3 ms·
Ask HN: Non-technical person seeking help learning how to make weekend project
Please don't mistake this for the "looking for a developer to work for equity (i.e. free) to help me build the next billion dollar idea." This isn't what I am asking.
I saw great advice on a post on here that essentially said if a non technical person just asked for help and showed a desire to learn how to develop their idea, that individual would be happy to help. I am taking their advice.
Any help pointing me in the right direction would be much appreciated. If you would actually like to help me and be a part of the project, please feel free to reach out.
What I know: I can do graphic design. This will not be an issue for me. I know basic HTML and CSS and can build a static website.
What I would like to learn: I am trying to make a website that is similar to Textsfromlastnight.com. I have an idea that would function similar in concept and is a twist on the idea. How would I go about creating this type of website? What languages (PHP, java) would I need to learn or is there anything open source I could try and learn and modify for my needs. I am interested at being a better web programmer and I think this would be a great weekend project of sorts for me to try my hand at. If the site doesn't ever take off, I will be happy I expanded my knowledge.
I have enjoyed being a part of this community and thanks in advance for anyone who helps or posts!
- jmjerlecki 15y agoClicakble: http://textsfromlastnight.com/ http://textsfromlastnight.com/
- draz 15y agoI think you should go for a Ruby on Rails / Groovy on Rails / whatever framework. My reasoning? They encapsulate a lot of the configuration files that you don't want to deal with (ugh, Spring is just annoying, with all those XML files... and I'm a Java person!). Moreover, because they're so ubiquitous, you'll find loads of plugins/code samples online for things you're looking to do. It will really cut down on your development time.
- iamsidd2k7 15y agoI agree with Darz, Ruby on Rails is good for getting thing upto speed. If you know you can work your way, by simple tutorials. I don't know if you are using MAC/PC but http://edgeguides.rubyonrails.org/getting_started.html http://edgeguides.rubyonrails.org/getting_started.html this is a good way to learn how to make website. Also my suggestion would be to learn git, this would help you in long run.
- jmjerlecki 15y agoHey thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I am pretty positive I can learn from the tutorials. They seemed pretty geared towards beginners to which is great. And learning Git would allow me to be active on github?
- iamsidd2k7 15y agoYup thats right, plus it will paying off when you need to figure out what changes you made say a week ago. Github is a hosting site for git code repo. Email me on gmail id: iamsidd if you need more help or specific clarification.
- EricR23 15y agoDrupal sounds like a great fit for what you're looking for.
- tritogeneia 15y agoSeconded.
- beatpanda 15y agoYou can build a textfromlastnight clone using WordPress, and WordPress has an incredibly low barrier to entry. Start there, then move on to something more complicated, like Ruby on Rails or Django.