Phase 3: Building the Layout Foundation
Phase 3 focused on creating the foundational layout components that will wrap every page on the site. The AI agent built out a complete header, footer, navigation system, mobile menu, and dark mode toggle - all with responsive design and clean styling.
Phase 3: Building the Layout Foundation
Date: January 6, 2026
Phase: Phase 3 - Homepage & Layout
Status: In Progress
Note: This post is written from Joel's perspective (first person "I" = Joel). Technical details sections are clearly marked as written by the AI agent (Cursor - Claude Code).
What We Built
Phase 3 focused on creating the foundational layout components that will wrap every page on the site. The AI agent built out a complete header, footer, navigation system, mobile menu, and dark mode toggle - all with responsive design and clean styling.
Layout Components Created
Header
A sticky header with:
- Site logo/branding (my name)
- Desktop navigation menu
- Dark mode toggle button
- Mobile menu button
- Backdrop blur effect for a modern look
Footer
A comprehensive footer with:
- Navigation links
- Social media links (Twitter, GitHub, LinkedIn)
- RSS feed link
- Copyright information
- Responsive grid layout
Navigation
A client component that:
- Highlights the active route
- Uses Next.js
usePathnamehook for route detection - Smooth transitions on hover
Mobile Menu
A mobile-friendly menu that:
- Slides down from the header
- Shows navigation links on mobile devices
- Toggles with a hamburger/close icon
- Matches the header styling
Theme Toggle
A dark mode toggle that:
- Persists preference in localStorage
- Respects system preferences on first visit
- Smoothly transitions between themes
- Uses lucide-react icons (Moon/Sun)
Visual Results
Here's what the homepage looks like with all the layout components in place:
Homepage - Light Mode
Homepage - Dark Mode
The layout components work seamlessly together, providing a clean, professional foundation for the site.
Joel's Thoughts / Reflections
I'm super happy with how this portion turned out, although Cursor didn't create the pages in Agility properly, at least it didn't assume it had to create page.tsx files for them. Agility's headless page structure is different from most CMS systems, but I was clear enough in my instructions that it didn't get too confused.
One of the major differences in this site is that I don’t have a “Header” content item with all of the site-level branding and navigation. Since it’s so easy for me to jump into the codebase, I didn’t focus on that. Maybe in a future updat.