Tips for introducing others to Anvil

Excited about Anvil and want to share it with others? Here are some hints. We’ve grouped them into sections – whether you want to introduce someone 1-on-1, to present at an event, or just want a list of resources, we’ve got you covered.

Want a demo from an Anvil engineer?

If you’d like to get an Anvil demo for your team, direct from the source, we’re happy to help! Please drop us a line: sales@anvil.works.

Introducing a friend or colleague

We often get asked how best to introduce Anvil to your friends and colleagues. Here are some tips to help you:

1. Show them what you’ve built

The best way to get a friend excited about Anvil is to show them what you’ve built and explain how quick and simple it was.

2. Get them building

Get their hands on Anvil to give them direct experience.

Try signing them up for a free account and helping them build their first app. Ensure they use the basic concepts of Anvil:

• Forms
• Server Modules
• and Data Tables.

The interactive tutorial that you’re shown when you first log in is a good way to get to grips with the basics. Alternatively, follow along with the Hello World tutorial video.

3. Give them a starting point

If your friend/colleague has a specific use-case in mind, why not build a basic proof-of-concept and walk them through how it works?

4. Show them how to learn more

When a developer is aware of the basics, they can discover Anvil’s other features as the need arises by searching in the documentation, reading/watching tutorials, or asking on the Forum.

Presenting at Events

Thinking of hosting a lunch-and-learn, talking to your local user group, or presenting at a conference? Here are some ideas we’ve gleaned from presenting Anvil at events.

1. Give a lightning talk

The easiest way to present Anvil to a meetup is to give a 5-minute lightning talk. You could describe what Anvil is, explain what you’re using it for, and point out what about Anvil has made your project easier and better.

2. Show and tell

If you want to give a longer talk, perhaps you could give a show and tell of what you’ve been developing with some detail on how it works.

3. Live coding demos

Stopping to live-code an example is a good way to spice up a talk. Choose something that achieves something very quickly, for example pulling stock prices from an API and plotting a chart in about 10 lines of code.

If you can, practice your demo until you can talk about what you’re doing while you’re writing the code. That way you can be sure you’ll do it smoothly on the day.

4. Use our resources

Feel free to borrow from talks we’ve given and articles we’ve written (see the Blog). Don’t hesitate to get in touch to ask for slides and other materials (events@anvil.works).

5. Lead a hands-on workshop

Why not get attendees to bring a laptop and try Anvil themselves?

When we visit meetups, we often opt to run a workshop where attendees can get their hands on Anvil themselves. The approach we usually take is:

1. Give an introduction: talk about what Anvil is, what problem it solves, and how. (Looking for inspiration? Watch this 5-minute lightning talk, or read the “What Is Anvil?” page.)
2. Do a quick Anvil demo; we usually live-code the Hello World app.
3. Point your audience at one of our step-by-step walkthroughs, and help them work through it. By the end, they’ll have built and published a real, working web app!

You might want to vary this recipe:

• Some audiences want to work through a workshop all together (building along with the presenter at the front of the room).
• Some people want to grab a workshop and work on it on their own.
• Some people might have their own projects in mind, and work on that!

You know your audience – mix and match to suit them.

Have fun!

Most importantly of all, do something you’re comfortable with and have fun. If you’re relaxed and enjoying yourself, everything else is easy!

Keep us in the loop

Want us to promote your event? Get in touch at events@anvil.works – we often promote Anvil-focused events via our website and mailing list.

Resources

Video tutorials

• The “Hello, World” walkthrough gives a 7-minute overview of what Anvil can do.

• The To-Do list tutorial (and its second part) walk you through building a working app.

• There are lots more video tutorials to choose from.

Workshop guides

We have a series of step-by-step guides that we use when giving workshops:

• Building a Data Dashboard: Display weather information on an interactive dashboard.

• To-Do list app: Build an online, multi-user To-Do list.

• Remote Control Panel: Run unit tests on your computer from the web, using Anvil’s Uplink.