Module 02 — Building Web Apps

Time estimate: 4 hours total
Prerequisite: Module 01 — Getting Started

What you’ll be able to do after Module 02

• Build a single-file HTML web app that runs anywhere with no install, no build, no server
• Build a production-grade Next.js app and deploy it to Vercel with one command
• Understand which approach to use for which situation (90% of executive use cases need only the simple one)

The two tools, the two situations

Standalone HTML apps (Module 02a): For 80% of what you build personally, this is the right approach. One file. Open it in a browser. Share it with a colleague by emailing them the file. No login, no server, no maintenance.

Use this for: personal dashboards, internal team tools, prototypes you’re testing with a client, calculators, single-purpose utilities.

Next.js apps on Vercel (Module 02b): For things you want multiple people to use, that need authentication, that need a database, that need to be reliably online with a URL.

Use this for: client-facing tools, anything with user accounts, anything that needs to send emails or scheduled tasks, anything you’ll bill for.

Your executive builds in this module

You’ll build three things in Module 02. Pick whichever resonates most with your work — the technique is the same:

1. A weekly status report generator — takes notes from your last few meetings (pasted in) and produces a clean weekly update for your boss / board / team
2. A personal CRM lite — names, last touchpoint, follow-up date, notes. Persists in your browser. Replaces the “Important Contacts” spreadsheet you’ve been maintaining
3. A proposal pricing calculator — for consultants. Inputs your service mix and scope, outputs a defensible proposal price with a markdown breakdown you can email to a prospect

Each one ships in a single Claude Code session. The technique transfers to anything else.

Lessons in this module

1. Standalone HTML apps — One file, no install, ship in 30 seconds
2. Next.js apps — Scaffold, build, database, deploy
3. React patterns — The component patterns Claude Code handles best

After this module

→ Module 03 — AI Agents