Building an app is hard. Marketing it is even harder. But looking back, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
I recently launched JotBantuek, a simple and private journaling app. I built it solo, with no team and no funding. Along the way, I made mistakes, learned a lot, and discovered things I wish I knew before I started.
Here are the 20 lessons I learned from building my first app.
Before You Start (Mindset)
- Start before you are ready. You will never feel fully ready, so just take the first step.
- Do not wait until you are an expert to begin. You will learn most of what you need to know along the way.
- When you come up with a name, buy the domain immediately. It is cheap insurance against someone else taking it.
- Do not be afraid to ask for help. It saves you time and a massive amount of headaches.
During Development (Tech and Workflow)
- Sketch your ideas on paper first. It helps to draft your TOR or spec before you start coding.
- You do not need expensive AI tools to build something great. I started with free or affordable models before moving up.
- Use AI as your co-pilot, not the pilot. It speeds up your work, but you still need to understand the code it generates.
- Keep it simple. Adding more features does not always make a product better. Sometimes it just makes it bloated.
- Stay within your app’s scope. Focus on doing a few things really well rather than many things poorly.
- Build an admin panel early on. You will save yourself from digging through the database every single time.
- Technical debt is inevitable. Accept it, manage it, and keep it as low as you can.
- Avoid cramming everything into a single HTML file. Separate your HTML, CSS, and JS. Let AI help you do it.
- Never put secret keys or API credentials in the frontend. Learn to use .env files.
- If you are handling payments, use a Payment Gateway or a Slip Check API. Do not try to verify slips manually.
- Use Optimistic UI with a little bit of animation. It makes the experience feel much smoother.
- Write documentation as you go. It might feel like a chore, but future you will be grateful.
- Use rules and system prompts if you use AI. It stops you from having to repeat yourself constantly.
Before Launch (The Unseen Work)
- Simply getting your product into production is a huge win. Most people never make it that far.
- Get your Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and other legal documents ready before you go live. Do not skip this.
After Launch (Marketing and Community)
- Building the app was hard. Marketing it is a completely different beast. It is arguably much harder.
- Give users a way to report bugs and leave feedback, and actually reply to them. It builds trust.
- Make sure you have at least one contact method on your site. Users need to know how to reach you.
- Do not expect rapid growth right away. The first few months are usually quiet.
A Few Extra Thoughts
- Building an app does not have to cost a fortune. If you keep your scope reasonable, your costs will be low.
- Once you launch, check for security holes. Look into basic web security, SQL injection, and ask AI if you are unsure.
Final Words
- Do not give up and do not beat yourself up. Quitting is the only real failure.
If you want to see what all that work resulted in, you can check out my app here: https://jotbantuek.app
