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Foreword

Mark Boulton

Ideas are cheap.
And so are web apps.

Only ten short years ago, it was hard to release a web-based product. Servers were expensive and ubiquitous connectivity was something many of us dreamt of. The ‘always connected’ people were having lives elsewhere. It was a very different place.

Then, along came 37Signals and Basecamp and things started to change. Yes, there were others before them. But because of the people they knew, the conferences they spoke at, and the desire to keep things simple, 37Signals inspired a generation.

Very suddenly, creating web apps was not a dream for many people. 37Signals made people believe anyone could do it. And many have. The Web 2.0 movement of a few years ago – along with it’s horrible logos and acronyms - encapsulated a change on the Web. A change from static brochures, to complex and rich applications. Web applications. That was 2005.

Since then, the Web and how we use it has changed. In 2005, I used Apple Mail (pop) for my email and iCal for my calendar. I used Microsoft Office for writing documents and spreadsheets. I backed up my files to a server every night. My timesheets were recorded on paper. Now, I use Google Docs, Google Calendar, Gmail, Dropbox and Harvest. I use Basecamp to help run my projects. All of these software applications and practices have been replaced by online equivalents.

But these are the success stories. Many web apps have a wonderful birth only to wither and die within a few months. Why? Because ideas are cheap. Creating a product and a business is difficult. That’s where this book comes in.

In this book, Dan Zambonini hasn’t written a silver bullet. What he’s written – through years of research, commercial success and failures – is a manual to help you know what’s involved. He’s been there and done it. Learnt the mistakes, recorded them here so we can benefit. If you’re a designer, developer or entrepreneur kick-starting a web app idea in your spare time, this book will give you a head start.

What does it take to create a successful web app? A good idea?

For the first part sure, but for the rest? You’re holding it in your hands.