Do you use boilerplates for new projects?
I’ve been using my own React boilerplate and decided to create a new version with Firebase authentication set up and try to sell it. I’m curious if their is a market for these kind of boilerplates. It can save developers a lot of time, but we are also quite opinionated about things like which libraries to use etc. What do you think?
My boilerplates can be found here:
https://www.reactmilkshake.com/
Great looking site, as a developer myself I know a lot expect everything to be free as we have been so spoilt with Open source libraries and frameworks. There has been an increase recently in "sponsorship" so maybe this could be an avenue to look into. I can see React Boilerplate has gone down this route - https://opencollective.com/react-boilerplate
Would you be looking to offer more templates in the future? I know DivJoy are doing something similar and they charge if you want to export the template.
Thank you for your reply! As developers we are really spoiled with free open source libraries and boilerplates, so that's a concern. But it can also be hard to filter out the ones with quality. That's why I like to pay for a boilerplate (like https://jumpstartrails.com), and because it can save time.
Right now I just finished a new version that includes authentication with Firebase and I'm curious if people will buy it. If so, I'm thinking about making different versions, like with authentication with a Rails API.
DivJoy looks really nice! It would be cool to create something like that, but I also have to make something unique and I'm doing this on the side, so time is limited.
Maybe I should focus on creating a full SaaS starter-kit with React and Firebase (or Rails) that also includes Stripe integration, but I have to do more research. Not sure how big the market would be for something like this.
There is definitely a market for it, on a good month I can generate $3-4k with https://usegravity.app.
People are opinionated but that's a competitive advantage – most people aren't going to switch languages to suit the boilerplate so if you get the stack correct, you shouldn't have issues.
Your site looks lovely btw :-)
Thanks for your reply. Your boilerplate looks really nice. Super cool to hear you make some good money with it!
Honestly... I hate boilerplates. They are so over engineered and abstracted that if you ever want to deviate away from the standard they set to build your app, you're stuck wondering what the hell is going on...
The best out is Create React App, have you ever ejected and looked at the code? I am fluent in webpack and typically write my own custom configs based on the project I am working on but christ even then I'm confused as all hell.
Then when the author of the boilerplate decides they don't use it anymore, the thing stops getting updated and now you're stuck trying to find someone to fix the bugs for your own app, or try to refactor your app into a different boilerplate.
Thanks for your honest feedback. I actually try to keep my boilerplate simple, although you have to be familiar with at least Redux. Maybe more junior devs are more interested to use boilerplates to get things going quickly. Although, I also think that building your own really helps to learn. That's why I'm also planning to write blog posts about how React Milkshake is built (short articles about things like code splitting etc.). Then people can build their own if they want to or buy mine if they want to save time.
Im wondering if building a social network using Firebase + React would make sense. In what language would the backend need to be built? Features will be pretty standard: user interaction, profiles, search engine, localization...
Which package would you recommened? Care to weigh in? thanks.
Sure, I believe Indiehackers.com is also built with firebase and firestore. You should checkout the serverless edition of React Milkshake. www.reactmilkshake.com
I guess @kylegawley might have an opinion 😃.
This comment was deleted 4 years ago
Thanks for letting me know! I have just released React Milkshake and only had a few customers. I haven't experienced any friction yet, but I do read different opinions about boilerplates. You have to make some decisions when creating one, like choosing Redux for state management, that other developers might not prefer. Most experienced devs probably want to build their own, but choosing a boilerplate can save you a lot of time. I personally rather pay some money if I know it will save me time and the quality is good.