Are you looking for a new tool to build your personal website? Quarto, the next generation version of R Markdown from Posit (formerly known as RStudio), is a great option to consider. Quarto allows you to create beautiful websites, reports, presentations, and books in a variety of formats, including HTML, PDF, and MS Word.
Not only does Quarto support multiple languages, such as R, Python, and Julia, but it also has a host of unique features that make it a versatile and powerful tool. For example, Quarto uses a single .qmd file for all output formats, so you can easily switch between them with just a one-line change in the YAML. Citations are a breeze, especially if you also use Zotero, and if you’re a Notion user, you’ll appreciate the all-in-one approach of Quarto.
I first learned about Quarto through the #rstats community and was immediately impressed by its capabilities. Before using Quarto, I rarely used R Markdown and tended to separate the process of generating results from publishing them. My workflow consisted of an R project (containing data, code, and output) plus a separate Latex folder. But with Quarto, I was able to streamline my process and create more polished and professional outputs.
One of the standout features of Quarto is its ability to create Revealjs presentations. If you’re tired of struggling to fit your tables and figures onto a single slide in Beamer, you’ll love the scrollable slides in Revealjs. And with the preview-links option, you can open links without interrupting the flow of your presentation. Plus, you can easily copy and paste figures directly into the visual editor.
If you’re new to Quarto and unsure of where to start, don’t worry. There are plenty of resources available to help you get started. Sam Csik’s tutorial was particularly helpful for me to build this website, and I also found a comprehensive and up-to-date list of Quarto resources that are guaranteed to be of high quality.
But why write this blog post in the first place? As Rachel Thomas explains,
You are best positioned to help people one step behind you. The material is still fresh in your mind. Many experts have forgotten what it was like to be a beginner (or an intermediate) and have forgotten why the topic is hard to understand when you first hear it. The context of your particular background, your particular style, and your knowledge level will give a different twist to what you’re writing about.
As researchers, we often think that there’s no point in writing something that doesn’t contribute new knowledge to the existing literature. While that may be true to an extent, it’s also important to remember that we’re in the best position to help those in our community who may not have access to the same resources or who may be intimidated by jargon. So why not share your knowledge and experience with Quarto and help others build their own stunning personal websites?
P.S. This post is re-generated by ChatGPT on December 4, 2022. I asked ChatGPT to revise my original post so that it reads like a friendly learner sharing knowledge, while avoid mansplaining.
Citation
@online{zhang2022,
author = {Jia Zhang},
title = {Use {Quarto} to {Build} {Your} {Personal} {Website}},
date = {2022-12-04},
url = {https://jiazhang42.github.io/mysite/blog/website-quarto/},
langid = {en}
}