A Map for the First-Time Software Creator

TL;DR — Five stages turn a first-time software creator's idea into a deployed product: wireframing (Figma, Balsamiq, Excalidraw), choosing a platform (web, mobile, or no-code via Replit, Bubble, or Webflow), working with APIs, version control on GitHub, and free-tier deployment (Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, GitHub Pages). GitHub's 2025 Octoverse report counts 36M+ new developers in the past year, Stack Overflow's 2025 Developer Survey finds 84% of developers use or plan to use AI tools, an