History of aliciahurst.com

Celebrating 20 years of maintaining my personal domain, here is every design since the beginning. I still occasionally make websites for others.

Jump to year:

‍ ‍ 2006‍ ‍2008‍ ‍ 2009‍ ‍2011‍ ‍2013‍ ‍2014‍ ‍2015‍ ‍2016‍ ‍2018‍ ‍2019‍ ‍2023‍ ‍2025‍ ‍2026‍ ‍

Raw HTML

WordPress

Squarespace

2006 • Raw HTML & CSS

I bought the domain in 2006, my fifth one already and I was barely a legal adult! Before launching anything, I threw up this weird placeholder: a bold black box over a crosshatched background, linking somewhere I’ve long forgotten. All my previous websites were personal and for fun, but aliciahurst.com would become my professional home online.

Black and white graphic with text: "Looking for great design? Click to go there."

2008 • Raw HTML & CSS

The first real version of aliciahurst.com. The chaotic typography combo! The horizontally scrolling frame! Both regrettable and kind of cool at the time.

Screenshot of Alicia Hurst's online portfolio homepage featuring black and white photos, including a horse-drawn carriage, interior decor, and bookshelves.

2009 • Raw HTML & CSS

A period aesthetic that I don’t know how to describe. I was about to graduate college, hadn’t yet designed professionally, and used this site to show off artwork and blog headers.

Alicia Hurst creative portfolio webpage featuring an art assemblage made from wooden parts and printed photographs.

2011 • WordPress

When I started freelancing for a living, I moved back to WordPress. I’d used it since its 2001 debut, when it was still called b2/cafelog. Unfortunately, I also chose clashing graphics and the most questionable font pairing of my life. Looking for great design, I ask? That’s embarrassing!

Webpage homepage for Alicia Hurst offering graphic design services, with the slogan 'Looking for great design? Well, you found it.' in yellow text.
Business cards for web and graphic design services.

2013 • WordPress

Not my strongest era. The palette was muted, the design concept a little overambitious, and the layout was pretty experimental. But I did have a nice all-caps serif and a monogram A logo I liked, good enough to make some stylish business cards using my own photography.

A webpage for Alicia Hurst, a web designer, with navigation links, a green banner about design services, a gray placeholder, a testimonial box, recent work images including typewriter keys and a coastal scene.
Business cards for a web designer named Alicia Hurst, featuring contact information, geometric patterns, and a coffee cup on a wooden desk background.

2014 • WordPress

Before the new design was live, I put up a single-page placeholder accented with marigold. I also designed a business card pattern I liked so much, I borrowed it from a client project and made it my own.

Web designer Alicia Hurst's personal webpage showcasing her bio, work experience, contact information, and links to previous projects.
Business cards for a web designer and developer, featuring contact information and a decorative pattern. The cards display the name Alicia Hurst and various contact details including email and website.
Golden "@h" logo on white background

My website was performing well in organic search, and I was hitting my stride: writing helpful blog posts, educating small business owners, and dialing in the tone. Every page had strong CTAs and testimonials.

Web design and development services webpage highlighting benefits, clients, services, timeline, and location. Includes testimonial quote and contact options.

2015 • WordPress

I only used this design for a few months between major visual identities. Clean, serif-heavy, hand-constructed WordPress theme as ever.

Website showcasing a web designer's portfolio with a laptop displaying a website, a glass of water, a notepad, and a pen on a wooden table. Below, there are custom business cards in a box labeled "Zach West."

This next brand identity was big shift with a contrast between a brushy script and a thin sans-serif, set against a strict vertical split layout. Maybe a nod to my design/dev duality?

Split design webpage with text highlighting 'design + development by Alicia' on the left and a testimonial on the right. The right side features monochrome abstract art with the text: 'Thank you so much for putting together this great website,' attributed to Jeremy W. Navigation options 'About,' 'Work,' and 'Contact' are visible at the top.
Contact page design with text and form fields for new project inquiries. Left side includes email and social media links. Right side features form for name, email, city, state, website, estimated budget, and project description. Background shows a laptop and smartphone.
Business cards for Alicia Hurst, a web designer and developer, featuring a minimalist design with watercolor accents. The cards include contact information like email and social media handle."

2016 • WordPress

By this point, I had become a product manager. The site used a visual identity I’d created in 2015 (more below) and my Home page became less elaborate as I phased out design project highlights.

Minimalist portfolio webpage of a product manager named Alicia Hurst, displaying four professional experiences: PowerToFly, Harvard Law School, Pizzafy, and Fayetteville Connections. Social media icons are present. The layout features clean, white space and organized text with images.

v3

A split image featuring a woman on the left side, smiling, with a laptop displaying code next to another monitor. On the right side, there's a professional profile mentioning Alicia Hurst, a Product Manager at PowerToFly, with links to social media and project thumbnails."

v2

A professional image featuring a person smiling, text stating "Alicia Hurst, Product Manager at Powertofly," and icons for email, Twitter, GitHub, Dribbble, and LinkedIn on a white background. The right side shows a work setup with a laptop displaying code and a monitor.

v1

Workspace with laptop displaying Zoe Baxter's website on health coaching, featuring a salad image, alongside a notebook and pen. Description on the right highlights web design and development services, and the creation of her personal coaching website with improved content.

portfolio page

2018 • Squarespace

After 17 years on WordPress, I switched platforms and left this minimalist placeholder up for a while. Just a quote, a coffee mug stock photo, and some social links.

Homepage placeholder for Alicia Hurst, Product Manager at JW Player, featuring a red-orange coffee mug on a coaster and a quote by Grace Hopper.

2019 • Squarespace

Began my single-page era. I linked to recordings of talks, side projects, and corporate blog posts, plus favorite quotes and photos that felt like a snapshot of me personally.

Website of Alicia Hurst, software product manager, detailing work experience, education, and skills. Includes sections on working, doing, writing, and speaking engagements. Contact link to LinkedIn and images at the bottom.

Two years of variations on a theme: simple, single-page with the same basic info. You probably could’ve learned more from my LinkedIn!

2023 • Squarespace

Professional profile webpage for a product manager named Alicia Hurst. Includes her photo, contact button, self-introduction, and product timeline with experience at Truepic, JW Player, and PowerToFly. Features a cityscape photo and a LinkedIn contact prompt.

v1

Senior product manager bio with timeline and contact section, featuring a profile photo and New York City skyline.

v2

Personal introduction webpage for Alicia Hurst, a senior product manager from Brooklyn, New York. Includes a profile photo, a LinkedIn button, an 'About Me' section, career timeline with roles at Truepic, JW Player, and PowerToFly, and a 'Get in Touch' prompt with a cityscape image.

v3

2025 • Squarespace

It was intimidating to relaunch my site with real content focused on product management, the first time I’ve done so since moving into the role a decade ago. Few product people keep websites, but I missed having a portfolio and blog like I did as a web developer. I wanted to bring a personal side to the design, so I experimented with green (a staple in my wardrobe) and a softer look. I’d been admiring websites that feature geometric sans-serif fonts, modern, friendly designs, and a pop of color, like Jenna Park, Cooper Smith, Fetcher, and Michelle LaCroix.

Screenshot of a personal website homepage belonging to Alicia Hurst, featuring navigation links, a headline about transforming 'meh' into magnificent, a photo of a woman with blonde hair and a gentle smile, and sections about who she helps, recent thoughts, and contact information at the bottom.
Screenshot of a webpage titled 'Resources' by Alicia Hurst, featuring links to various articles, podcasts, books, and tools related to product management and personal productivity, with a small illustration of a plant on the right side.
Screenshot of Alicia Hurst's contact webpage with a contact form, navigation menu, and a cityscape photo of a river and bridge.

I soon revisited the green theme—it felt too muted and botanical for my tech-heavy online presence. Instead I revisited colors and styles from 2023. I first noticed the heading font Degular on BackBIPOC’s site, which was featured in Squarespace’s showcase. It struck the right “tech but approachable” balance I was going for, so I used it here too. I was stuck on layout ideas when I came across Social Impact Capital’s website— which coincidentally uses almost the same blue—and I instantly loved it. I knew I couldn’t (and shouldn’t) recreate it exactly, but I tried to capture that spirit, especially on my homepage.

A webpage showing a header with the name Alicia Hurst, a navigation menu, a large background image of clouds during sunset with overlaid text that reads "Fractional Product Leadership for Sales-Led Startups," and a section of text explaining the services offered, including a drawing of an airplane.
Screenshot of a personal website with the name Alicia Hurst, featuring a menu with links to services, portfolio, blog, about, and a contact button, along with an about section and a photo of a woman with glasses and blonde hair.
The website of Alicia Hurst with a contact form and navigation menu, featuring a blue and white color scheme, showcasing about, contact, services, work, resources, blog, and LinkedIn links.

2026 • Squarespace

I wanted to go back to a SaaS look, and the homepage was too lightweight. So I once again revisited, this time inspired by Fractional Jobs and the Brennan Center’s website.

Screenshot of a website homepage for Alicia Hurst, featuring a prominent headline about a fractional product for B2B startups that need to ship. The page includes navigation links (About, Portfolio, Blog, More), a contact button, an introductory call-to-action button, and a section with icons and text outlining key business values and services related to startup growth and product strategy.
Screenshots of two website headers. The first shows recent blog posts about product work, startups, and SaaS. The second shows a personal portfolio website for Alicia Hurst, a fractional product leader, with their name prominently displayed.
A blog webpage titled "The myth of process in product work" with an image of pink smoke or fireworks on the right side.
Screenshot of a web page titled 'Fractional Product FAQs' from Alicia Hurst's website, with navigation links at the top including Work, FAQs, Resources, Blog, About, and Contact. The page contains an introductory paragraph explaining fractional work and a section titled 'What type of companies do you work with?'.