Projects Kadeo – Keramiek Atelier Katleen Deprez

Kadeo: website for a ceramics studio

Full-stack website for the ceramics studio Kadeo: Angular with server-side rendering, Express backend, image processing and a custom admin panel.

  • Angular 21
  • Angular SSR
  • TypeScript
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Node.js
  • Express
  • SQLite
  • Sharp
  • JWT
  • IIS
Kadeo: website for a ceramics studio

Kadeo is the ceramics studio of Katleen Deprez. She wanted a website that lets her work speak: calm, warm and visual, with a gallery she can update herself without involving a developer. I designed and built the site from A to Z and host it on Rock-IT’s infrastructure.

The challenge

A portfolio site for an artist is all about imagery. Photos have to load fast, look sharp on every screen and be easy to manage: upload, crop, arrange in sections, done. At the same time the site has to be findable in Google, have a contact form that keeps spam out and comply with cookie legislation. All of that without subscription fees for an external CMS.

The solution

One full-stack application with a public side and a secure admin panel:

  • Public site: home, about Kadeo, offering and workshops, gallery with lightbox and contact, with subtly animated backgrounds in an earthy clay palette
  • Custom admin panel: manage sections and images (upload, crop, reorder, hide), read contact form messages, opening hours and addresses for two locations, SEO metadata per page and user management
  • Smart image processing: every upload is automatically optimised to WebP with thumbnails, so the gallery stays fast
  • Findable and secure: server-side rendering and prerendering for SEO, automatic XML sitemap, contact form with honeypot and rate limiting, cookie banner with opt-in Google Analytics
  • Update from your phone: an API secured with an API key that lets the companion Kadeo Photo Uploader app add photos to the gallery straight from a smartphone

Technology

  • Frontend: Angular 21 with server-side rendering and prerendering, Tailwind CSS 4, TypeScript in strict mode, Vitest for tests
  • Backend: Node.js with Express 5, SQLite database, image processing with Sharp, JWT authentication with bcrypt password hashing
  • Hosting: Windows Server with IIS as reverse proxy, automated deploy script, hosted and maintained by Rock-IT

Result

A fast, visually strong website that Katleen manages entirely herself, without monthly CMS costs. New photos are online within a minute, from the laptop or straight from her iPhone.