Changing the Way We Build the Web, Together
Get ready: Every day this week, we have a new major announcement on Glitch. It’s all about enabling creativity like no developer tool has done before.
A year ago, Glitch launched with the aim of building a community where anyone can build the app of their dreams. We wanted to remind people that the web could be a fantastic place, filled with fun and creativity, that any of us can build. To do that, we built the easiest way for coders to create and collaborate, whether you’re an experienced professional developer or you’re just getting started.
Powering Creative Coding
Right from the start, Glitch has had some truly unique features for creating and coding:
- Real-time collaborative editing, which makes coding together as easy as working in Google Docs.
- Instant deployment — so you don’t have to worry about DevOps stuff.
- Automatic hosting on a secure URL — so there’s no messing with tunnels and SSL certificates.
- Magical CDN — any assets you upload are automatically ready for super-fast delivery.
- Secure sharing of code — projects can be public or private, with support for environment variables so you have a safe place to put credentials and API tokens.
- The ability to remix an existing project, or import a repo from GitHub — so you never have to start from a blank page.
- And of course, no lock-in! We don’t use any proprietary protocols or libraries. So if you want to move your code elsewhere, you can. Just download it as a zip, or export to GitHub and it’ll just work.
Building With the Community
It gets even better. In the year since we launched, we’ve been hard at work in collaboration with our community, building the things you told us you wanted most.
We’ve added new features, like the ability to help each other with code problems in real-time, so you never have to feel like you’re on your own.
We’ve made it easier to add licenses and a code of conduct to your apps, essential building blocks for a healthy environment where people can express their ideas.
We made it possible for creators to thank each other, encouraging a more positive, more appreciative community.
We introduced a console, giving you access to the container behind your project so that experienced users can tweak things as they need to.
And we added custom profiles and team pages, so you can show off what you’ve been creating, either on your own or as part of a team.
Glitch is for Everyone
The best thing that has emerged over the last year though is clear: the friendliest dev community in the world. Over a million of the most creative coders, designers, developers, artists, activists, educators — people just like you are using Glitch.
Features are great, but all too often tech is seen as the solution. Glitch is different: People and community are the heart of what we all create, even when we make amazing new technology together.
And whether you’re an old pro or a newbie just discovering code, learning new tools is a fundamental part of being a coder. So we’ve created lots of resources for learning, like starter kits to help you get started with HTML and React, as well as a fun zine which explains some of the key concepts in creating web apps.
Because Glitch is for everyone, we’ve done our best to highlight the creations of those who are under-represented in tech, from showing off the work of community members who are women, to promoting the work of black creators, to featuring makers of all ages right on the homepage of Glitch.
Perhaps most exciting of all are the fantastic apps that our growing community of creators have built. Covering everything from music, art and bots, to apps for activism, learning new skills, and teaching others.
Some of the projects made on Glitch have helped startups raise $1M in funding, while others have created apps that have spread across the web, even ending up being used by real-life F1 drivers. Some of the sweetest apps on Glitch show off a poem or were made by someone who wanted to make their significant-other smile. And others, well, they’ve ruined whatever plans we had for the day because we just can’t stop using them.
Coming Soon: Glitch for Teams
Soon, we’ll give the same powerful Glitch tools to teams at work, so developers, designers and anyone with an idea can create real, full-power apps incredibly easily. Sign up to learn more, help shape its development and to be the first to hear about Glitch for Teams.
Get Ready
We’re proud of how far we’ve come in just a year, but we really are just getting started.
In fact, we’re making it official: This Friday we’re tearing off the ‘beta’ label! But as we get ready for Glitch v1.0, we’ll have a new major announcement each day. The new features you’re going to see are going to enable a huge wave of creativity, and inspire you with things that no developer tool has done before.
Come back to Glitch each day this week to see what’s new — this is going to be a week that’ll change the way we all build the web together.
