How to best make and launch with no-code. Start with low learning tools, validate and assess

What is it:

Get inspiration and the tools used to build a project with no-code.

Maker Insight:

The documentation in Sheet2site was great and easy to follow so that I could figure out how to embed the sheet2site into my site.

I'd recommend using the embed feature because it allowed me to deliver more customization above the fold on my page and control the user experience.

I do wish that sheet2site had the ability to paginate so that I could display more information bleow the list of information.

Sites like Softr.io allow this so that you can give the option to the user to expand the listing to a full page if they are looking into the content.

What diid I learn:

1. Product Strategy: Launching simple - When I first launched Side Project Stack all I used was Sheet2site template. It was limiting but this forced constraint was helpful. Because as a Maker my biggest struggle is overthinking and doing too much. Distilling down to the core value prop is the most important thing especially when you are creating something new.

When I launched my value creation was a list of projects, the tech stacks they used to build them, and a button to try the Get Stackd tool. This forced simplicity allowed me to focus on what is it that I am trying to do. And have a starting point. I think that is one thing I have noticed when talking to Makers, is not sure where the starting point is. Because we have so many ideas in our head, and we have a big picture vision, or we may not really have an idea of how to solve a problem.

But thats okay. Just start with your intuition, make something and then learn to see is it something that provides value. That's what The Lean Side Project guide will help you through.

2. No-code tool feature: Sheet2site - Back almost 2 years ago this was a tool that was the OG for creating a website from a google sheet. The value this was for folks who didn't want to take the time to learn Airtable. Sheet2site is a great tool because it google sheets learning curve is low, its something we all have had some experience with at some point.

Having tools like this that reduce your learning curve are hugely helpful so that you can save time and focus on the value and value capture that you are providing.

Sheet2site now comes with a variety of templated options you can use. The documentation is helpful and the Maker Andrey Azimov makes it easy to implement the product so that you can have success.

The major limitation comes with google sheets. There is not an easy way to apply business logic to google sheets. You need to have that if you'd like to create a more personalized experience. That's where Airtable comes in and is a great tool because it works seamlessly with tools like Softr.io and Pory.io which essentially are comparable to Sheet2site.

The choice that you will need to make is it easier to get going with Sheet2site to validate an idea because of your familiarity with google sheets or would you be willing to learn how to use Airtable, which functions very similar to a spreadsheet. Sheet2site also is higher price and using Pory.io or Softr.io

3. No-code tool feature: WordPress and Elementor - When I first launched this product I did not use WordPress. WordPress is confusing because it is so massive it is overwhelming. It's difficult to set up and get started quickly because its a little bit like learning all the controls in the cockpit of a 747 Aircraft. You have to determine is it worth me going through the time to learn all this? Whats the benefit.

My recommendation is to start with the end in mind. What is your distribution strategy? When I first launch Side Project Stack I was just trying to verify would it work, would it help people?

Then once I verified this, I invested the time and effort to build a full site in WordPress. I used Elementor as the front end template and block builder. I highly recommend that you use Elementor as it is the best to work with. I was disappointed in the lack of really fancy block features. You have to pay extra packages for this like Happy Ad ons to get and these don't work that great. Also I am using SiteGround as my hosting provider. But I have been dissappointed because their UI is confusing and they are jacking up the rates on me. The first year I paid $71 and the second year will be $299. Ill be switching to Heroku for $7 per month and probably see if I can connect to Cloudfare for a CDN.

That is the allure of a site like Webflow. You can get really slick cutting edge design built into templates that you buy. But there is higher learning curve to Webflow. And it can be more costly for a cutting edge template.

Back to distribution. The reason why I went through and landed on Wordpress is because the subfulder URL structure. I wanted a service that I could build out a wiki style and multi page blog to capture good SEO traffic. Sites like Carrd don't offer this feature because they are one web page builders.

So what I mean by this is in Wordpress I have the ability to create a url like this: sideprojectstack.com/no-code-tech-stacks. I tried Squarespace for this but was extremely disappointed in their reliability and ability to control the google search meta data and description that appears when you find my site. It didn't work well at all. I lost confidence in the site.