I Built a Design Curation Site Without Writing Any Code

It’s been just over a month since MakeStuffUp.Info — my first solo project as an independent Creator; was released to the world. It was not a big project or complicated in any way, it’s not even unique, but I’m thrilled where it landed. I didn’t work on it full-time, only 1–2 hours every workday, among my other commitments such as client work.

It was a decision early on that I would use a no-code tool to build the project. Firstly, I’m a designer, and although I can code, it’s not where my strengths lie. Moreover, MakeStuffUp.Info was never made to be a big moneymaker. It’s always been first and foremost for myself and my immediate circles. I wanted to share what I learn, to keep myself accountable for what I do, and ultimately, to create a level of transparency for my practice. No-code tools have matured so much in the last few years, which lets me achieve my goals with low development and maintenance costs. Within three months, I got the site up and running, with a strong focus on curation quality and its content.

Of course, there’s still so much to do. Will I ever hire an engineer to build a customised site? Maybe. As of writing this, I’m not sure how much energy I want to commit to this project just yet. For now, let me take you through what I’ve learned so far.

• The project was officially launched on the 17th of June, 2020. And by officially, I mean I posted on my social media channels (which don’t much of a following), my first post on Product Hunt, and a few selected Subreddit. A few days later, I paid for an ad on Instagram. Marketing budget: AU$33 + 3 hours of work.
• Before starting putting the site together, I reviewed all of the resources I’d collected throughout my career. There were hundreds of resources in total (some outdated) scattering across my browsers’ bookmarks — all 3 of them; plus “saved” podcasts, books, articles, videos, and other types of content. The list goes on. I needed a way to categorise them and decided to go with a somewhat fluid structure, following the Product Design Process, and then categorise further if required. A holistic approach if you will.
• Natively, I could also create alternative ways to view the site, which provides flexibility in usage for different types of site visitors. Sidenote…