Part 2 of my series focuses on what it took to move from โit worksโ to turning a prototype into a production app, something stable enough to depend on and run in production. Beyond new features, it explores the architectural decisions, infrastructure trade-offs, and real-world costs involved in turning a prototype into a production app. Many of those lessons donโt show up in code, but they are every bit as important for success once real users and real expectations are involved.
Building an app and a website is a significant commitment. Database design, stack selection, and architecture decisions have long-lasting consequences, and supporting both web and mobile interfaces adds another layer of complexity. Even with many years of experience building enterprise systems, wearing every hat (from engineering to operations) was challenging…
Tired of forcing a legacy CMS into your sleek React stack?
Payload flips the script with a dev-first approach that feels native to modern JavaScript environments. While traditional platforms prioritize marketers, Payload is built for engineersโespecially those working in full-stack TypeScript apps with frameworks like Next.js and React….
This post walks through a hands-on experiment in agentic development using an AI-powered digital twin embedded in the IDE. See how a single, well-structured prompt enabled the agent to implement a real user story, generate behavioral tests, and prepare Git commit documentationโwith minimal developer input. Includes real-world code samples, implementation insights, and a candid look at what worked, what didnโt, and where human oversight is still essential.
TL;DR: Struggling to keep form validation and UI in sync in your React app? Hereโs how I used Zod and React Hook Form together to define a single source of truthโdriving both runtime validation and required field indicators in the UI. The Problem: When Validation Drifts from UI Iโve been writing forms for as long as Iโve been writing codeโand …