From Idea to Deploy: One Tiny Project End-to-End

🎯 The Project

I wanted to build a simple URL shortener—something useful that I could finish in a weekend. Here's how it went.

📝 Day 1: Planning and Setup

Started Friday evening:

• Defined the scope: shorten URLs, track clicks, simple UI
• Chose the stack: Next.js, PostgreSQL, Vercel
• Set up the project and database

💻 Day 2: Building

Saturday was coding:

• Built the API endpoints (create short URL, redirect, get stats)
• Created the UI (input form, results page)
• Added basic validation and error handling

🚀 Day 3: Deploy

Sunday was deployment:

• Set up environment variables
• Deployed to Vercel
• Tested everything works
• Added a custom domain

✅ What Worked

• Simple scope: One feature, well done
• Familiar stack: Used tools I know
• Deploy early: Got it live on day 2

💡 Lessons

• Start with the simplest version
• Deploy as soon as it works
• Add features only if needed

💭 My Take

Small projects are great for learning. Finish something end-to-end. It's more valuable than starting many things.