You will always start with an idea, whether it be a forum, a blog, an
e-commerce site, a social site, or other. Here are my tips for solid
design work:
1. Sketch the idea out on paper and gain an idea of what core features
you want to incorporate into your app. Think about authentication,
authorization, specific features, administration, usability, etc.
2. Design your database models. Use a software like RISE to build ERD
schematics or entity relationship diagrams so you get an idea of how
everything will connect, and in the process you will be able to
normalize your tables.
3. Then, start to dig deeper. If you notice so far, you haven''t done
a
single bit of programming or design work. It''s better to keep
sketching
until you have a well rounded idea before you proceed further.
4. Once you have your ideas in place and most of the sketches, try to
simplify your code by using gems and libraries that are well placed and
lightweight on resources. Do you need pagination? Do you need xml/html
parsing or similar? Are you going to be using Jquery over Prototype?
It''s important to research what gems will work well with other gems.
From here, you can do many things. But, the most important thing is to
make sure that you write solid test code while you are developing your
app. If you build a controller, a model, and a view, start writing your
tests for that controller, that model, and that view. The best advice I
can give you, which may differ from other people is to write as much
"necessary" test code to ensure that your app is working properly.
However, if you get stuck writing test code, you need to balance the
development of your app and the writing of test code without sacrificing
too much time.
I could give you another 100 tips for development and design, but it''s
best to stick to the basics I stated above, and then branch out as you
feel comfortable. I''ve built numerous sites in Rails - it''s a
very
solid framework. Make sure you keep your feet wet with Ruby programming
as well. The more you know and realize, the better.
Other than that, start with understanding fundamental web design - gain
knowledge about CSS/Sass, Javascript/Jquery, html5, mobile frameworks
like JQMobile, DBs like MySql, Postgres, etc. and stay grounded with
your development tasks. When you can balance all of this, the rest is
like riding a bike.
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