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9 Comments

The quickest way to start your Saas

Hello hackers 👋🏼

I’ve decided to package up my boilerplate for some projects I’ve worked on. Not only do I use this boilerplate myself, but I know it could bring value to others. This boilerplate is comprehensive and easily adjustable because everything is component based.

The stack is:

  • React (Next.js)
  • Typescript
  • Node.js
  • TailwindCSS
  • User Auth
  • Admin dashboard
  • SQL database (using Prisma so you can also use GraphQL)
  • Stripe integration

I am curious what other features you feel are necessary or that you expect when you buy a boilerplate. Thanks for the support 😃

  1. 4

    Hasura for Graphql and realtime (i havent used it but impressed by what it can do)

  2. 3

    Hey Ben,

    I no longer buy boilerplates as I find it easier to just do it myself. Also, with the emergence of cloud technology and serverless services it can be really easy to get all of this stuff out of the box.

    When it comes to SAAS and Building MVPs / Prototypes for ideas this stack is really good:

    • React ( Next.JS )
    • Typescript
    • NodeJS / NodeJS as cloud functions
    • Database, Storage and User Authentication through Google Firebase
    • Stripe

    If you want to use GraphQL this can also be added in. I have been using Prisma & GraphQL at my part time job, I do enjoy it!

    The question I would ask is what is the sole purpose of the boilerplate. If it is for MVP building then aim for simplicity and speed over new technologies that take longer to pick up and understand, even though they look good on the surface.

    I am a massive fan of GraphQL & Prisma but Prisma has limitations. Sometimes, using a stable, less jazzy, approach is the better alternative.

    I think you have an idea worth exploring further but I would start with defining exactly the purpose of the boilerplate and what problem it is trying to solve :)

    1. 1

      Thanks for this advice. I have a bunch of thoughts on the sole purpose, but maybe I need to be more concrete about it so I can pinpoint the pain and market

  3. 2

    Sounds good, have you looked at https://bullettrain.co ?
    it seems similar to what you're suggesting, but come on, there's alwyas space for one more in the Saas market :)

  4. 2

    Since I've never bought boilerplate, I may be outside your target group.

    However, when I started building something, the first thing I did was to search for open-source projects and understand what they did. In some cases I even managed to reach out to the creators. I come from Django, which already packages an admin dashboard, it is easy to work with SQL databases, migrations, etc. Having user auth is a command away (including social auth). For example, I got a lot of inspiration from [https://healthchecks.io/](Health Checks), which is Open Source and built on Django, but also on Fathom, which is built on Golang.

    If you use cookiecutter then you get a very smart boilerplate code, including docker integrations. It even packages some (VERY) basic templates to get started.

    Some people, instead of selling boilerplate, build a service. If integrating Stripe is hard, then you build something like Gumroad, Paddle, etc.

    However, I think the hardest comes down to deployment of apps. There's a world of options, it is incredibly hard to make an informed decision taking into account costs, security, scalability, etc. But I'm not sure how 'boilerplatable' deployments could be. Perhaps you end up copying Heroku...

  5. 1

    I'm with Laravel+MySQL, just because of prior experience with php.
    Looking forward to learn Ruby on Rails tho :)

  6. 1

    The features are not as important as the startup cost it would take to deploy the saas... I can deploy a Next.js MVP for free on vercel....use firebase for free intially .....

  7. 1

    I’ll be honest. With the amount of open source boiletplate libraries out there (specially for MERN stack) I wouldnt be paying for a boilerplate

    1. 1

      I get it! The value of this would be the availability of user authentication, admin dash with google analytics, stripe checkout, easy DB queries, etc. all the tedious code all connected to just plug it into your product. An easy way to get an MVP.

    2. 1

      This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

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