Building a Modern Munro Climbing Tracker: Seeking Guidance from Web Development Enthusiasts

Embarking on a New Side Project: Elevating Hill-Walking Tech with Modern Web Tools

As a budding web developer eager to expand my skills, I’m venturing into a new personal project that combines my passion for hill-walking with web app development. Having spent several years working in the web development arena—primarily with low-code and no-code platforms like Squarespace and Webflow—I’m comfortable with core technologies such as HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript. I’ve even dabbled in creating custom plugins, but I feel my growth has plateaued, and I want to challenge myself with something more ambitious.

Project Inspiration: Scottish Munros

For those unfamiliar, “Munros” are Scottish mountains exceeding 3,000 feet, and hiking enthusiasts often aim to “bag” all 282 of these peaks. While some existing websites, like munromap.co.uk and munrobagger.scot, serve this community, their interfaces tend to feel outdated or overly simplistic. My goal is to develop a sleek, modern, single-page application that offers an enhanced user experience, including features like social comparisons and trip planning tools—elements I find missing in current platforms.

Technologies and Approach

To bring this idea to life, I’ve researched a tech stack that aligns with my desired functionality:

• Frontend: Next.js combined with Tailwind CSS, ensuring SEO-friendly pages for individual Munro profiles and a responsive design.
• Mapping: Mapbox GL for interactive, detailed maps of each peak and surrounding terrain.
• Backend & Authentication: Supabase as a comprehensive backend solution, including user management and database storage.
• Hosting: Vercel to deploy and host the application seamlessly.

Seeking Feedback: Am I on the Right Track?

This project represents a significant leap from my previous experience, and I recognize I have much to learn. I’d appreciate insights from experienced developers or anyone familiar with similar projects. Are these choices suitable? Is this the right approach for creating a scalable, user-friendly mountain-tracking app? Any tips, additional tools, or best practices you could share would be invaluable.

Thank you all in advance for your guidance and support!