
Show HN: Remake – A server-rendered framework for building CRUD web apps fast - ollerac
I wanted to have a framework that would let me build web apps faster than ever before. I didn’t care if it was a little hacky or didn’t use best practices — I wanted to be able to get a multi-user application out the door in hours instead of months. I researched the CMS space for months before deciding to build something from scratch.<p>My goal was to be 90% done building a web app once I had the static HTML and CSS finished. I’m not a big fan of building out API endpoints over and over again for every new app, fiddling with a database, or doing lots of config.<p>What I ended up with was a syntax that lets developers tag HTML elements as containing data (i.e. objects or arrays), thereby transforming the tree structure of the DOM into a JSON tree that can be saved to the current user&#x27;s account. It took a while after that to evolve the syntax and make it easy to use.<p>I call the project Remake[0] and I’ve been working on it non-stop for the past year. After a failed Product Hunt launch[1], I kept going and managed to get my first few dozen users.<p>I live stream my progress on Twitch[2] (Thursdays and Fridays, 12pm EST) and I’m consistently able to build full CRUD web apps within hours — projects that would’ve easily taken me weeks or months before.<p>A bonus that HN might appreciate: Remake is a server-rendered framework, so the front-end library isn&#x27;t even necessary or loaded for 90% of users. Only logged in users who can edit the current page need to have JS enabled.<p>To see a 12 line, fully-functional todo app, a 30 minute Trello clone tutorial, and the rest of the docs, see: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;docs.remaketheweb.com&#x2F;<p>[0] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;remaketheweb.com&#x2F;<p>[1] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.remaketheweb.com&#x2F;product-hunt-ux-bugs-derailed-my-launch&#x2F;<p>[2] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.twitch.tv&#x2F;panphora
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mike_d
I think this is very clearly targeted at folks with only web design or minimal
front-end dev experience, as it doesn't even mention what language it is in
and instead assumes the web is all Node.

This might be a good stepping stone for people wanting to transition from
modifying an existing CMS to actual web programming where there are
frameworks, ORMs, and libraries that do let you build a multi-user app in a
few hours.

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ollerac
Mike, thanks for the feedback!

As a solo founder with a short amount of time before launch (and a day job), I
had to decide to focus on only one thing for the main landing page. That ended
up being selling the benefits of the product instead of focusing on the
technical details. I recorded a 2 hour screencast going through the entire
backend for devs who are interested in that — and I also plan to put together
a blog post outlining all the tradeoffs I made. I'm sorry the documentation
doesn't explain enough yet — I know it's lacking.

However, you're partly right: I think the people who would benefit the most
from using Remake are probably designers and developers with 3-4 months of
experience. Long term, I think they'll be at least 70% of Remake's market.
However, I think it's also a great tool for more experienced developers like
you.

It's true that you can make other stacks work for you, and, especially if you
have a starter project you can clone, you can get something up and running
within a few hours. However, Remake's true strength comes from the power of
its mental model. The page state, page logic, and page structure are all
nested together in HTML template files — which are the only files you need to
create an entire web app, including saving data, enabling user accounts,
advanced routing, and performing CRUD operations. That's a pretty powerful way
to build something.

As someone with 8 years of experience building web apps, I can say with
confidence that Remake speeds me up at least 500% when it comes to building
simple CRUD apps. It's not good with building social networks or analytics
platforms, but it's perfect for simple page builders. I'd recommend giving it
a shot and seeing if it appeals to you before dismissing it. If nothing else,
it might help you test out a few ideas you might dismiss otherwise simply
because you can build them so fast!

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mritchie712
I wouldn't worry about the PH launch. We had a pretty decent number of upvotes
on ours, but it yielded zero paid customers. I've heard similar stories on
others PH launch (lots of upvotes, zero revenue).

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ollerac
Thank you, I appreciate that! I'm gonna try to launch again anyways if they'll
let me, simply because # of users and feedback matters more to me than revenue
at the moment. That won't always be the case, but I'd like to iron out any
major issues before feeling confident enough to charge for it.

~~~
mritchie712
good luck man! do you still live in Boston? I used to live in Charlestown.
It's definitely in my top 3 US cities.

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ollerac
Yes, actually right across from Charlestown in East Somerville. I like it a
lot. Seekwell looks awesome btw. What stage are you at with it?

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mritchie712
Nice! Tavern at the End of the World was one of my favorites, check it out if
you haven't already.

SeekWell is my full time gig, working growing revenue so it stays that way!

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ollerac
I just walked past there today and was thinking about checking out. What a
coincidence! :)

That's awesome it's your full time gig - congrats! I hope to get Remake there
some day!

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superbeef150
Just a heads up on your Features page, under "Made with Remake", 2 of the
examples have the same title. Not sure if that was intentional.

Either way looks pretty neat, best of luck!

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ollerac
Thank you! That's fixed now!

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aliswe
Looks interesting, but not so easy grasp what makes it so easy and what this
new method for making web apps is exactly? Bear in mind Im using a phone so
that may be why.

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ollerac
It lets you use the natural structure of the DOM to define the structure of
your data models. And it lets you easily point to which elements have data.
These two things combined mean you now can treat your front-end HTML like a
database.

