Tech Questions

Straight answers to the questions founders ask when building, shipping, and scaling products.

30 QuestionsStarting a ProjectDuring DevelopmentLaunching and Scaling

Starting a Project

Starting a Project

Do I Need a CTO to Build My Product?

You do not need a full-time CTO to build your first product. A development agency or fractional CTO can get your MVP to market faster and cheaper. Hire a full-time CTO after you have product-market fit.

Read answer
Starting a Project

Flutter vs React Native: Which Should I Choose?

Choose Flutter for pixel-perfect custom UIs and high performance. Choose React Native if your team knows JavaScript, you want native-feeling components, or you need to share code with a React web app.

Read answer
Starting a Project

How Much Does It Cost to Build an App?

A basic MVP costs $8,000-$25,000 with an agency. A full-featured app ranges from $50,000-$250,000+. Cost depends on complexity, platform, team type, and timeline.

Read answer
Starting a Project

How to Choose the Right Tech Stack for My Startup

Choose your startup's tech stack based on team skills, time-to-market, hiring pool, and product type. For most startups, Next.js + Supabase + React Native is the optimal modern stack.

Read answer
Starting a Project

How to Validate My Startup Idea Before Building

Validate your startup idea before building by running landing page tests, fake door experiments, concierge MVPs, and pre-sales. Spend $500-$2,000 on validation before investing $10,000+ on development.

Read answer
Starting a Project

React vs Next.js: Which One Should I Pick?

Choose Next.js for SEO-driven, full-stack web apps with server rendering. Choose plain React (Vite) for internal tools, SPAs behind authentication, or when you want full control over your backend.

Read answer
Starting a Project

Should I Build or Buy My Software?

Buy when the software is not your core differentiator and proven SaaS solutions exist. Build when the feature is central to your competitive advantage and off-the-shelf tools cannot meet your specific needs.

Read answer
Starting a Project

Supabase vs Firebase: Which Backend Should I Use?

Choose Supabase for SQL-based apps needing relational data, open-source flexibility, and no vendor lock-in. Choose Firebase for real-time apps, quick prototyping, and deep Google Cloud integration.

Read answer
Starting a Project

What Is the Best Database for My Project?

PostgreSQL is the best default database for most projects. Use MongoDB for document-oriented data without relationships. Use MySQL when working with legacy systems or WordPress.

Read answer
Starting a Project

When Should I Use Next.js?

Use Next.js when your project needs strong SEO, fast page loads, or server-side rendering. It excels for content-heavy sites, SaaS dashboards, and e-commerce platforms.

Read answer

During Development

During Development

How to Add Authentication to My App

Compare Supabase Auth, Firebase Auth, Auth0, and Clerk for adding authentication to your application, covering OAuth, JWT, session management, and best practices.

Read answer
During Development

How to Add Stripe Integration in My Application

Learn how to integrate Stripe payments into your app using Checkout, Elements, or custom flows, including webhooks, subscription billing, and testing strategies.

Read answer
During Development

How to Build a Marketplace App

Learn how to build a two-sided marketplace app, covering payment splitting with Stripe Connect, trust and safety, the chicken-and-egg problem, and an MVP-first approach.

Read answer
During Development

How to Build a SaaS Application From Scratch

A practical guide to building a SaaS application from scratch, covering tech stack selection, authentication, billing, multi-tenancy, and the MVP-first approach.

Read answer
During Development

How to Build AI Features Into My Product

Learn how to integrate AI features using OpenAI, Claude, embeddings, and RAG into your product, with guidance on when AI adds real value versus when simpler solutions work better.

Read answer
During Development

How to Connect My App to an AI API

Step-by-step guide to connecting your application to OpenAI, Claude, or Gemini APIs, covering SDK setup, streaming responses, error handling, and cost management.

Read answer
During Development

How to Make My Website SEO Friendly

Learn how to make your website SEO friendly with technical SEO fundamentals, meta tags, structured data, Core Web Vitals optimization, and Next.js-specific advantages.

Read answer
During Development

How to Set Up a CI/CD Pipeline

Learn how to set up a CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions, Vercel auto-deploy, preview deployments, and environment management for modern web applications.

Read answer
During Development

Vercel vs AWS vs Netlify: Where Should I Deploy?

Compare Vercel, AWS, and Netlify for deploying your web application, covering ease of use, pricing, scaling, serverless functions, and when each platform is the best fit.

Read answer
During Development

When Should I Use AI Agents vs Simple API Calls?

Understand when to use AI agents versus simple API calls, covering LangChain, LangGraph, and CrewAI for agent orchestration, plus cost, latency, and reliability tradeoffs.

Read answer

Launching and Scaling

Launching and Scaling

How to Add Real-Time Features to My App

Add real-time features to your application using WebSockets, Supabase Realtime, Socket.io, or Server-Sent Events based on your specific use case and technical requirements.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

How to Get My First 100 Users

Get your first 100 users through Product Hunt launches, community building, targeted cold outreach, content marketing, and structured beta programs that generate real traction.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

How to Launch My Product Fast

Launch your product in weeks, not months, by adopting an MVP-first mindset, prioritizing features with MoSCoW, and leveraging modern development tools for rapid delivery.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

How to Migrate From Firebase to Supabase

Migrate from Firebase to Supabase by moving Firestore data to PostgreSQL, converting Firebase Auth users, transferring storage files, and avoiding common migration pitfalls.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

How to Monitor My Application in Production

Monitor your production application effectively with error tracking via Sentry, uptime monitoring, APM tools, structured logging, and alerting to catch issues before users do.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

How to Prepare My App for a Product Hunt Launch

Prepare for a successful Product Hunt launch with a pre-launch checklist, hunter selection strategy, launch day execution plan, post-launch follow-up, and common mistakes to avoid.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

How to Reduce Cloud Hosting Costs

Reduce cloud hosting costs by right-sizing instances, using reserved capacity, adopting serverless for variable workloads, optimizing databases, and leveraging CDN caching.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

How to Scale My Application for More Users

Scale your application with database optimization, caching with Redis, CDN integration, horizontal scaling, and serverless architecture to handle growing user traffic reliably.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

Should I Hire Developers or Use an Agency?

Compare hiring full-time developers, freelancers, and agencies by cost, speed, and quality to determine the best approach for building your product at each stage.

Read answer
Launching and Scaling

What Happens After MVP: How to Iterate and Grow

After launching your MVP, focus on user feedback loops, analytics-driven iteration, feature prioritization, and making smart rebuild-vs-iterate decisions to grow your product.

Read answer

Have a question we didn't cover?

Tell us what you're building. We'll help you figure out the right approach.

Start Your Project