Full-Stack in 90 Days: Build and Deploy a Real Booking/Marketplace App
Go from near-zero to ONE real, deployed booking/marketplace app in 90 days — the honest way: a data model, auth and roles, booking logic that cannot double-book, verified Nigerian payments, and a live URL.
by Sankofa Skills Studio · vetted expert author
What you'll gain
The internet promises you will “learn to code and earn $5,000 a month remotely in 3 months.” This course opens by retiring that lie and replacing it with something you can actually achieve. Built from a source-graded 2026 research pass over the stack, the roadmap, the hard parts, deployment and a dated career-and-scam museum, it teaches full-stack the honest way. The promise, stated plainly and never walked back: in 90 days of focused, project-first work you ship ONE real, deployed booking/marketplace app — sign-up and login, a database, full create-read-update-delete, booking logic, and a test-mode payment — to a live URL, with a GitHub repo and a README you can explain line by line. That is a genuinely valuable junior asset; it is not “job-ready senior,” which for a true beginner is still 9–18 months. First, the mental model: full-stack is frontend plus backend plus database plus auth plus hosting, joined by one request round-trip — and the rule that survives everything, never trust the frontend; every rule that matters is enforced on the server or in the database. You will pick a sensible, hireable stack (Next.js, React, TypeScript, PostgreSQL on Vercel); learn the layers in the only order that works (you cannot do React before JavaScript, or guard a route before you have auth); design the data model first, because it is the costliest thing to get wrong; build auth with buyer/seller/admin roles enforced on the server (broken access control is OWASP’s #1 risk, and IDOR is fixed by scoping every query to its owner); and solve the marquee problem — a booking that cannot double-book, using a database constraint (UNIQUE for fixed slots, an EXCLUSION constraint for date ranges) rather than a hopeful “if” in your code. Then the part that makes it Nigerian: integrating Paystack and Flutterwave the right way — initialize on your server, and verify the payment on your server before giving value, because the browser’s “success” message is forgeable — plus subaccount splits, kobo amounts, and card, transfer and USSD. You will keep your secret keys out of GitHub (a committed key is exploited in minutes — you rotate it, not delete it), deploy to a live URL on free tiers (hosting the database in Frankfurt for a Nigerian audience), and learn the real cost when users arrive (~$12–45/month, not free forever). Two people build alongside you: Tobi, a complete beginner in Ibadan building a fixed-slot barber-booking app, and Zainab, a self-taught designer in Abuja building a date-range equipment-hire marketplace. The course closes with the honest money map — remote jobs, local jobs, freelancing, your own product — what employers actually want (one deployed, explainable app over a stack of certificates), the real 2026 job market (junior hiring fell ~60% as AI automated the boilerplate rung), the truth about AI coding (a tool that raises the floor and the bar; crutch users fail interviews), and a dated scam museum with the honest gaps stated rather than invented. Carry one line: the deliverable is an app YOU understand — one you happened to build faster with AI, not one AI built for you. Capacity-building and orientation, not a job guarantee; every payment fee and hosting price is a dated snapshot, so verify live.
Pass a real exam and earn a publicly verifiable certificate employers trust.
Unlimited practice mode + spaced-repetition flashcards, then unlimited exam retakes.
Keep the lessons and every future update to this course, forever.
What you'll cover
10 modules · 20 lessons · timed certification exam
1. Orientation: The Honest Promise 2 lessons
What “full-stack” really means, the request round-trip, and why you never trust the frontend; the honest 90-day promise — one deployed app, not a job-ready senior; the two learners you build alongside; and the contract that beats tutorial hell.
- What full-stack really is — and the honest 90-day promise · 24 min
- Meet Tobi and Zainab — and the contract that beats tutorial hell · 22 min
2. The Stack and Your Dependency Chain 2 lessons
Choosing a boring, popular, hireable stack; why the learning order is a forced dependency chain you cannot skip; TypeScript vs JavaScript and REST at a beginner level; and setting up your environment with Git and GitHub.
- Choosing a sensible, hireable stack · 22 min
- The learning order you cannot skip, and your environment · 20 min
3. Frontend: From HTML to a Dynamic UI 2 lessons
The three frontend languages and how they layer; JavaScript fundamentals through async and fetch; rendering a UI from data instead of hard-coding it; and a first look at React — with Zainab’s AI-crutch near-miss and its cure.
- HTML, CSS and the shape of a page · 20 min
- JavaScript fundamentals — and making the page come alive · 24 min
4. The Backend and the Data Model 2 lessons
A server and REST endpoints; designing the data model first, because it is the costliest thing to get wrong; foreign keys, unique and check constraints; money as kobo; and why PostgreSQL is right for bookings — with Tobi’s tutorial-hell near-miss.
- Your first backend — a server and REST endpoints · 22 min
- The data model — design it first · 26 min
5. Authentication and Roles 2 lessons
Authentication versus authorization; hashing passwords the right way; sessions versus tokens; using a managed auth service; and role-based access control enforced on the server — including the IDOR attack and Zainab’s near-miss with it.
- Authentication done safely · 24 min
- Roles and the number-one vulnerability · 22 min
6. Booking Logic: The Marquee Problem 2 lessons
Availability as fixed slots or date ranges; the double-booking race and why an app-level “if” cannot fix it; the three database-level fixes; storing time in UTC; and the booking status lifecycle — with both learners’ double-booking near-misses.
- Availability and the double-booking race · 26 min
- The booking lifecycle — a state machine · 18 min
7. Payments in Nigeria 2 lessons
The universal payment flow and the one rule that matters — verify server-side; integrating Paystack and Flutterwave safely; marketplace splits with subaccounts; Stripe for going global; and card, transfer and USSD — with Tobi’s verify near-miss.
- The payment flow and the one rule that matters · 26 min
- Marketplace splits and going global · 18 min
8. Security and Secrets 2 lessons
The OWASP Top 10 and the beginner must-do list — parameterised queries, output escaping, HTTPS, rate-limiting; and the classic disaster of committing an API key to GitHub, why you rotate rather than delete — with Tobi’s key scare.
- The security essentials every beginner must get right · 24 min
- Keeping your secrets out of GitHub · 20 min
9. Deploy and Operate 2 lessons
What “deploy” means — three things in three places; the all-in-one shape; hosting in Frankfurt for Nigeria; domains and free automatic HTTPS; git-push-to-deploy; the real monthly cost; what breaks in production; and paying from Nigeria.
- Deploying to a live URL · 24 min
- Operating in production and the real cost · 20 min
10. Career, Money and the Scam Museum 2 lessons
The five real ways a Nigerian full-stack dev makes money, with dated numbers; what employers want; the 2026 job market and the truth about AI coding; how to land the first job; and a dated scam museum — with the honest gaps stated, never invented.
- The honest money map · 24 min
- Landing the first job — and the scam museum · 22 min
Frequently asked
Is the certificate verifiable?
Yes. Every certificate carries a unique ID and a cryptographic signature. Anyone — an employer or a client — can confirm it instantly on our public verification page, with no login.
Who teaches this course?
A vetted expert author — Sankofa Skills Studio. Every expert course is reviewed and fact-checked before publication, and the author earns a revenue share on your enrolment.
How long do I have access?
Lifetime. Once you enrol you keep access to the lessons, practice mode and flashcards — including future updates to this course.
What happens if I don't pass the exam first time?
You can retake it — up to 5 attempts, with a 12-hour wait between attempts. Practice mode is unlimited, so rehearse with the same verified question bank until you're ready.
Can my team enrol together?
Yes. Talk to us about group and organisation rates — certifying a whole team is faster and cheaper than one at a time.
Continue your path
Learners taking this course often go on to: