How Should a Beginner Learn to Code for Building an E-commerce MVP?
Posted by Western_Ad7145@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 16 comments
I'm new to coding and want to build an MVP for an e-commerce business. Should I start with full-stack development or focus on specific technologies like frontend or backend? What resources do you recommend for learning efficiently?
Fearless-Can-1634@reddit
You can use Bubble or Flutterflow for MVP, there are even templates for e-commerce businesses there. If you do it the traditional way it’ll be a steep learning curve, unless you want to be a developer.
Western_Ad7145@reddit (OP)
Hi, is it possible to create individual customer accounts in the website, allowing them to log in, browse products, add items to a wish list, use a shopping cart, and access other similar features?
Fearless-Can-1634@reddit
Yes they you can do that
cheezballs@reddit
OP in 2 years: "I'm being sued by my clients for leaking creds and pii"
cheezballs@reddit
Haha, yea e-commerce and beginner do not go together. Don't do this. I've got 20 years experience in software dev and I wouldn't touch this kinda project on my own. Whatever you think you know about security, it's not enough.
aqua_regis@reddit
Don't.
Really. Ecommerce is nothing for beginners, not even an MVP.
Use existing platforms, like OpenCart, Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, etc.
You cannot, even with some experience, comply with all necessary regulations and legislation.
If you want to learn, read the FAQ here as they contain plenty getting started information, resources, and much more.
Western_Ad7145@reddit (OP)
While platforms like Shopify are great for quickly setting up an e-commerce store, they don’t offer the same level of customization for customer accounts as Amazon or Flipkart. When looking for a more personalized user experience or unique features in the customer accounts, a custom-built platform seems necessary...
Hawxe@reddit
Is your goal the business or building an e-commerce platform to learn. If it's 1, don't roll your own. If it's 2, you're still gonna use one of the others for your business.
Western_Ad7145@reddit (OP)
My primary goal is to learn how to create the platform itself. I’m more interested in the technical aspects of building an e-commerce site, understanding full-stack development, and eventually creating a custom solution. Once I’ve learned how to build the platform, I’ll focus on using it for the business side. For now, I’m focusing on gaining the skills to develop the platform from the ground up, even if it means using existing solutions as a foundation before fully customizing it
Hawxe@reddit
I think you're splitting focus on two very different things here and I'm with the others who are telling you this is a bad idea in general.
If you were already a very experienced developer this would still be incredibly difficult. And the reality is, your business is not going to live or die based on whatever 'custom' features you have planned that Shopify doesn't offer.
If you want to learn how to build an MVP you need to learn a web framework (Rails, Django, Pheonix, etc) and how websites are built ground up. This will take awhile.
Then once you have the basics of a CRUD app down, you'll need to learn more advanced things specific to e-commerce. You don't need to worry about this bit yet cause the above is going to take you awhile.
Western_Ad7145@reddit (OP)
I understand that building a platform from scratch is a massive undertaking, especially without being an experienced developer. But is there no way to start with an MVP while focusing primarily on the platform? I’m looking to learn the technical side and build the foundation first, even if it means starting small and using existing tools before fully custom-developing features. Can this approach still work?
Hawxe@reddit
I don't see how you take on the e-commerce specific tasks without understanding basic concepts like MVC.
aqua_regis@reddit
And how are you planning to deal with
Again: Never put your own ecommerce site into business. Never
For learning okay, but never go live with it. You cannot potentially pull it of in a way that won't be financial and legal suicide.
aqua_regis@reddit
Yeah, agree with that, yet, that is the job of a proper company with experienced developers and security and legal specialists.
It is not a "I want to learn programming to build an ecommerce site" task.
Western_Ad7145@reddit (OP)
I understand that building an e-commerce platform is a task typically handled by experienced developers with legal and security specialists. However, as a beginner and the sole risk-taker, I feel it's important to learn the technical aspects to understand the structure and potential challenges ahead. Where should I start to gain a solid understanding of how e-commerce platforms are built and what to focus on during the process?
aqua_regis@reddit
What part of "no, don't do it" do you not want to understand?
You cannot pull this off. Period.
Others have given you advice already what to start learning. I refuse to chime in on that matter as I do not want to participate in helping someone potentially destroy their existence.
Yet, I still stand by what I said and will not move. It is complete commercial and legal suicide to try to roll your own ecommerce platform with the goal of going live.
Sole risk taker is even worse.
Hier someone. Period.