This post has been a long time in the making. I’ve had this domain since 2008. That was the year I launched my freelance business, CSSJockey… quit my 9–5 at Dell… started working from home… gave blogging a shot… and promised myself I’d start sharing what I learn. It’s also the year I discovered how easy it is to not find time for any of that when client projects keep piling up.
Well, new year, new blog, no excuses. Let’s do this.
From PHP to AI: My Tech Stack Evolution
For a long time, PHP was my everything. I made a good living with WordPress and Laravel. Between those two, I didn’t really need anything else. They were reliable, fast to build with, and more than enough to build products, serve clients, and support a fulfilling life. I still love them, by the way. WordPress, especially, gave me more than I could’ve asked for.
Sure, I dabbled with Node.js, VueJs, and React when projects called for it, but they never became part of my daily stack.
That changed when AI started creeping into more and more projects. Clients began asking for smarter tools, scalable apps, things like AI assistants, RAG agents, context-aware chat etc. The usual stack started to feel… rigid. So I leaned into NodeJs and React followed. And before I knew it, I wasn’t just dabbling anymore. Now I mostly build in Node, React, and, more recently, Python. Python’s just plain fun. It makes AI workflows feel like play.
I’ve Been Remote Since Before It Was Cool
Working from home since 2008 taught me a lot, not just the freedom to code in pyjamas, but the importance of staying consistent and always leveling up. I’ve always wanted to share more: workflows and automations that saved me time, mistakes I wish I could undo, little discoveries that made a big difference.
“Sharing best practices” was the tagline when I first launched mohitaneja.com in 2008 to answer tech questions. And even though that phrase feels a little stiff now, the idea still holds. It’s time to stick to that.
So this blog is my reboot. Less polished content, more real-time thoughts. I’ll be sharing what I’m building, what broke, what I learned fixing it, and anything that might help someone else avoid the same trap.
Why WordPress? Still Works, Still Great
Quick note on the stack behind this blog, since I know someone’s wondering: yes, it’s built with Next.js with App Router on the frontend, and yes, I’m still using WordPress as the backend with markdown editor.
Why? Simple. WordPress is still solid, especially when paired with a markdown editor and it doesn’t cost a fortune. I’ve worked with it for over a decade, and it’s helped me (and a lot of my clients) build a great life. Just because the tech scene’s buzzing about headless CMSs and new frameworks every other week doesn’t mean the old tools aren’t worth using and the REST API serves the purpose.
So, WordPress stays. For now.
What You’ll Find Here
Going forward, this blog is going to focus on a few key things:
- AI tools and experiments
- AI prompts I use in my day to day work
- Automation workflows
- Build logs from my own product (coming soon)
- Small takeaways from client work
It won’t be polished. Sometimes it’ll just be screenshots and a few notes. Other times, it’ll be code snippets and hard-won answers. Either way, I’ll try to keep it useful.
Final Thought
I’m doing this to give back. I’ve spent years reading blog posts that saved me hours. If something I write does the same for even one person, that’s my time well spent.
So here’s to building publicly, sharing the messy middle, and finding joy in the work. Let’s go.
