

Ask HN: How do you start your hobby web app? - benregn

I've been wondering how people start out their hobby projects as I'm having some difficulties myself.<p>Do you guys just dive right in after you get your initial idea?
Or do you plan it out, right down requirements, wireframe etc.?<p>Maybe you even have some specific process if you have done a lot of projects?
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imp
Dive right in. Write the bare minimum that you need to demonstrate the
uniqueness of your project and then get feedback on it immediately. It's good
to have some high-level ideas of what it could be, but don't waste time with
formal documents.

Wireframes are pretty useful for making any web page, not just a hobby web
app. My process is to sketch out wireframes, make the HTML and UI, then build
the backend.

Also, I try to come up with at least three ways to implement a UI for a new
app. That way you don't get emotionally tied to the first one just because you
thought of it first. Usually, I find that my first one is crap, and the second
one is good enough that I never can think of a third one that's better than
the second.

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benregn
I like your way of coming up with design ideas, makes a lot of sense to me.
Not sure that I could do it though... I suffer very much from the common "tech
guy" problem - my design skills suck! :P

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imp
Yeah, design can be tricky. I'm horrible when it comes to graphics, but I've
learned basic stuff about UI design, whitespace, colors, etc. that I can put
together a not-horrible-looking design. I outsource logo creation to
crowdSPRING. You can also consider buying a premium HTML theme as well.

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dgunn
I try to tackle most of my project by just jumping in. It's definitely the
best way to learn. I don't let any decision take more than a few minutes
unless it's really essential to the project then I would do maybe 10 minutes
of cursory research. The goal is to not get bogged down with detail for me
because I will if I don't watch myself.

As for design, for a tech guy, I think I'm pretty good, but one really nice
thing I'm noticing is that web design seems to be getting simpler. Or at the
very least, you don't get points taken away for being sparse. (Usability is
different tho, I'll definitely take points away for that.)

One great example is stackoverflow. It represents a design I would have never
made. I would have called it ugly. But I really like it for some reason. :)

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user24
I have a checklist I go through before I invest significant time into my own
side projects: [http://www.puremango.co.uk/2011/05/why-your-web-app-wont-
wor...](http://www.puremango.co.uk/2011/05/why-your-web-app-wont-work/)

Then I plan everything to the last detail, then I build it. When I was younger
I just built it, and that's a great way to learn lots about both social
economics and code. Nowadays I feel my time is better invested in producing
something with a high chance of success than just a messing-about project.
Unless the concept really grabs me, like <http://thingsinbooks.com>, in which
case I just build it.

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ayers
I dove straight into the code for my current project. Since it is something
that I do not have exposure to at work, I was more concerned about learning
the language and environment than developing the concept out. Next time I will
definitely spend more time planning and on specs. I have found that if I had
spent more time developing out the concept and defined initial core features
at the very least, I would have less coding interruptions and some set goals
that I could gauge my progress.

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cbs
Sometimes with reading RFCs, design, graphical work, database layout, looking
at new tools to try out while building the project or just digging in.

As long as you start somewhere, it doesn't matter, it is a hobby project after
all.

