If you’ve ever stopped yourself from building something because it felt too small, this is for you.
I think we all get stuck at some point on the idea that whatever we build has to be big and meaningful. Often, that pressure comes from our own expectations.
But this one is to remind you about the fun of building small stuff.
No pressure, no expectations, just experimentation.
You make it because something intrigues you. Maybe because something out there is not on par with your requirements. Maybe you just want to learn or try replicating it. Or to have fun in general.
I remember when I started learning web dev, I had a lot of fun following html css tutorials and learning to build things with html css. Small animations, effects, and even css art. One can say I wasted my time and it's not used in the day to day life. But I still did it because it was fun for me. It didn't drive me away from development, instead brought me closer.
And honestly, you're allowed to build things that don't matter to anyone else. Give yourself permission and the freedom. Try not to get stuck only on “big” ideas.
Sometimes the best projects are the ones with no expectations attached.
Here are a few small things that I made, and how they helped me in unexpected ways:
- React starter template: I made it for myself to save time on new project. I keep improving it as I use it more and more. I quite like this.
- Echoday: A small project I made during Kendo react challenge on dev.to. And interestingly enough, it helped me in one my interviews :p
- Minesweeper: An old project of mine. I actually learned how to play Minesweeper properly because of it, and now I love the game.
I hope it made you think a bit about your ideas and projects.
Thank you :)
Top comments (2)
Yeah by all means :-) and nowadays you can even "vibe code" it, so you can literally create something (even something non-trivial) in less than a weekend ...
Haha, exactly!!
I once coded a small score tracker for a card game I learned from this video on youtube
And I build it on my mobile using gpt and claude. Tweaked a few gotchas myself using an editor and done within a few hours. It worked great.
It's mobile friendly only :p
alley-cat.netlify.app/