10 Lessons from a Month Building an App with Windsurf AI as a Non-Coder

Building an app feels like one of those impossible goals for someone like me—an ideas person with no coding background. But thanks to AI-powered tools, it’s no longer just a dream. Windsurf AI is my current go-to, and I’m actively building an app with it. Here are 10 lessons I’m learning along the way—the good, the bad, and the "are you serious right now?"

What Is Windsurf AI?

Windsurf AI is a development tool powered by artificial intelligence that allows you to build applications and web experiences without requiring extensive coding knowledge. It can help you create interfaces, manage backend connections, and even handle technical commands—essentially acting as a coding assistant that bridges the gap between an idea and a functional app. By interpreting prompts, Windsurf generates, edits, and refines code, saving time and reducing the learning curve for non-coders.

The Good: What Has Worked Well

1. Visuals That Impress If there’s one thing Windsurf nails, it’s the visuals. Using Claude 3.5 Sonnet, I’ve been able to create an app interface that’s polished and professional—like something a design team put together. My past experience working on UI/UX helped me give it direction, but Windsurf filled in the gaps I didn’t have the skills to handle. It’s wild to see my idea actually look good.

2. Bringing Ideas to Life Windsurf’s ability to take prompts and turn them into working features still amazes me. It’s not perfect (more on that later), but seeing even the smallest ideas come to life keeps me energized, even on the frustrating days.

3. Learning Through Doing This whole project has been a crash course in app-building. I started by creating documents outlining the product, user experience, and backend systems (shoutout to ChatGPT for helping me brainstorm those). These anchoring files made the process less intimidating by translating those ideas into actual pages and features that I could train AI on as it got started and giving me a map for how to move from idea to reality.

4. Backend Guidance While I’ve been focusing on the front end, Windsurf has also given me a glimpse into the backend—like setting up APIs, databases, and mapping systems. APIs (application programming interfaces) allow different parts of an app to communicate, while databases store the data your app needs. Windsurf guides me through these technical tasks without making them overwhelming. Once creating and connecting the backend becomes my focus, I’m confident Windsurf can help guide me through the steps needed.

5. Terminal Commands Made Simple Terminal commands sound terrifying, right? They’re essentially text-based instructions you give your computer to perform specific tasks, like saving files or running programs. Windsurf simplifies this process, generating the necessary commands for me—a huge relief when I was starting out. Its ability to scan and edit documents directly is another standout feature. While I’m now learning some of these commands myself, having the AI handle them makes the whole process feel a lot less daunting.

The Bad: Challenges and Frustrations

6. AI Gets Stuck Windsurf is great… until it’s not. There are frequent moments where it spins in circles, misunderstands my prompts, or makes updates that feel completely off. I’ve learned to be extremely clear with my instructions and to save my work constantly because, trust me, it will go rogue at least a few times a session.

7. Losing Work Early On Before I started saving everything to GitHub, I lost hours of work—and honestly, it was devastating. GitHub is a platform for version control, allowing you to save, track, and manage changes to your code. Now, saving multiple times a day after making progress is non-negotiable. If you’re not committing your updates regularly, you’re asking for heartache.

8. Patience is Mandatory Building with AI isn’t as fast or easy as it sounds. Some days feel like two steps forward, one step back. Other days feel like one step forward, two steps back. I’ve had to remind myself that progress, even slow progress, is still progress.

9. Managing the AI Takes Work Talking to Windsurf/Claude is an art. In some cases, short, direct prompts work better than long explanations. I’ve also learned not to overwhelm it with too many tasks at once. And yes, I’ve caught myself snapping at it when it goes completely off course (thank you, Grammarly, for flagging my new "defensive" tone).

10. No Safety Net for Changes Windsurf has its own bugs and doesn’t always let you accept or reject file updates it makes, which can be nerve-wracking if you haven’t saved recently. It’s one of the tool’s biggest flaws and something I’ve had to work around by saving obsessively.

Reflections and Takeaways

Despite the frustrations, building an app with Windsurf AI has been a really rewarding process. It reminded me of the importance of patience, persistence, and how to adapt when things don’t go as easily as planned. Most importantly, it’s shown me that the ideas I’ve been sitting on are actually doable.

Would I recommend Windsurf AI? Absolutely—but with a few caveats. It’s best for people who are willing to troubleshoot, learn on the fly, and iterate their way through the process. My advice: start with a simple idea, map out your must-haves, and don’t be afraid to experiment. You’ll learn as much from the process as you will from the outcome.

This is just the beginning of my no-code app-building journey, and I can’t wait to see where it leads. I’m excited to keep learning, building, and seeing where this journey takes me.

DISCLAIMER: This content does not contain business, investment, tax, legal, financial or other advice & is not intended to be used in this way. It includes the opinions of the author & is strictly for informational purposes. Please do your own research.