Cher Ami Boat Restoration Journal
Cher Ami is a bespoke website developed to serve as both a narrative hub and technical showcase for an ongoing restoration project. Rather than relying on page builders or external SaaS form platforms, the site was architected with a custom frontend and a unified PHP backend to maintain full control over performance, styling, and long-term scalability.
The interface follows a deliberate HUD-inspired design language, utilizing structured panels, motion cues, and clean typography to create a cohesive visual identity that aligns with the project’s story and technical tone. Special attention was given to interaction design, ensuring smooth, non-disruptive form submissions using AJAX so users remain on-page with real-time status feedback.
On the backend, a custom mail handling system was implemented to support multiple forms (FAQ, contact, services, and inquiries) through a single endpoint. This includes multipart HTML email formatting, branded confirmation emails, honeypot spam protection, and rate limiting — all designed to function reliably on standard shared hosting without recurring third-party costs.
The result is a performance-focused, visually distinctive, and fully self-contained web experience that reflects a commitment to craftsmanship, technical integrity, and long-term maintainability..
What I built
Custom-designed narrative website featuring a HUD-inspired interface, AJAX form system, and branded PHP email pipeline. Built from scratch for performance, maintainability, and full creative control without third-party form services.
- decent weight design many features, a time capsule or distant memory just out of reach Fully custom UI/UX with HUD-inspired design system
- Unified PHP form handler for multiple site entry points
- AJAX form submissions (no page reload UX)
- Branded HTML email confirmations
- Spam protection via honeypot + validation
- Performance-first, framework-light architecture
- Hosted on standard infrastructure (no SaaS dependencies)
- Responsive layout optimized for desktop and mobile
- Narrative-driven content structure aligned with project storytelling
Under the hood
- Frontend: HTML5, CSS3 (custom design system), Vanilla JavaScript (AJAX & UX logic)
- Backend: PHP (custom unified form handler & email pipeline)
- Hosting: IONOS (shared hosting optimized deployment)
- Email System: Native mail() with multipart HTML templates & confirmation workflow
- Security: Honeypot spam filtering, input sanitization, rate limiting