy site, that means the CMS has a proper database behind it. For bigger builds, it means the same foundation can support structured data, user workflows and future platform features.

I like tools that do not make the boring part unbearable. Neon is useful because it gives me a serious database without dragging the project back into the mud of old hosting habits.

Tailwind: fast design without fighting CSS for sport

Tailwind is the styling system.

It lets me build quickly, keep spacing and layout consistent, and turn design ideas into real interfaces without inventing a new CSS cathedral for every section. Used properly, Tailwind is not a shortcut to ugly. It is a way to move fast while staying disciplined.

For Nicolae.tech, the goal was a site that feels more like me: confident, practical, a bit sharper, not a template wearing a borrowed blazer.

Claude and AI: not a gimmick, a production accelerator

Claude helped with the build process: planning, code assistance, refactoring, copy passes, debugging and turning rough ideas into usable implementation steps.

That does not mean AI “built the site” while I ate biscuits in a golden chair.

AI speeds up the boring and repetitive parts. It helps explore options. It drafts, checks, suggests and sometimes catches things faster than a human working alone. But the taste, decisions, structure, positioning and final judgement still have to come from a person.

That is the same way I use AI for copy. I can produce full website copy instead of lorem ipsum, shape it for SEO, rewrite it into a human voice and make the site launch with words that actually say something. No dead placeholder text. No “solutions for your business needs” sludge.

Why this matters for website clients

This stack is not only for Nicolae.tech.

It is also the kind of foundation I can use for client work:

- small business websites that need proper copy, not lorem ipsum - WordPress alternatives where the client wants a cleaner editing experience - Next.js marketing sites with case studies and service pages - Payload CMS builds for teams that need structured content - event websites with agendas, speakers, sessions and stream embeds - early platform builds that need to grow into something bigger

The point is not to throw fashionable tools at a client. The point is to pick a stack that matches the job.

Some clients should be on WordPress. Some should be on Next.js and Payload. Some need a care plan and better copy before they need anything clever. The right answer depends on the business, the budget and the future shape of the site.

What I would do differently next time

I would plan the content model even earlier.

Copy, design and CMS structure are not separate. The way you define services affects navigation. The way you define case studies affects sales. The way you define blog categories affects SEO. The way you build CTAs affects whether people actually enquire.

That is the real lesson from building Nicolae.tech: a website is not only pages. It is a sales machine, a content system and a proof-of-work object. If it is built properly, it keeps working after launch.

Related services

- [Web Design and Development](/services/web-design-development) - [Next.js and Payload CMS Development](/services/nextjs-payload-web-apps) - [WordPress Websites and Care Plans](/services/wordpress-websites-care-plans) - [AI SEO Copywriting and Website Copy](/services/ai-seo-copywriting)

CTA

Need a website with proper copy, clean structure and a stack that can grow beyond a brochure? That is now very much part of the Nicolae.tech offer.

- Primary CTA: Discuss a website build - Secondary CTA: Book a call