How to create an Alexa Skill without coding with Vasili Shynkarenka

But first, let's welcome co-host; Dustin Coates

We're joined in this episode by our new co-host, Dustin Coates. Dustin is the author of Voice Applications for Alexa and Google Assistant and has been involved in the voice scene since day 1. With extensive experience in software engineering, deep knowledge of Alexa and Google Assistant development and an immense passion for voice, Dustin brings a new perspective and different angles of questioning that, not only technical folk, but non-tech people will appreciate as well.

One of the challenges with new technology platforms is that you typically need to be able to speak the lingo to develop on them. As the internet has progressed, there are what seems like a million dev languages that you'd need to be able to code in to be able to create your website or app.

It wasn’t until relatively recently that tools cropped up to allow designers and total beginners to build on the web. Tools like Wordpress, Weebly and Squarespace have made it easy for anyone to create a presence online.

The great thing about having that history of the web is that we can learn from the past and apply the things that work well to new industries and technology. That’s exactly what Vasili has done through the creation of Storyline. It's the Weebly of voice.

It has a drag and drop interface and a user friendly workflow that will allow anyone to create an Alexa Skill without needing to code a single line.

It will let more technical folk do further work if they’d like to, such as using an API integration to interrogate data, but for the less technical folk out there, what you get ‘out the box’ is more than enough to build a well-rounded Skill.

In fact, testament to how much flexibility is baked into the tool is the recent announcement of the Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge: Kids winner, Kids Court, was created in Storyline.

In this episode, we get into detail about:

• What Storyline is, how it works and how to get up and running
• Testing and publishing Skills
• How to make your Skill more discoverable
• The Storyline community
• Future features and the roadmap
• The challenges facing developers and solutions to solving them
• Vasili’s vision for where the voice space is heading
• Advice for beginner Skill-builders and voice heads

Our guest

Vasili Shynkarenka is the founder and CEO of Storyline. After creating and selling an agency that specialised in creating conversational experiences for brands, Vasili turned his attention to focus on Storyline.

Vasili is madly passionate about voice and has immense experience in the field. He’s super-keen for all kinds of people to get involved in creating voice experiences, no matter what their skill level. His vision for the future of smart speakers and his knowledge of creating voice experiences are inspirational.

This episode is packed with insights and tips and tricks to help people of all skill levels create an Alexa Skill.

Links

• Try Storyline 
• Check out Storyline on Youtube
• Join the Storyline community on Facebook 
• Read Vasili's article 'What I Learned from 5000 Reviews of Top 5 Alexa Skills' on Medium
• Check out Vasili on Medium

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