Hi all,
This is my first post here on the forum as a new bubble user. If I’m posting incorrectly somehow, please let me know.
I’ve spent the week familiarising myself with bubble. I’ve completed the lessons, built a few test apps, drawn up plans for an app (database plus UI), built a few more apps, watched a few more online videos and built a few more apps.
I don’t come from a programming background, but have played around with Python a little and understand logical concepts required to get data talking and presented on screen.
So, with my short bio now out of the way, I would like to request some advice. I want to learn more, nothing too specific but I would like a deeper understanding of best practices and things I didn’t know I could do (hopefully that makes sense). In essence, I want to ensure the app I do finally create has longevity because of my decisions.
I’ve had a look online and note a few courses:
coachingnocodeapps
zerocode
udemy (although I’ve ruled that out)
I like that I pay once for the “fast track” course on coachingnocodeapps, but it’s a large sum. I took a look at the 2+ hour tutorial video online and enjoyed it.
Zerocode seems more affordable (plus I find the UI nicer looking), but are these courses going to teach me, rather than just telling me how to build something?
Has anyone tried the above and what are the pros and cons? Thanks!
The resources at Coachingnocodeapps are, in my opinion, the gold standard for learning Bubble. Your mileage may vary depending on how much you’ve already ramped up, but Gaby’s approach seems to really work for folks. I’ve referred many people to her curriculum.
Welcome to Bubble, @mattb! Couple other resources that may be helpful
I’ve gone through just about every one of Copilots courses. They are smaller and more affordable than some of the others you mentioned yet very in depth. More conceptual than technical.
No experience with Dan’s courses but they are also smaller and more affordable.
Coaching No Code is always a good choice. The VIP membership would be great for a relative beginner but most of it is doesn’t get super advanced. Her youtube channel is a super resource as well.
Welcome! I’m of course happy to answer any questions as you make a decision on the best resource for you. I’d love to get you pointed in the right direction, whether that’s with one of our resources or not! Let me know if I can give you any details or extra info.
Another vote for @romanmg. There are a lot of great resources for Bubble but I think Gaby’s training resources lay the best foundation for someone to get the most out of Bubble.
@mattb - I have watched many of Gaby’s Youtube videos and bought her ebook. Well explained material, easy to understand explanations.
I have also bought courses from @copilot and had multiple 1 hour paid sessions with them. Super crisp and easy to understand materials. Great sessions to help me get unstuck on my projects. Well worth the time/money.
I would recommend that you buy specific courses that help solve specific problems (e.g. processing payments or a basic getting started course, etc.). And visit the forums often to read as much as possible + watch videos on youtube.
Hi all,
It’s great to see so many opinions alongside useful advice. @romanmg - thanks for reaching our personally and for the introduction. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to commit.
I was surprised that no one mentioned Zerocode, which helps me narrow down my search a little.
You may be interested in my thoughts after all of the replies here, and what I’ve decided moving forward. I’ll likely be diving into the following websites, in this order:
Learnto app
Copilot
Coachingnocodeapps
Zercode and Udemy
I always had an inkling that these were not going to work for me, so they are off the table for right now.
Learnto app (https://learnto.app/)
I hadn’t heard of this previously, so thanks for the suggestion @eli
After looking at the course information, there are a few sections I could probably make use of, so will sign up for a month to give it a try. The price seems ridiculously affordable.
Copilot (https://withcopilot.com/courses)
Thanks again @eli - I like the look of some of the courses, and that they can be purchased separately. The one thing that bugs me about this site is the “Company” section in the website footer. I like to learn more about a company before purchasing, and all of these links are greyed out. I hope the content is also still applicable, with some of the courses being over a year old.
Coachingnocodeapps (https://coachingnocodeapps.com/)
I’m interested, and glad to hear there’s also a money back policy if this isn’t for me. I like the YouTube videos and may take the Fast Track course after giving the others Copilot and Learnto a spin.
Anyway, thanks all for the help. I’ll try and keep this thread updated as I’m learning for any other users stopping by.
So I’ve already crossed learnto off my learning list because of my experience so far. I only signed up 30 minutes ago and have already cancelled. I’m unsure whether that makes me fickle, unwilling to give something a chance, or simply don’t want to waste my time. Maybe all of the above.
A few no-no’s that really stuck out to me here:
Sign-up experience
Really not great. The flow of checkout doesn’t work well. You enter your user info and are then taken to the billing page which I think should show my info - but it doesn’t. I also clicked the terms whilst on the payment page - which took me to a new page (not in a new tab). The terms are also very weak.
Cancelling subscription
Looking for an example of how billing should not be done? Check this site out. As a standard, if you are billing for a subscription on a monthly basis, you should be able to access until the end of the billing period. You did pay for a months’ service after all? Not so here. I cancelled my account (no secondary confirmation) and now can’t access content. I can still access my account, but only to click the “Resubscribe” button. When clicking that button, it prompts for my card again!
Site layout
Slow loading, hard to find the content required. There really hasn’t been a lot of thought regarding design. For the videos I watched, the quality wasn’t great.
Honestly, I should have spent a little more time perusing content, but the whole site design and slowness just bugged me.
Overall thoughts about learnto
There is a lot of content available, but the site is just not ready for visitors. I guess you get what you pay for.
Quick questions
I get that VIP is a monthly/annual subscription, and that Fast Track is a single payment. VIP appears to have more videos, whilst Fast Track is structured. What is the difference between the Fast Track course and VIP access, does VIP have access to the Fast Track videos?
Fast Track teaches you how to build an app on Bubble from the ground up. It’s a structured course with a specific sequence, divided into modules and lessons that take you through the process step by step. It covers fundamental concepts and techniques you’ll need to build your app on the platform. It also includes “extras,” like a demo app, where you can access the editor used in some of the lessons, and an app walk through, where you can watch a full app being built.
The VIP Membership is a database of tutorials for building specific features. It’s not a course, so there’s no structure or sequence. Lessons teach you how to build features, but not an app as a whole.
So, Fast Track will teach you how to build the core of your app (regardless of the type of app you’re building) – you’ll learn concepts, strategy, technique, etc. VIP will help you expand on that with individual/specific feature tutorials (you can pick and choose with these). They both contain different content.
In case you haven’t seen them, there are video walkthroughs of both dashboards so you can get a feel for what the experience is like, along with the specific type of content included in each. Those videos are on the Fast Track and VIP pages, and they should give you a good overview. I definitely recommend watching through them before you decide to enroll so you’ll know exactly what to expect in terms of design, experience, content, etc.
Just to add a little more clarity – if you’ve seen the YouTube channel, you’ll find that the teaching style is the same across the board in both these resources. If you like the teaching style in those videos, you’ll know what to expect with these other products as well.
Hey @mattb! I’ll be launching Nucode V2 with a slew of no code tutorials, lessons, and courses that are all community-curated. We’ll have quite a few good free tutorials from Bubble users when it launches.
You’re right. I’ve decided to put aside paying for any training right now and build a fully fledged test app. It’s going pretty well and will contain payment system, subscriptions, user logins and groups, task tracking and a whole bunch of other things.
I did take a look at templates and blocks that allow me to achieve some of the actions, but decided against them in favour of building my own. That way I learn as I build and it will be easier to debug.
The data view side seems pretty straight forward if you set your database up correctly. I think I’ll stick with the “learn by doing” approach as I know what I want to build, so it makes sense.
I believe firmly in a “learn while you do” approach as it helps you identify areas of use for your application. I’m guessing that most people on bubble are here because they have a great ap idea, so trying to build, and researching whilst doing so makes a huge difference to your development.
The forums have been invaluable to me. I haven’t had a question so far that I haven’t been able to find an answer to.
One thing I would definitely recommend is drawing workflows prior to developing your MVP. I’m using Adobe XD and it’s so much easier when you have a clear picture of the UI. The backend can be developed as you are implementing your design, and like me, I’m sure you’ll notice you missed a few things.
