Lesson 01Publishing
GitHub Pages and a custom subdomain.
Build the first public landing page, configure GitHub Pages, connect swe.tickerbell.biz, understand DNS, and verify that the site is truly online.
The software engineering journal
Learn by building.
Understand by doing.
From the first webpage to a protected backend. Follow the decisions, challenges, and practical lessons behind becoming an independent software engineer.
The lesson library
From first release to real application.
09 published lessons
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Lesson 02Integrations
Connect the journal form to Brevo.
Add the tracker, connect every journal CTA, test the form, confirm the email, inspect the Brevo contact list, and document the frustrating parts honestly.
Lesson 03System design
Plan the architecture before writing more code.
Separate the public learning repository, production frontend, and private backend; define secure boundaries for GitHub Pages, Google Cloud Run, Auth0, Brevo, and secrets.
Lesson 04Product planning
Plan the experience before building more pages.
Define the website type, purpose, audience, sitemap, content sequence, customer journey, requirements, success measures, and phased scope for swe.tickerbell.biz.
Lesson 05Delivery roadmap
The product roadmap is not the learning order.
See the complete 30-step process for developing software from a problem to a maintained production system, and understand why project-based learning follows a different sequence.
Lesson 06Web applications
Move from a static website to a web application.
Choose a learning-driven architecture with Firebase Hosting, Auth0, Cloud Run, Firestore, private Cloud Storage, and GitHub-based deployment—while keeping every security boundary explicit.
Lesson 07Cloud hosting
Keep GitHub as the source. Let Cloudflare host.
Move the existing static frontend from GitHub Pages to Cloudflare Pages, connect swe.tickerbell.biz, diagnose the failed npm build, and verify the new deployment path.
Lesson 08Authentication
Give every role the right workspace.
Connect hosted login, define Learner, Team and Admin permissions, fix navigation, and apply consistent branding. Understand why private pages still need backend protection.
Lesson 09Backend & APIs
Connect the website to a real backend.
Deploy a protected FastAPI service from GitHub to Cloud Run, handle cloud permissions through Cloud Shell, and test the learner’s request. Database persistence is the next milestone.
Why we chose this journey
A founder’s path to building software.
AI has changed how software is created. People no longer need to know everything before they begin, but they still need to understand how systems work, how to guide AI, and how to evaluate what it produces.
We started this journey to explore how a founder can use AI as a learning and development partner while gradually becoming an independent and responsible software builder.
Your path to software engineering
One road. Thirteen practical milestones.
Move from the foundations to reliable, measurable, automated software. Learn one concept, build something small, test it, document what went wrong, and improve it through real projects.
Web foundations
Learn HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript—the building blocks of the web.
Git & GitHub
Track every change, collaborate safely, and publish small public projects.
Programming
Learn Python fundamentals, logic, data structures, and problem-solving.
Frontend development
Build responsive, accessible interfaces with JavaScript and React.
Backend & APIs
Lesson 9: a protected FastAPI service on Cloud Run. Follow a request from the dashboard to the backend.
Databases
Next: save learner progress in Firestore and verify persistence. SQL and PostgreSQL remain later learning topics.
Authentication & security
Lesson 8: Auth0 login, roles and navigation. Lesson 9 adds the protected backend API.
Testing
Write unit, integration, and end-to-end tests so changes can be trusted.
Cloud & deployment
Deploy the backend from GitHub to Google Cloud Run. The frontend stays on Cloudflare Pages.
CI/CD automation
Test, build and deploy from GitHub Actions using short-lived Google Cloud credentials.
Web analytics
Measure visits, user journeys, conversions, and performance to improve the application with evidence.
Complete real projects
Connect the frontend, backend, database, security, tests, deployment, and analytics.
Professional growth
Develop documentation, system design, code review, teamwork, and communication.
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Keep learning with us
The next chapter, in your inbox.
Follow the learning journal as we build, test, and publish the next milestone.