I'm 17 and know the basics of Python, including functions, loops, return statements, and while loops. I also have experience with MIT App Inventor and enjoyed building projects and winning school-level competitions. Now that university has started, I want to improve my skills by creating and publishing a small exam-preparation app or website.
I have very limited money and no payment card, so I need tools and learning resources that are free and won't require spending money without my parents knowing. I'm willing to learn a new language and use tutorials or courses. What would be the best path for building a simple study app, hosting it online, and possibly adding in-app purchases later? Is Python suitable, or should I learn web technologies or another language first?
4 Answers
You can absolutely start for free. Since you already know some Python, try building a small web app with Flask or Django, but learn basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript too. A simple quiz app could begin as a Python program, then become a website with questions, answers, scoring, and saved progress. You can code in free tools such as VS Code or browser-based environments like Replit or GitHub Codespaces when available. For hosting, look into free tiers from services such as GitHub Pages for static sites, or platforms that support free deployments for small projects. Start with a very small version before worrying about payments.
For your first project, I’d actually recommend making a browser-based app with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It can run on almost any device and is easier to publish than a phone app. Build one feature at a time: a subject-selection page, a quiz screen, score tracking, and a results page. You can store questions in a JSON file at first, so you don’t need a database or paid services. Once that works, you can learn a framework such as React or connect it to a Python backend.
A practical learning plan would be: spend a week reviewing Python, then learn HTML and CSS, followed by basic JavaScript. After that, build a tiny quiz with ten questions and no login system. Keep the project in Git, write down what you learn, and ask classmates to test it. Tutorials are fine, but try to recreate each example from memory instead of only watching videos. Free documentation and beginner courses are often more useful than constantly switching between programming languages.
Don’t make in-app purchases part of version one. App stores often require developer accounts, payment setup, age requirements, and sometimes fees. First prove that people find the app useful. A free website hosted through a service such as GitHub Pages can be enough for an initial release, and you can share the code publicly as a portfolio project. Later, with an adult’s help if necessary, you can investigate legal payment and publishing options.
That makes sense. I’ll start with a small browser quiz instead of trying to build a complete app immediately. I mainly wanted to know whether it was realistic without spending money.