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Where would I start on this?

by carny1
9 replies
Hello, I'm carny and I'm a total newb. Please take it easy on me!

I'm wanting to build a website to help my customers manage their customers. I've done some searching and tried to research SaaS, but I haven't found anything very helpful. Where is the best place for me to start? I have very little programming skills.

Please don't say just hire someone. I'm not asking you to teach me anything (but I'm open to anything you want to offer ), just tell me what I would have to learn to do something like this.

This website is very similar to what I'm wanting to do: https://www.servicefrequency.com/

Thanks!
#start
  • Profile picture of the author ussher
    SaaS = Software as a Service.

    The first place to start is to learn how to make software.

    You can't sell software as a service if your unable to build software. Just like you cant open a pizza restaurant if you don't know how to make pizza.

    First place to start is to learn how to build software or hire someone who knows how.

    The reason people pay for SaaS is because its cheaper/easier/faster to use it than build their own.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
    Start with learning PHP and MySQL. It will also be helpful to start specifying exactly what it is you wish to accomplish, in as much detail as possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author phpg
    You might start with researching various available CRM software, e.g. try free community edition of Sugar CRM : Download Sugar Community Edition for Free | SugarCRM.com English (Americas)
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    • Profile picture of the author carny1
      Originally Posted by ussher View Post

      SaaS = Software as a Service.

      The first place to start is to learn how to make software.

      You can't sell software as a service if your unable to build software. Just like you cant open a pizza restaurant if you don't know how to make pizza.

      First place to start is to learn how to build software or hire someone who knows how.

      The reason people pay for SaaS is because its cheaper/easier/faster to use it than build their own.
      I realize that, the problem is I don't know where to begin. There are dozens or hundreds of languages. I would like to narrow that down

      Originally Posted by David Beroff View Post

      Start with learning PHP and MySQL. It will also be helpful to start specifying exactly what it is you wish to accomplish, in as much detail as possible.
      Thank you! Could something like this be done with just those two or are those just back end languages? Would they be able to handle it if this really takes off and I have hundreds or thousands of customers that have hundreds of customers themselves?

      Originally Posted by phpg View Post

      You might start with researching various available CRM software, e.g. try free community edition of Sugar CRM : Download Sugar Community Edition for Free | SugarCRM.com English (Americas)
      I've looked at several and have an idea of exactly what I want, but I can't tell how they were made just from looking at them. Maybe someone can tell me a way?

      Thanks for the replies!
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      • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
        Originally Posted by carny1 View Post

        Could something like this be done with just those two or are those just back end languages?
        Yes; those two are sufficient. I'm building AboutTh.is, a future social networking site, just using them. PHP communicates with MySQL using an interface called PDO; don't use the earlier interfaces, even if they seem "easier". Over time, you'll need to learn HTML, CSS, and possibly JavaScript, but you don't have to master those up front; you'll end up learning a little bit at a time, as you determine your own specific needs.

        Originally Posted by carny1 View Post

        Would they be able to handle it if this really takes off and I have hundreds or thousands of customers that have hundreds of customers themselves?
        Yes. This becomes a hosting issue. I have similar aspirations, and I ended up choosing a solution from Rackspace called Cloud Sites; their approach dynamically expands your resources as your traffic grows. Their entry-level price is $150/month, but I didn't want to pay that much while I'm developing my site, so I signed up with a reseller who carves up his own account into tiny $5/mo slices for customers like me. I get the same power and flexibility without having to pay more until I actually need the bandwidth, storage, and computing resources.
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  • Profile picture of the author phpg
    I suggested free edition of Sugar CRM because you can not only look at it, but download it, install it, use it and maybe even build your website on top of it.
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  • Profile picture of the author MonopolyOnline
    David has some good advice.

    If you want to get started developing fast, checkout RubyOnRails.

    Ruby on Rails, the open-source web framework that powers top websites such as Twitter, Hulu, GitHub, and the Yellow Pages.

    To start, spend 15 minutes at TryRuby.org

    Then an our or so at Rails For Zombies a FREE INTERACTIVE online tutorial (learn to build a twitter like site)
    (click the Watch Course Video)

    Codeschool.com/courses/rails-for-zombies-redux

    Now spend two days at RailsTutorial and develop a complete "twitter lite" app and have it hosted online for free at Heroku.

    Ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book

    Finally go to RailsCast.com and learn how to build additional great features into your app.

    Your goal is doable.
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  • Profile picture of the author r0dvan
    You should learn SQL (MySQL or any)
    Try to focus on Cloud and Scalable services, Amazon AWS is an awesome option for the RDS service. Products
    It might get hard, but everything has a learning curve.

    Then focus on PHP and connect your Escalable web app to your RDS. That will offer extra security for clients on this new Era of information.
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  • Profile picture of the author Iainhbb
    First thing you should do is research your market. Find out what your market wants - Google and find people you are looking for what you are trying to create.

    The technical aspect of doing the SAAS part will come once you get some customers.


    Iain
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