Have a startup idea but don't know how to code?

http://www.alexpcoleman.com/your-first-web-app/?n=hn1

by acoleman616 • 13 years ago

37 30 13 years ago

alexpcoleman.com

0xdeadbeefbabe• 13 years ago

Have a startup idea but don't know how to code well?

Ellipsis753• 13 years ago

Has anyone managed to load the page yet? I've been trying on and off for ages.

schmatz• 13 years ago

It still isn't working for me an hour later.

fuqua• 13 years ago

The HN DDoS attack strikes again...

holyjeebis• 13 years ago

Throw enough shit at the wall and some of it will stick.

At least there will be no shortage of easy work for security analysts if people keep encouraging morons to think they should be developing web applications.

otikik• 13 years ago

... you'll need cash!

pan69• 13 years ago

Even if you can code you need cash. Maybe if you can't code you just need more of it..

TheBiv• 13 years ago

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TqpuK7M...

Select the text-only version on the top right

pavel_lishin• 13 years ago

That shows me almost no content at all: http://i.imgur.com/iFEjq5h.png

carlsednaoui4• 13 years ago

I think it's an email capture form.

kephra• 13 years ago

Even if I dont know the book, the site shows that the author failed when 'his first web app' got some minimal traffic, of 1200 visitors (estimated by 12 points) in one hour.

mgl• 13 years ago

If you don't have programming skills and just want to validate your idea it might be wise to hire a reliable software house to build MVP for you. Once you gain traction you can start building your own team or reworking the MVP on your own. <shameless plug>This is how we work with founders from the UK and US at codedose.com</shameless plug>

carlsednaoui4• 13 years ago

... you can learn to code!

Couple options:

If you need something not too intensive you could go with Treehouse (http://teamtreehouse.com/) which has really good topic-specific videos and interactive quizzes.

If you can afford the money and time then go with something more intensive such as a bootcamp - I recommend Flatiron School (http://flatironschool.com/). You'll learn a whole lot in 3 months.

There's also Thinkful (http://www.thinkful.com/) which has curated content, 1-1 mentorship and uses a project-based approach.

Once you have the foundation (and overcome the many frustrations and roadblocks you'll face as a beginner) you'll be way on your way, with a new and valuable skill.

Full disclaimer: I work at Thinkful

logicallee• 13 years ago

telling someone with an idea that they should learn to code is like telling a coder with no money that they should just get rich.

I mean, sure this is possible - but this is not the way to produce a successful outcome (built idea/funded tech company) in either case!

carlsednaoui4• 13 years ago

Did you read the cached version? (the site is now back up too)

As the author mentions: "Interested in learning to code and building web apps but don’t know where to begin? Look no further..... I’ve put together this step-by-step guide that will help you through creating your very own first web app."

wehadfun• 13 years ago

You need to get a technical co-founder.

gsaines• 13 years ago

I'll agree with Carlsednaoui, but add a few resources to the list:

ONLINE VIDEO LECTURES

Let's Code Test Driven JavaScript: http://www.letscodejavascript.com/

One Month Rails: https://onemonthrails.com/

Learnable: https://learnable.com/

Code School: http://www.codeschool.com/

Treehouse: http://teamtreehouse.com/

CodeHS: http://codehs.com/ - "Computer science class in a box" for k-12 schools

Learn Street: http://www.learnstreet.com/

CODE CHALLENGES

Top Coders: http://www.topcoder.com/

Hacker Rank: https://www.hackerrank.com/

Interview Street: https://www.interviewstreet.com/

OTHER

CodeCombat: http://codecombat.com - online game that teaches Javascript

Codecademy: http://codecademy.com/

CodeAvengers: http://www.codeavengers.com/ - Pay-per-module coding game

Hakitzu: http://www.kuatostudios.com/games/hakitzu/ - Paid iPad game that teaches coding

Kodable: http://www.surfscore.com/ - iPad game that teaches coding

Full disclosure, I run CodeCombat.

carlsednaoui4• 13 years ago

Hi gsaines, this is an amazing list of resources!

PS: Love what you're doing at CodeCombat!

jwdunne• 13 years ago

CodeWars (http://www.codewars.com) is quite fun too. I'm liking these programming challenge games a lot lately! I will have to give CodeCombat a try.

contextual2• 13 years ago

No, see that's the problem. Way too many resources. I LOVE the idea of one book that takes me from start to finish, with no flab or wasted time learning something that isn't 100% relevant to making an app.

Alex, you are on to something HUGE. Resist with all your might the urge to bury people in "resources" to follow up on. There's too much information out there. Reign it in, filter it down and focus only on the bare minimum that must be done to get the app finished.

Not everyone wants to be a programming guru. Myself included.

angersock3• 13 years ago

Maybe you shouldn't be building an app, or programming, especially if you don't care enough or have the patience to learn things that aren't directly in support of (what you think is) your MVP.

thret• 13 years ago

CodeCombat is hilarious. I may actually teach my girlfriend some code :)

xux• 13 years ago

Site is slashdotted

acoleman616• 13 years ago

Author here. Did not expect this to hit the front page, and of course got struck down by the almighty HN traffic gods.

Page is back up now!

viggity• 13 years ago

did a lead gen email capture page with zero content really just make it to the front page?

angersock3• 13 years ago

Excellent point.

Flagged, especially because it doesn't really describe what the book covers, how it covers it, or anything much beyond "Sign up here!"

websitescenes• 13 years ago

If you have a startup idea AND some money, let's do this.

Have a startup idea but don't know how to code?

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