Tips for Getting Started with .NET MAUI

Understand what you’re trying to build before you begin, practice, learn from the community and more advice from a fellow .NET MAUI dev.

If you’re here, it’s because we share a love or at least a curiosity for .NET MAUI, and I absolutely love that! 💚😍

In this article, I’d like to share some tips that will be especially helpful if you’re just starting your journey in .NET MAUI. Before we begin, I want to tell you something that applies not only to .NET MAUI but to every aspect of your life. It’s completely normal to feel afraid when facing something new. The important thing is not to let that fear stop you.

I also want to encourage you to let go of the fear of making mistakes. Don’t be afraid to try, experiment and practice. Very often, we learn much more from our mistakes than from our successes, and every attempt is an opportunity to improve our skills. Of course, always act responsibly and make an effort to learn from every experience.

Now, let’s get started with the tips! 🚀

1. Never Start an Application Before Understanding What You Need to Build

This advice applies not only to .NET MAUI but to any technology. When we’re getting started, it’s very common to want to jump into writing code as quickly as possible. We want to move fast, prove ourselves and see results. However, in software development, understanding the problem is just as important as writing the code.

Before writing your first line of code, take the time to understand what is expected from the application. Review the requirements, analyze the design, identify the business rules and make sure you understand the user flow.

And above all, ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask if something isn’t clear. It’s much better to clarify your doubts when you’re assigned a project than to assume you understood everything and end up delivering the wrong solution simply because you were too embarrassed to ask.

Remember, no developer knows everything. Asking questions shows curiosity, responsibility and a genuine desire to deliver quality work. Once you have a clear understanding of what you need to build, then it’s time to start developing.

And remember: the world won’t end because you take some time to do research, read the documentation or ask the questions you need to. In fact, that time will often save you many hours of rework later on.

2. Practice Makes Perfect!

Didn’t get your XAML right on the first try? Practice! Do you think a UI is impossible to replicate? Practice some more!

Don’t get discouraged. I have to admit that when I started with .NET MAUI, my first screens looked nothing like the designs I was trying to recreate. I struggled to understand how layouts, controls and the proper way to structure a user interface worked. And no, I didn’t get it right the first time, the second time… or even after many more attempts.

The only thing that truly helped me improve was consistent practice. With every screen I recreated, I learned something new. Little by little, I gained a better understanding of how XAML works, started building user interfaces more easily and without even realizing it, I also became much faster.

If you want to improve, here are a few tips that helped me a lot:

Find Inspiration to Practice

One of my favorite platforms is Dribbble. There, you can find hundreds of amazing UI designs to recreate.

Set small challenges for yourself. Start with simple interfaces and gradually increase the difficulty as you gain confidence. The goal isn’t to create a perfect copy, but to learn new techniques with every exercise.

3. Learn Your Layouts Well

Take the time to understand how the different .NET MAUI layouts work.

Although you can often achieve the same result using different layouts, understanding their differences will help you choose the right one for each scenario. This can improve your application’s performance.

Share What You Learn

If there’s one thing I’m completely convinced of, it’s that teaching is one of the best ways to learn.

One of the best ways to know whether you’ve truly understood something is to try explaining it to someone else. Did you learn how a layout works? Were you able to recreate a UI that once seemed impossible? Share it! Post it on LinkedIn, in a .NET MAUI Facebook group or in a WhatsApp community, write a blog post, or even give a talk.

Besides reinforcing your own knowledge, sharing what you learn also helps you connect with other developers and can open the door to new professional opportunities.

4. Explore Telerik Controls ⭐

In addition to the native controls that .NET MAUI provides, there are also third-party libraries that can help you build truly amazing applications. My favorite is Progress Telerik UI for .NET MAUI. Its controls are feature-rich, easy to integrate and, without a doubt, highly recommended!

I encourage you to explore the components Progress Telerik makes available to the community. They are not only an excellent way to practice and learn, but they can also save you a lot of time when working on real world projects or client applications.

What I like most is that you can create a free account and get a trial license, allowing you to experiment with all the available components.

How do you get a trial license?

It’s super easy!

• Create a free Telerik account.
• Download Telerik UI for .NET MAUI.
• Activate your trial license and start exploring all the available controls.

My advice is not to stop at reading the documentation. Create a sample project, experiment with the components and discover how they work. It’s an excellent way to learn new features while expanding your toolkit as a developer.

5. Follow .NET MAUI Content Creators

One of the best ways to keep learning is to surround yourself with people who consistently share knowledge about .NET MAUI.

Following content creators through their blogs, LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Instagram or any other platform will help you stay up to date with everything happening in the .NET MAUI ecosystem: new features, improvements, important changes, best practices and tips that you can apply to your own projects.

Here are some of my favorite .NET MAUI content creators:

• Gerald Versluis
• David Ortinau
• Matt Goldman

And if you want to discover even more awesome creators, definitely take a look at the portal 30 Best Xamarin Blogs to Follow in 2026. You’ll find many developers who now create amazing .NET MAUI content! 🚀 You never know when an article, a video or a post might teach you something that saves you hours of work or helps you write better code.

I also recommend following the official .NET channel. That’s where they host the .NET MAUI Community Standups, sharing the latest updates, showcasing new features, doing live demos and talking about what’s coming next for .NET MAU.

Conclusion

And that’s it! I hope these tips help you feel more confident as you start your .NET MAUI journey. 💚

Throughout this article, we talked about some of the things that have helped me the most: taking the time to understand the requirements before coding, practicing consistently, exploring third-party controls like Telerik UI for .NET MAUI and learning from amazing content creators in the community.

Of course, these are just a few of my personal tips! I encourage you to keep exploring, building and most importantly, learning something new every day.

See you in the next article! 🙋‍♀️🚀

Remember, Telerik UI for .NET MAUI comes with a free 30-day trial.

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