Starting a SaaS is rarely about the idea anymore.
Most ideas fail because:
- the codebase becomes messy early
- UI decisions don’t scale
- small architectural mistakes compound fast
- motivation dies before real features ship
After building and restarting multiple SaaS projects, I realized the biggest bottleneck wasn’t features — it was the foundation.
So I focused on building a clean, modern Next.js SaaS starter that I could reuse confidently.
Why App Router (and why I won’t go back)
The Next.js App Router gets a lot of mixed opinions, but once you structure it properly, it solves many problems early:
- Clear separation of layouts
- Better mental model for pages vs app logic
- Server components where they actually help
- Cleaner data fetching patterns
In a SaaS context, App Router forces you to think in products, not pages — and that’s a good thing.
In this starter:
- Marketing pages and app routes are clearly separated
- Layouts are predictable
- Extending the app doesn’t feel fragile
Why shadcn/ui instead of a traditional component library
I’ve used many UI libraries. Most of them fall into one of two categories:
- Too opinionated
- Hard to customize deeply
shadcn/ui hits a rare sweet spot:
- You own the components
- Accessibility is handled
- Styling stays flexible
- Tailwind fits naturally
For a SaaS starter, this matters a lot.
You don’t want to fight your UI system six weeks into development.
Tailwind CSS for speed without chaos
Tailwind gets criticized for “messy HTML”, but in real SaaS products it does one thing exceptionally well:
It lets you move fast without locking you into bad abstractions.
Combined with:
- reusable components
- consistent spacing
- sensible defaults
…it becomes a productivity multiplier rather than a liability.
Why Neon for the database layer
For early-stage SaaS projects, you want a database that:
- is reliable
- scales when needed
- doesn’t add operational overhead
Neon (PostgreSQL) fits perfectly:
- Serverless
- Branching support
- Great DX
- Works well with modern Next.js patterns
It’s boring in the best way — and boring is good for infrastructure.
What “clean” actually means here
When I say “clean”, I don’t mean minimal for the sake of minimalism.
I mean:
- predictable folder structure
- no magic abstractions
- readable code after weeks away
- easy to delete or replace parts
- no premature optimization
This starter isn’t trying to solve every problem.
It’s trying to avoid creating new ones.
Introducing Boilerplate-One
After using this setup repeatedly, I turned it into a reusable product:
Boilerplate-One
A production-ready SaaS starter built with:
- Next.js (App Router)
- TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS
- shadcn/ui
- Neon (PostgreSQL)
It’s designed for:
- indie hackers
- solo founders
- developers shipping real products
Not demos. Not experiments. Real SaaS.
What you get
- A clean, well-structured Next.js project
- Modern defaults that won’t fight you later
- A solid UI foundation
- A database-ready setup
- Freedom to build your product your way
No bloat. No unnecessary features.
Pricing & access
- $59
- One-time purchase
- Lifetime access
- Free future updates
If it saves you even one restart, it’s worth it.
👉 Boilerplate-One
🔗 https://devresource.gumroad.com/l/lncqpx
Final thought
Most SaaS products don’t fail because of bad ideas.
They fail because the foundation becomes painful before momentum kicks in.
If you’re starting something new — especially this weekend —
a clean base might be the best investment you make.
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