Things to know before starting a side project

What is a Side Project?

Side Project is a project undertaken by a designer/developer to sharpening their skills or experimenting new technologies for fun rather than doing their office jobs. The project includes websites, web apps, experiments, tools, resources etc.

A Side Project will be simple and done in a short period having less functionality compared to a normal project and very useful to a fellow designer/developer in any manner.

Why side project is great?

A side project is totally yours, so there will be no managers or clients. You will have the entire freedom to do, as you like. There will be no annoying changes or specific deadline to finish, you can do it as you like. You are a free bird. From side projects, you can learn new skills, apply your knowledge and earn experience.

Make some money

Yeah. You can also make some money with your side projects like adding a pro plan or place some ads somewhere. However, remember that you are not doing this for money. So keep things better.

Steps to do a side project

Step 1: Idea

The first step is to think about an idea. The idea should be simple and easy to build. You can add features later.  Need some inspiration? Click here

Step 2: Build

After finalizing your idea, the next step is to build your idea. It includes Wireframing, Designing, HTML Coding and Programming.  You can ask your friends if you are not familiar with designing/coding or learn it yourself. Keep it simple. Do not forget to include Social buttons. This will help your project to become popular.

You can choose an appropriate time to do your project like your spare time or weekends. But make sure that your side project doesn’t affect your company projects.

Step 3: Test/Iterate

After completing your project, you can test yourself or ask a friend to do. Iterate things to make it better.

Step 4: Launch

After completing the testing and fixing, you are ready to launch your side project. You can register a new domain if you wish or make a folder in your existing portfolio website and host it.

Step 5: Share

Share your Project URL to your friends and post it on social media. Twitter and Facebook are good options. Ask your friends to give feedback about your project.

Step 6: Promote

You can promote your side project in different channels like Designer News, Hacker News, Rediff, Stumble upon, Pinterest etc. Write an article about your Side projects or ask a friend having a good blog.

Step 7: Support

You will get a lot of responses about your project. Add features / functionality accordingly.

Conclusion

Now you can start a side project. What do you think about side project? Please let me know in the comments. Share this article if you found useful.