A template for web app startups

code templates

Having a framework in place when you start up will let you hit the ground running. This applies not just to software, but also business, health, fitness, and just about everything else in life. Having the dots ready to connect helps you to draw the right picture.

I recently released BJJ Tracker as a web app. You can read about it here. I built it knowing that I would want to reuse its code, and have it serve as a framework for future projects. I cleaned it up into a GitHub repository, trying to make it as generic as I could. Here is the link: https://github.com/pacea87/ap-template.

BJJ Tracker

I wanted to create a template to rapidly roll out digital products and software. This source code is a starting point. The goal is to be quick and cheap, without sacrificing quality. It runs in a LAMP environment. If you want to run this software on your computer, look into WAMP or MAMP.

This code base provides a front-end that leverages modern web technologies and standard best practices. A basic layout is described, including a header, menu drawer, feature buttons, and detail pages. It uses Bootstrap, jQuery, Font Awesome, Google Fonts, and Google Charts.

The back-end is object oriented, RESTful, and secure. Code that talks to the database, or to 3rd party APIs, has been separated out into *-service.php files. It includes SQL to create a user database. The database interacts with a custom registration and login engine. It allows for anonymous users, so that data can be saved before signing up, and a password is not needed to get started. It provides a reset password mechanism for users. It seamlessly integrates with Mailchimp and Facebook login. Redirects are in place to force SSL and WWW, and to remove file extensions from URLs. Next versions will address technical SEO and new API integrations.

source code

If you’d like to contribute to this repo, feel free to fork it, and make a pull request.

GitHub