Why I Built MemoireeApp

2025-05-21

MemoireeApp was born out of a personal desire — to preserve life’s meaningful moments without noise or distraction. I wanted something simple, beautiful, and above all, private.

I began my web development journey in November 2024. At first, I thought mobile development was the path for me. Flutter sounded exciting — build for iOS and Android at once? Amazing! But after two weeks, I hit a wall. Resources were limited, tutorials weren’t beginner-friendly, and I felt lost.

So on November 18, 2024, I pivoted fully to web development. HTML, CSS, and then JavaScript — it was a steep climb. JavaScript, in particular, felt abstract. But two weeks in, I was beginning to understand how to make buttons work, toggle menus, and write small functions. That spark of understanding kept me going.

I started uploading every tiny project I made to GitHub. I wasn’t trying to show off — I just wanted to learn how Git worked and maybe show friends what I was up to. Even during night shifts or long commutes, I found time to code — sometimes just 30 minutes, but it counted.

Eventually, I bought a course. I was feeling a bit lost again and needed structure. The course helped me solidify what I knew and take on projects like landing pages, to-do lists, BMI calculators (as a nurse, this felt very on-brand!), and more. I even started building for friends using inspiration from Dribbble — because let's be honest, my design skills needed help.

About three months in, I transitioned to React. That’s when things clicked. Suddenly, I was building forms, trackers, and even a weather app. APIs weren’t scary anymore — Axios and custom hooks became tools I loved using. My confidence grew.

Then came the big idea: I wanted to build something real. Not just a project, but a product. I started with an idea called Moodly, a mood tracking app. But the name felt too narrow — like it was only for sadness. I wanted something more universal and uplifting.

That’s how MemoireeApp was born — a private memory logging app, built for people like me who want to store meaningful moments without the chaos of a phone gallery or social media.

I wrote out the idea and started building. I originally planned to use React, but routing was clunky. That’s when I discovered Next.js. After one hour of watching a course, I was all in.

I rebuilt MemoireeApp in Next.js with TypeScript. I launched it, bought a domain, hosted it on Vercel — and just like that, it was live.

MemoireeApp represents everything I’ve learned and everything I believe in: simplicity, intentional design, and privacy-first tools that serve real people.

What’s Next?

In my next post, I’ll share the lessons I learned from launching my first solo SaaS product — the wins, the mistakes, and the journey ahead.

If this story resonates with you, or if you're building something too, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Connect with me.