Eureka! I finally found a website setup that I like. A homepage with 3 grid items, each of which link to a subpage. I get the best of both worlds: simple navigation, with a colorful, minimalist design that’s original. I spent a good amount of time figuring out what colors to use, and I’m really happy with the final product. They contrast well and are bright/cheerful.
Each grid will link to a subpage and will have some text and a cool image
I used chakra’s Grid component to create the layout. It isn’t responsive, so that’s something I’ll have to tackle down the line. Blue takes up 2/3 width and the other two take up 1/3 width. Kinda randomly following the rule of thirds and I think it looks good.