I Built 13 Free Online Tools Using Next.js — Here’s What I Learned 🚀

#webdev #javascript #productivity #tutorial

A few days ago, I decided to build something simple but actually useful.

Instead of another portfolio project, I created a collection of 13 free online tools that people can use daily — no signup, no ads overload, no friction.

👉 Live here: https://www.astonishbuddy.com/

💡 Why I Built This

Most online tools today:

Require login ❌
Are slow and bloated ❌
Show too many ads ❌

I wanted to build something:

⚡ Fast
🔓 No signup required
🧠 Simple UI
🛠 Actually useful

🛠 Tech Stack

I used:

Next.js (App Router)**
TypeScript**
Tailwind CSS**
Custom API routes for processing

Everything is optimized for:

Speed ⚡
SEO 📈
Clean UX 🎯

🔧 Tools I Built

Here are some of the tools currently live:

Image Compressor
JSON Formatter
Text Case Converter
Word Counter
QR Code Generator
Base64 Converter
Random Number Generator
Password Generator
And more…

⚡ Biggest Challenges

SEO & Indexing

Getting pages indexed on Google was harder than building the tools 😅
Had to:

Add sitemap
Fix redirects
Optimize metadata

Performance Optimization

Making tools fast without backend-heavy processing was tricky.

Solution:

Use browser-based processing where possible
Optimize rendering with Next.js

Avoiding Spam Filters (Reddit 😅)

Sharing the project got flagged initially.
Lesson: provide value first, not links.

📈 What I Learned

Build something useful, not just impressive
SEO matters more than you think
Distribution (sharing) is as important as coding
Simple tools = high real-world usage

🔥 What’s Next

I’m planning to add:

PDF tools (PDF → Word, Image → PDF)
Background remover
AI-based tools

🙌 Would Love Feedback

If you have ideas, suggestions, or feature requests, I’d love to hear them.

👉 Try it here: https://www.astonishbuddy.com/

If you're building something similar or have done it before, what challenges did you face?