Common mistakes beginners make in scripting?

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chris111

chris111

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Hi all,

Since I’m just starting out with scripting, I wanted to ask what are some common mistakes beginners usually make?

I’d like to avoid developing bad habits early on and focus on doing things the right way.

Whether it’s:

Learning approach

Writing scripts

Choosing tools

Any tips or lessons you learned the hard way would be really helpful.

Thanks!
 
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A few common beginner mistakes I see all the time:

Tutorial hell – watching/reading too much, building nothing. Start small projects early.
Overcomplicating everything – simple scripts > “perfect architecture”.
No consistency – random bursts don’t work, daily habit does.
Copy-paste coding – if you don’t understand it, it’s useless.
Ignoring debugging – learning how to fix errors is half the skill.
Chasing tools/languages – stick to one stack long enough to get good.

Big one: build real stuff as soon as possible. That’s where everything clicks.
 
chris111 said:
Hi all,

Since I’m just starting out with scripting, I wanted to ask what are some common mistakes beginners usually make?

I’d like to avoid developing bad habits early on and focus on doing things the right way.

Whether it’s:

Learning approach

Writing scripts

Choosing tools

Any tips or lessons you learned the hard way would be really helpful.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Choosing tools because not everything needs to be made from scratch. Sometimes new tools especially new ai tools can ease out most of the work.
 
Common beginner mistakes: skipping fundamentals, copying code without understanding, overcomplicating scripts, ignoring debugging/testing, and not using version control like Git early.
 
Even I have started writing script now days, once I'll feel something I'll surely share over here, sofar I have experience for my 1st script writing!
 
Yeah @hobbr is right about keeping it simple. But if you are building scrapers or automation tools, the absolute biggest killer is not handling errors. I used to write scripts that worked fine for 10 minutes then crashed overnight because a proxy timed out or some site layout changed slightly. Learn how to use try/except blocks properly from day one. Also... don't hardcode your accounts or API keys directly in the script. Use a separate config or env file. Made that mistake once and accidentally shared a script with my main API key still in it lol.
 
something i learned the hard way when starting with automation is ignoring rate limits and footprints. if you are scraping or doing any account stuff, you cant just loop requests as fast as possible. you need to add random sleep delays and rotate user agents right from the start or your ips will get flagged instantly. also dont worry about making the code look beautiful. if it gets the job done, ugly code is fine. you can refactor it later if you actually need to scale.
 
agree with the footprint stuff @Rankings Daily mentioned. another massive trap is using heavy browser automation like selenium or puppeteer for every little task. beginners always jump to headless browsers because its easier to visualize, but it absolutely eats up vps ram. learning how to mimic requests in the network tab saves so much money and runs way faster.

also... write logs. even just a simple text file output. when you start running stuff on a scheduler overnight, you need to know exactly where it failed without babysitting the console. saved me countless hours of head scratching.
 
Yeah @RankPilot860 is right about avoiding selenium, raw requests are way cheaper on resources.

One thing i haven't seen mentioned is relying too much on text files for storing data. When you start out, it's easy to just dump everything into a txt or csv file. But the second you try to speed things up or run multiple threads, those files lock up and corrupt. Learning some basic SQLite early on is a lifesaver. It's not as scary as it sounds and saves you from losing hours of scraped data when a script crashes.
 
Lots of good answers in here. I guess it just depends on what you are doing with your scripts. Building an app? Scraping? One thing that is common to both is that you should learn Git as soon as possible. Then, I would say the biggest thing you can do is to be hungry for information. It's a field where it's never-ending. You will learn something that leads to five other things needing to be learned. You will never know everything.

I would say: however you're learning, with or without AI, ask a lot of questions and follow up on them to try to understand how the technology works underneath the surface.
 
chris111 said:
Hi all,

Since I’m just starting out with scripting, I wanted to ask what are some common mistakes beginners usually make?

I’d like to avoid developing bad habits early on and focus on doing things the right way.

Whether it’s:

Learning approach

Writing scripts

Choosing tools

Any tips or lessons you learned the hard way would be really helpful.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Bro how to post something on this website?
 
hobbr said:
A few common beginner mistakes I see all the time:

Tutorial hell – watching/reading too much, building nothing. Start small projects early.
Overcomplicating everything – simple scripts > “perfect architecture”.
No consistency – random bursts don’t work, daily habit does.
Copy-paste coding – if you don’t understand it, it’s useless.
Ignoring debugging – learning how to fix errors is half the skill.
Chasing tools/languages – stick to one stack long enough to get good.

Big one: build real stuff as soon as possible. That’s where everything clicks.
Click to expand...
Well said. I especially agree with the part about building real projects early. Many beginners spend too much time consuming tutorials without applying what they learn. Practical experience and debugging real problems make the learning process much faster.
 
Duane Silvester said:
Common beginner mistakes: skipping fundamentals, copying code without understanding, overcomplicating scripts, ignoring debugging/testing, and not using version control like Git early.
Click to expand...
Very true. I’ve noticed many beginners rush into advanced stuff and skip the basics, which makes things harder later. Understanding the logic behind the code, practicing debugging, and learning tools like Git early can save a lot of time.
 
textvedant said:
Even I have started writing script now days, once I'll feel something I'll surely share over here, sofar I have experience for my 1st script writing!
Click to expand...
That’s great to hear. Script writing gets better with experience, and your first script is a solid start. Feel free to share whenever you’re ready I’d be happy to take a look and discuss ideas with you.
 
The WP Nerd said:
Yeah @hobbr is right about keeping it simple. But if you are building scrapers or automation tools, the absolute biggest killer is not handling errors. I used to write scripts that worked fine for 10 minutes then crashed overnight because a proxy timed out or some site layout changed slightly. Learn how to use try/except blocks properly from day one. Also... don't hardcode your accounts or API keys directly in the script. Use a separate config or env file. Made that mistake once and accidentally shared a script with my main API key still in it lol.
Click to expand...
Good point. handling is something many beginners overlook, but it makes a huge difference in keeping automation stable long term. I also agree about separating configs and API keys that saves a lot of headaches and avoids accidental leaks. Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
hobbr said:
A few common beginner mistakes I see all the time:

Tutorial hell – watching/reading too much, building nothing. Start small projects early.
Overcomplicating everything – simple scripts > “perfect architecture”.
No consistency – random bursts don’t work, daily habit does.
Copy-paste coding – if you don’t understand it, it’s useless.
Ignoring debugging – learning how to fix errors is half the skill.
Chasing tools/languages – stick to one stack long enough to get good.

Big one: build real stuff as soon as possible. That’s where everything clicks.
Click to expand...
You’re absolutely right on this.
I used to fall into tutorial hell myself, thinking I was learning a lot while building nothing. The moment I started small real projects, things finally started to make sense.
Especially the part about consistency and debugging those two alone changed everything for me.
Simple, steady practice really wins long term.
 
Duane Silvester said:
Common beginner mistakes: skipping fundamentals, copying code without understanding, overcomplicating scripts, ignoring debugging/testing, and not using version control like Git early.
Click to expand...
Great points here especially about skipping fundamentals and jumping straight into complex scripts.
A lot of beginners don’t realize that the real progress comes from understanding the basics first, not rushing the process. Debugging and using Git early also saves so much stress later on.
Thanks for sharing this, it’s a solid reminder for anyone just starting out
 
hobbr said:
A few common beginner mistakes I see all the time:

Tutorial hell – watching/reading too much, building nothing. Start small projects early.
Overcomplicating everything – simple scripts > “perfect architecture”.
No consistency – random bursts don’t work, daily habit does.
Copy-paste coding – if you don’t understand it, it’s useless.
Ignoring debugging – learning how to fix errors is half the skill.
Chasing tools/languages – stick to one stack long enough to get good.

Big one: build real stuff as soon as possible. That’s where everything clicks.
Click to expand...
I agree with this, especially the point about building real projects early. A lot of beginners spend months consuming tutorials but don't gain confidence until they start creating something on their own. Even small projects help develop problem-solving skills, debugging habits, and a better understanding of how different concepts fit together. Consistency and hands-on practice seem to make the biggest difference over time.

textvedant said:
Even I have started writing script now days, once I'll feel something I'll surely share over here, sofar I have experience for my 1st script writing!
Click to expand...
That's great to hearWriting your first script is always a valuable learning experience. I've also been spending more time experimenting with automation and scripting lately, and it's interesting how much you learn through testing and refining different approaches.
If you discover any useful insights, workflows, or lessons from your projects, I'd be interested in hearing about them. Wishing you success with your future scripts and automation projects.
 
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