I built a free multilingual (Urdu + English) writing platform — here's what I learned
I wanted a place where people could read and publish stories, articles and essays in Urdu and English — without a paywall, without an English-only bias, and without needing a laptop to get started. So I built NazmHub : a free writing and storytelling community platform. Here's what the build taught me. 1. Bilingual from the ground up, not bolted on Most multilingual sites treat the second…
I constructed a free multilingual (Urdu + English) writing platform called NazmHub and learned several valuable lessons in the process. First, I discovered that a bilingual site must integrate languages from the start, not as an afterthought. NazmHub uses language prefixes, separate i18n dictionaries, an Urdu-friendly font stack, and layouts that adapt to right-to-left reading.
Second, I found that Next.js combined with Supabase is an excellent stack for solo founders. This stack handles everything from user authentication to content management, all while being simple for one person to manage. An early mistake I made was a misconfigured Supabase URL, which caused database queries to fail silently. Therefore, treating environment configuration as important as code is crucial.
Next, I implemented teaser gating, which allows logged-out readers to see a short excerpt of each story while unlocking the full article after free signup. This approach encourages casual readers to become community members without creating barriers. Additionally, I built content moderation as an integral part of the platform, requiring admin approval for all published content.
This precaution prevented the common situation of launching a platform, then neglecting moderation. Finally, I learned that free hosting tiers are sufficient to launch and grow a content platform. The entire NazmHub platform operates on free tiers, costing zero dollars in infrastructure. For anyone interested in Urdu or English writing, I invite them to visit NazmHub and share their experiences in building similar platforms.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
