I Tried 27 Free Online Tools Websites — Most Were Slow, Full of Ads, or Required Login… So I Built My Own
A few months ago, I needed a simple tool to:
- compress an image
- format JSON
- generate QR codes
- convert files
- and do basic developer tasks quickly
Sounds simple, right?
But almost every “free tool” website had one of these problems:
❌ Too many ads
❌ Forced signup
❌ Slow loading
❌ Fake “Download” buttons
❌ Watermarks
❌ Limited usage
❌ Mobile experience was terrible
After getting frustrated again and again, I decided to build my own collection of free tools.
My Goal
I wanted tools that were:
- actually fast
- mobile friendly
- no login required
- no fake buttons
- simple UI
- and usable instantly
So I started building.
What I Built
Right now my website includes tools like:
- JSON Formatter
- QR Code Generator
- Image Compressor
- Text Utilities
- Developer Tools
- SEO Utilities
- and more
Everything is free to use.
Biggest Challenge
The hardest part wasn’t coding.
It was optimization.
Some tools became extremely slow when handling large files or images. I spent days improving:
- loading speed
- image processing
- API optimization
- frontend rendering
- SEO performance
I also learned that users leave websites FAST if the page takes more than a few seconds to load.
That changed how I build products now.
What I Learned
Building tools taught me:
- Simplicity beats fancy UI
- Speed matters more than animations
- Most users hate mandatory signup
- SEO takes time
- Distribution is harder than coding
The Funny Part
I thought:
“If I build useful tools, traffic will automatically come.”
Reality?
Almost nobody visited at first 😅
So now I’m learning:
- SEO
- content marketing
- performance optimization
- and how to write better titles people actually click.
Current Mission
My goal is simple:
Build genuinely useful free tools that people can use instantly without frustration.
If you have suggestions for tools I should add next, let me know 👇
You can check out the website here:
https://www.astonishbuddy.com/
Feedback is welcome 🚀
Top comments (1)
What’s the most annoying thing you’ve seen on free tools websites?