In this video I go over my reason for using Flutter and the other technologies that influenced that decision. Subscribe to my newsletter for deep dives on topics like this 👉 https://professionalflutter.carrd.co/

#Shorts Flutter freelancers can make more money and work fewer hours. Make the switch to fixed pricing. Hourly rates punish you for being good, you should be rewarded instead. To do fixed pricing you need a reliable cost estimate. Here’s how I do mine: Apply basic guestimation to your detailed technical outline. - Features are estimated in weeks (5 days) - Views in ui are at minimum 2 days (UI + state) - Endpoints on the backend are at minimum 2 days Then add 10% for QA on total days. You’ll have a reasonable time frame. Not less than 3 months. Let's work together 👉 https://calendly.com/danemackier/1-on-1-chat

#Shorts The production Flutter developer tools to create and maintain high quality apps Spoiler, one of these tools do not exist: - Analytics: see how users are using your app - Remote logs: monitor the internals of your app in production - Crash reporting: get notified when unexpected events happen - Real-time patches: the ability to push bug fixes to users instantly - Bug reporting: let users send details of when they experience a bug - State replay: the ability to remotely load the state of a reported session

#Shorts 5 reasons why the new code push will change the lives of Flutter developers. - Fix bugs in production instantly - Push new versions directly to clients’ devices - Push new versions directly to your QA team’s devices - Push new versions directly to your non-technical stakeholders - Reduce the amount of time spent on the app store process for small changes The future of Flutter is here. What’s next?

Since 2015 I’ve been writing unit tests, consistently. Here is a 16-Step guide to starting your own unit testing journey. When starting: - Write smaller functions - Make functions deterministic - Write functions with no side effects - Write tests to confirm execution paths - Practice by writing tests that feel “worthless” - Write the tests that come naturally. X in expects Y out When you’re comfortable: - Write tests for all utilities - Write tests for all assumptions - Ignore test coverage percentage - Write tests to confirm object interactions - Write failure tests for critical pieces of code - Write tests to confirm responses to outside values When it’s a habit: - Write tests before the code (Optional) - Invert dependencies and keep things testable - Make unit tests a requirement for code reviews - Plan to write code from the lens of how you can test it The process is not instant, don't rush it. Identify where you are, start small, and make it a priority.

I’ve coached developers from not writing tests to loving unit tests. Here are the 5 biggest unit test blockers and how to get over them: Blockers: 1. I don’t know what to test 2. I don’t know how to test this function 3. The concern of testing something that doesn’t matter 4. When do I write the test 5. I don’t know how it will work yet so I can’t write the test Solutions: 1. Test assumptions, state, interaction, conditionals, error handling 2. Start with X in, Y out. Then Do Calling X, changes state to Y 3. To start, write the tests you can write. You’ll learn this in time. 4. When you’re done with the code. Use it to “prove your code works” 5. Divide and conquer. Write tests for the small problems ONLY.

#Shorts The best code is no code. Code requires periodic maintenance. One way to reduce this burden is by removing code. “But, All my code is useful!” Add Analytics/Metrics to your code and you’ll see what’s actually being used. Use that to cut out old code no one cares about so you can move faster.

I drastically improved my Flutter Freelancing by going from Guesswork to Precision. By building more detailed technical outlines I transformed my business. Here are 6 habits I picked up as a successful Flutter Freelancer: - Write detailed technical specs - Pay for tools that save me hours - Document how I built a feature - Track how long it takes to build a feature - Template common work for easy re-use later - Keep track of operating expenses

Stages for Flutter developers code quality as seen through comments Beginner: Comments to explain classes, functions, variables Intermediate: Well-named classes and comments to explain functions Advanced: Well-named objects with comments on complex functions Master: Complex functions documented with unit tests. No comments Comments should be used for examples or meta-data, not to explain the code.

#Shorts Software engineers should care about analytics. Probably more than the non-engineering staff. This is my reasoning: - It shows you what code you can delete from your codebase - It's an additional tool to help solve bugs that users experience - It gives you a clear indicator of what code requires more focus Less code = less maintenance cost Use this analytical data to delete dead code and speed up your team.

Write a good chatGPT prompt: https://codewithai.substack.com/p/coming-soon --- Every developer should have a task that ChatGPT can take over right now. The problem? Most don’t identify and systemize their daily tasks Use the following process to identify your next task to outsource to ChatGPT: - Identify a task you can do without thinking - Identify a task you do often that has a fixed process - Identify a task you would pay someone to do for you - Identify a task you can teach to a junior developer - Identify a task with rigid rules and expected outcomes - Identify a task you do often that you don’t enjoy For each of the 6 tasks write down the input and expected output. For each task write the process required to convert the input to output. Turn that process into a prompt using the 6 constraints and start using it.

My goal is to teach every Flutter freelancer who is early in their journey, what I learned late in mine. Here are the things I did to get clients consistently: - I shared my skills publicly - I took smaller jobs to get referrals - I took smaller jobs to confirm I can deliver - I helped customers think through problems - I gave advice that pushed clients away from me - I responded to every question about building apps - I changed from an hourly rate to a fixed monthly cost - I had calls with potential customers and gave them real advice - I calculated the minimum I needed to make, not wanting to make Most importantly, I wanted to help them, even if we were not going to work together. Some of the customers I sent away sent others my way. They trusted me and my skills enough to refer me to others.

Writing production-ready code is not some magical type of code. It's a process and a system. The simplest way flutter developers can write production-ready code: 1. Choose an architecture 2. Add analytics to the app 3. Setup crash and stability reporting 4. Create strict code review guidelines 5. Release the app into production and monitor Do this and you’ll know who, when, where, and how your app is used.

In this video, I go over the different things Flutter freelancers can do to get more clients. The fastest way Flutter freelancers can land high-paying clients 2x faster. Fix common mistakes before doing more technical work. Here are the 5 common mistakes freelancers make and how to fix them: Mistakes: - Using hourly rates - Not showing off their skills - Not giving guarantees you can back up - Only offering your hands for writing code - Keeping all your advice behind your freelance gig Solutions: - Give free advice to answer any and all their questions about building apps - Offer to help with general tech problems, become trusted - Talk about how you’ll build the app to show off your skills - Provide a single fixed monthly price to remove confusion - Find your strengths, create strong guarantees around it Make it clear you can achieve their goal by sharing your knowledge. Gain their trust by genuinely helping them outside of writing code. Remove their perceived risk of delivery by providing guarantees.

There's a better way for Flutter developers to introduce an architecture in their codebase. This is what we cover in this short. Below you can find the link to the idea: Separate UI and state code: https://open.substack.com/pub/filledstacks/p/the-first-step-towards-a-flutter?r=1zlz2w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web