You know that moment of inspiration—often in the middle of the night—when you stumble upon an idea that feels like it could be a real hit? I experienced something similar, which led me to develop Nomado.live in just one week. Nomado is a travel app that assists travelers by providing visa information, personalized itineraries, and a community for users to leave genuine reviews.

As developers, there’s nothing quite as gratifying as seeing real users engage with our applications. In this article, I’ll share some strategies to help you build scalable, effective apps. My manager always says, "If your idea worked well once, seek ways to enhance it." Therefore, designing an app with a solid architecture is crucial. I’ll demonstrate how I built Nomado using various DigitalOcean services and multiple APIs—emphasizing that you don’t need to over-engineer your application to create something valuable.

Key Steps Before You Start Building

Embarking on app development is thrilling—you’re eager to choose a tech stack and add flashy features. However, it’s important to pause and reflect on a few essential factors:

• Define the Use Case: My goal was to create a travel application that mitigates visa-related frustrations I faced. Initially, my focus was on a single user—myself—and the challenges I encountered. When I spoke with friends who travel frequently, I gathered insights that shaped my app’s core features around their needs.

• Map the Application Flow: Use a tool of your choice (I used Excalidraw) to sketch out how your application should flow. I initially drafted a version of Nomado, which helped me visualize the structure and guide the design process step by step.

• Select Your Tech Stack: Remember the saying "too many cooks spoil the broth." Simplicity is key. For Nomado, I chose Next.js for the frontend, as I was most comfortable with it, and integrated DigitalOcean for my database, hosting, and GenAI capabilities, thanks to their user-friendliness and affordability.

After establishing these fundamentals, you can begin the development process.

How I Built Nomado

The idea for Nomado was spurred by my frequent travels and the hassle of navigating visa requirements. I sought to develop an app that would not only assist with visa details but also provide well-rounded travel itineraries and real user experiences through a community feature.

Building and Integrating an AI Agent

A notable feature of Nomado is the GenAI agent, which helps users create personalized itineraries. Here’s a brief overview of its workflow:

1. Users input their destination, duration, and travel dates.
2. This information is sent to a GenAI agent that generates a tailored travel plan.
3. Users receive a comprehensive itinerary with essential travel information.

To build a GenAI agent like this on DigitalOcean, follow these steps:

• Access the DigitalOcean GenAI platform.
• Configure the agent using the Llama 3.3 Instruct model.
• If necessary, set up your knowledge base.

Integration involves setting up environment variables and establishing a connection with the OpenAI SDK to implement the prompt structure and make API calls.

Creating and Integrating a Database

Nomado features a community section where users can provide feedback on their travels, and for this, I utilized PostgreSQL due to its reliability and suitability for complex data relationships.

Setting it up is easy on DigitalOcean—log in, create a PostgreSQL database, and select a suitable development plan. Once provisioned, use the connection details to create a database connection utility in your application, allowing users to log their travel experiences effectively.

Hosting and Domain Mapping

After building out major features, it’s important to deploy your application for user testing. For Nomado, I used DigitalOcean’s App Platform. By connecting my GitHub account, I could easily deploy my app and enable auto-deploys.

To map a custom domain, follow the instructions to link your purchased domain to your deployment. This step is critical—not only for user accessibility but also for SEO benefits.

Key Takeaways

Developing Nomado was an illuminating experience, emphasizing the importance of simplicity and user feedback in building applications. Here are some takeaways for anyone looking to develop their own project:

1. Start Small, Think Big: Focus on tackling one problem effectively instead of trying to build everything at once.
2. Choose the Right Tools: Select technologies and managed services that fit your comfort level and requirements.
3. Engage with the Community: Share your work early and gather feedback to refine your app.
4. Continuous Learning: Leverage resources and tutorials available online to stay updated and improve your skills.

If you’re interested in exploring Nomado’s inner workings, the open-source code is available on GitHub for reference.

Building applications can be daunting, but focusing on the essentials and employing effective tools can lead to successful outcomes.

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