How to start the process
I have been fleshing out an app idea for a few months now and wanted some advice on how I actually go about the process.
I am a junior developer, so I have some front end and backend coding experience but the website/app idea will need some more complex coding. FYI - the idea involves real time video chat.
So, how do I go about starting ? do I pay someone more experienced and do all the parts I am capable of ?
Founders need to be life-long learners. Real time video chat is pretty simple if you use Twilio SDK to begin with. The shortest path is the hardest path, but the learning is inevitable. Try to figure it out, and ask for help from support or forums when you are stuck.
I always seem to tackle projects above my “pay grade”. This is how I handle it:
Mockup, prototype, spec every part even the small stuff. This will make sure you leave no stone unturned as you build.
Chunk it down. Focus on building one small part at a time. Get help on that one small part if you need it. You could even outsource help but only to have them help you do it so you can still learn.
Keep at it and eventually you will look back and have a completed app!
Hey, thanks for the advice. Do you have any useful resources for mockups etc ?
"do I pay someone more experienced and do all the parts I am capable of ?"
I do not suggest that as you will miss the opportunity to learn something new unless you are in a great hurry and believe that your idea needs to be implemented ASAP.
Figure out the key scenarios/pains your app is trying to solve and implement that first with whatever technology you are familiar. Also take look at already existing open source components. You will save a lot of time by reusing code. Also, start with one mobile platform first, you don't know yet if people find your app useful. Depending on your user flow the website might also be optional.
Thank you for advice!
Hi @jay9044, here are some pointers (hopefully they are useful):
Consider using WebRTC (an open standard for Real Time Communication, the "RTC" part of WebRTC).
If you are (hopefully) familiar with a decent amount of JavaScript, you can use Nodejs (with Express) as your backend to handle authentication, setup a "signaling service", saving video (for replay later on) and so on.
React may be a great choice to handle the frontend aspects of your app: UI, etc. Angular is a good second choice. Maybe other frameworks work as well (or better), but these are the ones I am familiar with.
A Few Good Resources:
"Getting Started with WebRTC" @ https://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/webrtc/basics/ . It is kind of the "definitive guide" to WebRTC.
https://webrtc.org/ : If you are reading to get your hands dirty and apply some code to the theory. Ignore the other links and just click on the "codelab" one to get started!
I hope this helps.
Best of luck with your project! :)
Thank you for the advice!