# Kat Wlodarczyk

> Web Developer based in Szczecin, Poland, currently at Steadfast Collective. Creative web developer with a background in both design and code. Writing about web development, design, and the tools she uses day-to-day.

## About

- Role: Web Developer at Steadfast Collective (Jan 2022 - Present)
- Education: BSc (Hons) Digital Design and Web Development, Solent University; The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing, Google Digital Garage
- Awards: Digital Development — British Computer Society (Sep 2022); Project Excellence — Code First Girls (2020)
- Skills: JavaScript, PHP, Statamic, React, Vue 3, AlpineJS, Tailwind CSS, HTML, CSS, Laravel, Node.js, Express.js, MySQL, SQLite, Git, GitHub, Docker, Postman, Figma
- Contact: kat.bar.wlodarczyk@gmail.com
- GitHub: https://github.com/katwlodarczyk
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katwlodarczyk/

## Pages

- [Portfolio](https://katwlodarczyk.com/): experience, skills, education, awards and projects
- [Blog](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog): all posts
- [Blog index (JSON)](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/index.json): machine-readable list of posts
- [RSS feed](https://katwlodarczyk.com/rss.xml)
- [Full text of all posts](https://katwlodarczyk.com/llms-full.txt)

## Projects

- [Just in Case](https://justincase.katwlodarczyk.com/): Free emergency information binder: fill it in on screen, print a PDF, an A5 guide and a wallet card. Polish, English and German, for Poland, the UK and Poles in Germany. Runs fully in the browser: no account, no server, no tracking
- [Saldo](https://saldo-4wi.pages.dev/): Budget PWA that shows how much is safe to spend this month. Vue 3 + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS + Supabase. Multiple bank accounts, savings goals, IKE/IKZE limits and weekly digests
- [Trainer's Notebook](https://zeszyt-trenera.katwlodarczyk.com/welcome): Personal trainer's notebook PWA: client list, logging between sets, PBs and charts. React 19 + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS + Supabase + Dexie. Offline-first with a sync queue, works without an account
- [katwlodarczyk.com](https://katwlodarczyk.com/): My portfolio and blog, readable by people and AI agents. Astro + Tailwind CSS + Alpine.js. llms.txt, Markdown versions of every post, JSON-LD, RSS and a sitemap
- [Haircare Scan](https://haircare-scan.web.app/): PWA ingredients list scanner for haircare products. Vue 3 + Firebase + Tailwind CSS + Tesseract.js. Won British Computer Society award for Digital Development
- [Student Cookbook](https://cookbook-53824.web.app/login): Collection of recipes with step-by-step guide, shopping list and weekly planner. React + Firebase + Tailwind CSS
- [Points of Interest](https://github.com/katwlodarczyk/Points-Of-Interest-web-app): Web app for searching points of interest in a given area. Express.js + Tailwind CSS + JavaScript
- [Interaction Design](https://katwlodarczyk.github.io/interaction-design/): Reusable UI components. React
- [Toggle Switch](https://github.com/katwlodarczyk/toggle-switch-react): Light/Dark toggle switch component. React + Tailwind CSS
- [Introduction to Databases](https://github.com/katwlodarczyk/databases-swd406): Database integration project. Python

## Blog posts

Every post is also available as Markdown by appending `.md` to its URL.

- [Making my site friendly for AI agents](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/making-my-site-ai-friendly.md) (2026-10-20): More and more people find things through AI tools now, so I spent an afternoon making my portfolio easier for them to read. Here's what I added and why.
- [Just in Case: a free emergency binder for your family](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/just-in-case-emergency-binder.md) (2026-10-07): If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know where everything is? I built Just in Case, a free and private emergency binder you fill in on screen and print.
- [Trainer's Notebook: a gym diary that works without signal](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/trainers-notebook-pwa.md) (2026-09-30): Personal trainers still log sessions on paper or in random phone notes. I built Trainer's Notebook, an offline-first PWA for clients, sessions and personal bests.
- [Saldo: the budget app I built to replace my spreadsheet](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/saldo-budget-pwa.md) (2026-08-27): For years my budget lived in a Google Sheet. It worked, until it didn't. So I built Saldo, a little PWA that answers one question: how much can I actually spend?
- [Building a PWA with Vue 3 and Firebase: Lessons from Haircare Scan](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/building-a-pwa-vue3-firebase.md) (2024-09-20): How I built a PWA ingredient scanner using Tesseract.js OCR, Vue 3 Composition API, and Firebase — what worked, what didn't, and what the BCS award meant to me.
- [Statamic vs WordPress: A Developer's Honest Take After 3 Years](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/statamic-vs-wordpress-developer-perspective.md) (2024-06-10): I've built client sites with both platforms professionally. Here's what I genuinely prefer, where each falls short, and how to choose between them for your next project.
- [Getting Started with Alpine.js: Lightweight Interactivity Without the Overhead](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/getting-started-with-alpinejs.md) (2024-03-15): A hands-on introduction to Alpine.js — the minimal JavaScript framework that pairs beautifully with Tailwind CSS for adding interactivity without the complexity of React or Vue.
- [2022: the summary](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/2022-the-summary.md) (2022-12-19): How come it's already the end of the year? 2022 has been one of the busiest years for me — and also one of the greatest. Time for the yearly summary!
- [Third year at uni: the summary](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/third-year-at-uni-the-summary.md) (2022-10-08): Completing my final year of university while working part-time and parenting. Reflecting on the challenges, achievements, and life-changing journey from student to professional web developer.
- [Haircare Scan – Vue3 PWA](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/haircare-scan-vue3-pwa.md) (2022-05-11): Crème de la crème project summarising my three years at university — a final major project built with Vue3, Firebase, and Tesseract.js to help people decode hair care ingredient lists.
- [Student Cookbook – my first React web app](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/student-cookbook-my-first-react-web-app.md) (2022-01-18): Building my first React web app for university: a student recipe and meal planning application with Firebase backend, Tailwind CSS styling, and responsive design. Complete development journey from concept to deployment.
- [My time at Hinge.](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/my-time-at-hinge.md) (2021-12-17): After a year and a half, my journey at Hinge came to an end. I am thankful for the time, the people, the projects, and all the knowledge I gained — and it all started with a tweet.
- [2021: the summary](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/2021-the-summary.md) (2021-12-09): Another year comes to an end. Can you believe this is the third yearly summary on this blog? A year of challenges and milestones — but also a lot of growth.
- [Personal README on GitHub](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/personal-readme-on-github.md) (2021-10-20): Learn how to create a standout personal README on GitHub to showcase your skills, projects, and personality. Step-by-step guide with tips for badges and customization.
- [Second year at uni: the summary](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/second-year-at-uni-the-summary.md) (2021-06-23): Reflecting on my second year of university studying web development, UX design, and research methods. Key projects, achievements, and lessons learned while balancing studies with work and family life.
- [katvonwiesendorf.com redesign](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/katvonwiesendorf-redesign.md) (2021-05-08): Redesigning and redeveloping my 5-year-old photography website from scratch. Transforming katvonwiesendorf.com from a dated blog into a modern portfolio showcase using Figma, Tailwind CSS, and improved WordPress development skills.
- [January reads](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/january-reads.md) (2021-02-10): A little bit late,  but oh well. I have read quite a lot of interesting books, so I thought I’d share. Do we have any book worms present? It’s time for a monthly book club.
- [How to stay motivated in 3 simple steps](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/how-to-stay-motivated-in-3-simple-steps.md) (2021-01-28): Discover three actionable strategies to maintain motivation and focus toward any goal. Learn how to set effective smaller goals, overcome overthinking, and celebrate progress to build lasting momentum.
- [Give me gif, Slack – case study](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/give-me-gif-slack-case-study.md) (2021-01-15): A UX/UI case study exploring how to improve Slack's cumbersome gif access. From research and problem analysis to designing an intuitive gif button solution that reduces search time from minutes to seconds.
- [2020: the summary](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/2020-the-summary.md) (2020-12-18): Another year has gone by and what a year it’s been! Hell of the rollercoaster🎢 ride for most of us, right? As every December, I like to stop for a minute and create a list of things that were awesome, and also some resolutions for the year ahead. It’s really cool to look back in the past and see how we, and everything around has changed…
- [Create a simple toggle switch in React](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/create-a-simple-toggle-switch-in-react.md) (2020-12-04): Dark themes have become really popular in the recent years, and a lot of websites have given their users the ability to choose between light and dark mode. Toggle switch is, in my opinion, the best way to incorporate light/dark mode feature. Today I’m gonna show you how to create a simple, yet effective toggle switch.
- [Huge list of Figma plugins you should know about](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/huge-list-of-figma-plugins-you-should-know-about.md) (2020-11-25): Do you use Figma? If you do, then this list is just for you! Big list of my favourite figma plugins. They will make your work easier, faster and much more enjoyable!
- [October reads](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/october-reads.md) (2020-10-31): My October reading highlights including behavioral psychology, inclusive design, progressive web apps, and NLP techniques. Four impactful books that shaped my understanding of user behavior and web development.
- [My top tips to stay on top of your life and don’t go crazy](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/my-top-tips-to-stay-on-top-of-your-life-and-dont-go-crazy.md) (2020-10-21): Practical strategies for managing a busy life juggling work, university, parenting, and everything in between. Four essential tips to reduce stress and stay organized when life gets overwhelming.
- [Create great websites faster, without writing a single line of CSS](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/create-websites-faster-without-writing-a-single-line-of-css.md) (2020-08-31): Don’t get me wrong, I ♥ CSS, but it can quickly take most of your coding time. The solution? TailwindCSS.
- [First year at uni: the summary](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/first-year-at-uni-the-summary.md) (2020-07-05): With all grades released, that’s the end of my first year of Uni. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions, but I still think it was the best decision I could have ever made. Time for a little summary..
- [Lockdown: for me](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/lockdown-for-me.md) (2020-06-07): Personal reflection on 3.5 months of COVID-19 lockdown - from initial fears and uncertainty to finding productivity as a coping mechanism. A list of accomplishments and lessons learned during extraordinary times.
- [Raspberry Pi scroll bot- soldering, building, coding](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/raspberry-pi-scroll-bot-soldering-building-coding.md) (2020-06-02): My first hardware project: building a Raspberry Pi scroll bot from scratch. Complete journey from soldering components to coding the display, including setup challenges and programming examples.
- [Developer’s library: license-free illustrations](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/developers-library-license-free-illustrations.md) (2020-05-19): A curated collection of my go-to sources for free illustrations. From UnDraw's customizable characters to Blush's diverse styles, discover 6 platforms that offer high-quality, license-free illustrations perfect for your next project.
- [Developer’s library: license-free images](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/developers-library-license-free-images.md) (2020-05-13): Stop spending hours searching for the perfect image. This comprehensive list covers 8 reliable platforms offering high-quality, license-free photos for your web projects - from Unsplash's vast collection to niche sites like Styled Stock.
- [Strengths finder](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/strenghts-finder.md) (2020-04-29): Discovering my personality strengths through the High5 test, a free alternative to Gallup's Strengths Finder. My top 5 strengths revealed and what they mean for personal development.
- [How I got into uni after I thought I never would](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/how-i-got-into-uni.md) (2020-04-15): My journey from 18-year-old dreams deferred to mature student acceptance. After years of believing university was impossible while juggling motherhood, work, and bills, one friend's success sparked hope - proving it's never too late to chase your dreams.
- [How to create a digital portrait in adobe illustrator](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/how-to-create-a-digital-portrait.md) (2020-04-05): A few days ago, while I needed a little break from my database assignment, I created this digital portrait of my daughter, Hannah. Everyone seemed to really like it, so I decided to share my knowledge and create a tutorial on how to do those cool portraits using any photograph. All you need is Adobe Illustrator and a photograph! No skills required and it’s really easy to do! Watch a video tutorial or follow my written instructions below!
- [Learn to code for free](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/learn-to-code-for-free.md) (2020-04-03): Some time ago, during one of our uni lectures, my friends and I were trying to list websites or apps,where you can master your coding skills for free or really cheap.As current lockdown force us to stay indoors (and please do! for everyone’s good ), I thought I will recreate that list and share with you all. After all, when is the better time to learn something new?
- [happy hour talk](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/happy-hour-talk.md) (2020-03-25): When COVID-19 cancelled my first university talk, I decided to record it instead. As an introvert, creating my first presentation video was challenging but rewarding - sharing experiences with fellow students during uncertain times.
- [3 things I’ve learnt during WITW, other than the industry knowledge](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/3-things-ive-learnt-during-witw-other-than-industry-knowledge.md) (2020-02-07): Attending Work In The Web solo taught me more than just tech skills. From discovering I'm less introverted than I thought to realizing everyone deals with imposter syndrome, here are three unexpected personal lessons from stepping outside my comfort zone.
- [Work In The Web 2020](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/work-in-the-web-2020.md) (2020-02-04): My experience at the 3-day Work In The Web workshop in Leeds by Mixd agency. Learning about web development, design principles, and industry practices while networking with fellow students and professionals.
- [Gutenberg.org website redesign](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/gutenberg-org-website-redesign.md) (2020-02-02): A complete UX/UI redesign of Gutenberg.org featuring mobile-first wireframes, user research-driven color schemes, and comprehensive style guides. This academic project showcases the full design process from initial wireframes to final mockups.
- [December reads](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/december-reads.md) (2020-01-02): Another month of some great reads! Due to the Christmas break, I haven’t managed to read as much as in November, but it’s about quality not quantity, right? Ok, let’s get started!
- [2019: the summary](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/2019-the-summary.md) (2019-12-29): The year of 2019 is coming to an end so it’s time for a little recap!
- [November reads](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/november-reads.md) (2019-12-02): My November reading list focused on UX research, design, and prototyping. Six essential books covering user experience fundamentals, research methods, and responsive design principles.
- [Agile Enterprise Hackathon 2019](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/agile-enterprise-hackathon-2019.md) (2019-11-30): Friday, 29th of November 2019 was special for two reasons. Firstly, it was my birthday! Yay for being a year older. Yikes! And secondly, the main point of this post, I attended my first ever hackathon!
- [logo design assignment](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/logo-design-assignment.md) (2019-11-07): Submitting my first major university logo design project - a comprehensive branding assignment including research, design process, and 2000-word report. Late-night creativity sessions resulted in a complete brand identity showcase.
- [5 things I’ve learnt from the ‘show your work’ book](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/5-things-ive-learnt-from-the-show-your-work-book.md) (2019-11-06): Show your work! by Austin Kleon is the book I mentioned in the last post (which you can read here). It’s a nice, easy to read guide, that you can enjoy reading everywhere, due to it’s handy, small format. Here are 5 things I’ve learnt from this publication: Liked this post? Share:
- [show your work!](https://katwlodarczyk.com/blog/show-your-work.md) (2019-11-03): My first blog post introducing myself as a mature student, mother, and aspiring web developer. Inspired by Austin Kleon's book to share my journey in web design and development.