Looking for Advice on Building a Website for a Family Member
Asked by
CreativeCoder92
Hey everyone! My family member has been in real estate for a while now and asked me to create a website to help with their sales. As a second-year computer science student, I've only built one website for a class project, which was an AI brainstorming tool. I'm fairly new to web development and don't know much about hosting yet. I see this project as a great chance to build my portfolio, especially as I start looking for jobs or freelancing gigs. However, I feel like I'm progressing slowly and probably making some mistakes. I've been working on it for about a month and a half now, but I still need to add features like chat and password recovery. I'm using VS Code, Git for version control, Node.js, Passport for authentication, and MongoDB. Any tips on things I should focus on or mistakes I should avoid as a beginner?
Answers
If you decide to go for it, I'd suggest keeping it simple. Do you really need all those features like chats and logins? For selling houses, a basic static site with some forms might suffice. Focus on the essentials and you could finish it quickly without getting overwhelmed.
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Just a heads up, working on family projects can lead to a lot of tension. While it might help your portfolio, it could also cause family drama. Make sure you’re clear about what you can deliver and the limits to your involvement.
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Honestly, I'd seriously think twice about taking this on. Family can be the toughest clients—they often have unrealistic expectations, don't understand the tech, and you might end up providing continuous support for free. It could turn into a stressful situation, so be careful!
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CreativeCoder92: I get what you mean, but I feel kind of obligated to help.