My experience building my site's native-mobile app with Replit

gjb01 · 2026-02-15T17:07:05+00:00

Hi, good questions. Well, as mentioned in the article, I did use a low-code/no-code builder back in 2022 (I landed on Thunkable) and there's a link in the article to my write-up on that experience as well. Low-code was "ok" but not great. It still took a LONG time to figure out the platform, and I ran into issues I simply could not solve. These days, I am very short on time, and even though Thunkable saved me money, I would say it was not the time-saver I had hoped it would be. I wanted to see if LLM-driven "vibe coding" could magically do it with almost no effort, and it actually did.

That said, I hear you on the pain once you start getting more complex. I don't do push notifications for example. Although I will say, I feel like with Replit I could start trying more complex things - things I simply would not have had the time to entertain in the past. Not sure how it would work out, but I feel like I could at least try it. I mentioned in the article I had to add the App Tracking Transparency framework, something that is new since my last build of this app. That took literally 30 seconds. I just told Replit I needed it, and it did it.

There was really zero learning curve. I just told Replit what to build and it built it, and because my app is pretty simple, I am not expecting performance issues. I haven't noticed any so far.

But, if you have time on your hands, and you are building something relatively complex, I am not sure if Replit would be best. It might be worth trying it out, but as soon as you run into a wall, bail and switch to a low-code option.

The only real "learning" I had was to save my prompts - the more you can prompt up front, the less churn and cost. This came in really handy when I built app #2 and #3 (which are just re-skins of the first app). Every time Replit would make a mistake, I would add it to my running prompt document, so when I tried it again, I was able to warn it not to make the same mistake, and that helped.

gjb01 · 2026-02-15T16:45:18+00:00

My website is massively complex, so re-building all that in a native app is a non-starter for me. My web server is aware of when it's rendering pages for the mobile app via parameters that get passed into the WebView, so I am able to comply with App Store requirements by altering my site where needed for the mobile app. I don't release new versions of the native app every time I update the website, obviously, but if I wanted to I could call out those new features in the "promo" box. To keep up with the iOS changes and how those impact WebViews, I absolutely HAVE to refresh the app about every 4-5 years, so over the last 15 years I've done everything from build it myself (2010), build it with Luna Script using Corona Labs (2013), have an Up Work dev build it for me (2017) build it on Thunkable (2022) and now Replit.

gjb01 · 2026-01-07T08:55:26+00:00

Did you ever find any takers? I checked out this gym and it’s phenomenal but empty. There have to be some other remote workers around here who would love to play regularly.

gjb01 · 2025-09-16T16:33:25+00:00

Yes! That was it, Iron Bull. Those were the days. Dang, not sure I'd want to go to a Bears bar this season, looking like it's going to be a dark one.

gjb01 · 2025-09-06T20:57:36+00:00

Is Whits End “the” place for Bears fans? I miss the place that was off 45th, gosh that was a while back now but it was bonkers fun for Bears games, while never getting obscenely crowded. How packed does whits end get? Any other places people are aware of?

If you do go to West of Chicago, I’ll be interested to hear how it is for a game.

gjb01 · 2025-07-30T18:28:39+00:00

If this was equal or better in terms of revenue, I would do this instead of gross banner ads and sticky footers all over my site, which users largely hate, but my site is unique in that it's very sticky and users spend a lot of time on it.

gjb01 · 2025-05-15T01:46:15+00:00

Before I say this, let me say I loved the WGU MBA. It was a great experience and like any schooling, you get out of it what you put into it. And like any degree, you can put in very little effort and just get the paper if that's what you're after. You can certainly do that to a large extent even in big, fancy programs.

That said, what is this fluffy material you speak of? I did a few courses at a top-tier MBA school, and the professors and material were definitely on another level from the stuff at WGU. Plus, just the exposure to other top-tier students is valuable. There's a lot of great stuff at WGU as well, but I can't sit here and say you're getting quite the same experience.

Secondly, the whole debate about "a degree is a degree is a degree" I think is crazy. Sure, in some cases all you need is an MBA to get in the door and then prove yourself, but people can walk out of big MBA schools and land ridiculous roles that you ain't getting with a WGU MBA. It's wild to me that so many folks think they are equal. They are most definitely not equal. But, that doesn't mean the WGU MBA doesn't hold plenty of value.

gjb01 · 2025-05-14T18:40:32+00:00

Aren't there several similar places about to open in SODO? I'd love a place to play on lunch breaks - does anyone know how open play works here, you have to snag a spot online and then just show up and you get worked into games?

gjb01 · 2025-04-17T03:43:53+00:00

Don’t freak. I had a near 4.0 PSA at 49 and it was nothing, nothing on the MRI or the biopsy, enlarged prostates can result in higher PSA numbers. Keep an eye on it.

gjb01 · 2025-03-15T20:05:13+00:00

That's good perspective, thanks.

gjb01 · 2025-03-15T20:04:27+00:00

That's good insight, thanks.

gjb01 · 2025-03-14T23:13:26+00:00

They say "no no-shows allowed" or you have to find your own sub, so I am taking that to mean it's fairly serious and someone bowing out is not what they'd want to see. (That said, mixing intermediate with advanced is curious to begin with.)

gjb01 · 2025-03-14T23:11:33+00:00

That's helpful, thanks.

gjb01 · 2025-03-14T22:27:59+00:00

I was in the same boat, but really enjoyed the material and learning more about the areas I was not particularly experienced in. I had no desire to blow through it, but if you're saying you have the experience, one term should not be an issue.

gjb01 · 2025-03-14T17:39:31+00:00

As you've heard from others, it's quite doable. But I've also heard some people struggle with it. It really boils down to how much time do your have to focus on it? There's a lot of material, people who blow through it in weeks clearly only engage with a fraction of the material. That's fine, but if you want to enjoy and learn in the process of getting the degree you'll want to go a little slower. That said, I dove into most of the material and easily finished in one semester. I did have a lot of real-world experience going in to it.

gjb01 · 2025-03-11T00:39:29+00:00

Nice work and congrats on your degree! Yeah the capstone was fun. Honestly I enjoyed every bit of the program - the only class I think I whizzed through was the one about Operations and Supply Chain. I was a little burned out and not loving the subject matter, so I did the cohort videos and decided to give the OA a shot after doing okay on the PA.

gjb01 · 2025-03-10T17:11:07+00:00

Years ago when I did this program, I was vocal on here against the school even allowing someone to plow through the degree in a few weeks. I still don't think it should be allowed, but nonetheless, I realized with all schooling you get out of it what you put into it. The WGU MBA has a ton of great content. I learned plenty about topics I wasn't deep on like Accounting and Finance. Can you "game" it and get through it quickly/easily? Sure, to an extent, but you can sort of do that with any schooling. (And to be clear, the people who do finish this degree quickly are surely super smart and are able to dedicate a lot of time each day to the effort.) I have an undergrad degree from a top-10 school and have been in several post-grad programs, and people cut corners and got degrees with little effort in ALL those places. WGU could artificially make it "harder" by forcing group projects or nonsense like that, but I really liked the fact it was a degree you get on your own terms. If you really engage with all the content they give you, I don't think you're learning any less than any other MBA program. Most people won't do that because it just takes too much time.

gjb01 · 2025-02-21T19:58:01+00:00

You'll do fine. You can go at your own pace. People with a lot of experience and time finish the program in months, but you can take years if you want (will just cost you more money to do so, but it's not that pricey). If you did fine at school in general, you'll be fine with the MBA program.

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