Building a forum

When I started SureJan.app, I just wanted a space for local communities free from astroturfing and algorithmic feeds. The side mission? Teaching myself to take a full-stack product from empty repo to a running web app. Here’s what I learned along the way.

The Tech Stack (and Why It Matters)

Backend: Django + HTMX for a snappy, server-rendered feel without a heavy SPA.
Database: PostgreSQL hosted on Neon/Fly.io—structured, relational, and production-ready.
Frontend polish: Vanilla templates with sprinkles of HTMX interactivity; TailwindCSS for styling.
Infra & Deploy: Docker + Fly.io Machines for app hosting, Fly Postgres for data, WhiteNoise for static assets.
Other pieces: GitHub Actions for CI, favicon + asset pipeline, and lots of debugging around collectstatic.

These choices weren’t just “because tutorials said so.” They were deliberate practice in tools that real-world teams use to balance developer velocity, scalability, and cost.

Skills I Gained

DevOps basics: Writing Dockerfiles, handling Fly.io deploys, scaling machines up/down, debugging logs.
Database wiring: Connecting Django to remote Postgres, running migrations, and reasoning about why SQLite won’t cut it in production.
Auth and security: Building signup/login flows, CSRF-protected forms, rate-limiting deletes.
Frontend ergonomics: Using HTMX to progressively enhance instead of over-engineering.
Error hunting: Manifest errors, favicon 500s, static file configs—the kind of yak-shaving that’s the reality of production work.
Product thinking: Balancing what’s fun to build vs. what creates value for users (e.g., letting authors delete posts within a 15-minute grace period).

Challenges (and Breakthroughs)

Deployment woes: My biggest blockers weren’t code but infra—favicon errors, collectstatic misconfigs, and Fly scaling quirks. Each solved bug was a mini-lesson in production readiness.
Database decisions: Starting with SQLite felt easy until migrations broke; shifting fully to Postgres was the real-world choice.
UI minimalism: Instead of chasing pixel-perfect clones, I shipped just enough UI polish (horizontal nav bar, clear logo, up/down arrows) to make the MVP usable.

What Employers Might Like About This

End-to-end ownership: I didn’t just “follow a tutorial.” I made tech decisions, fixed production bugs, and shipped a live product.
Adaptability: Swapping between Django, Docker, Fly.io, React/Tailwind, and Postgres shows I can navigate a modern stack.
Persistence: I learned the hard way that building in production means debugging at 1am. I stuck through, documented, and iterated.
Community mindset: This isn’t a toy app; it’s a product with a mission—free speech spaces for local communities.

Closing Thoughts

SureJan.app isn’t Reddit-scale, but it’s my proof of concept that I can take a complex system from scratch to live.