A year ago, I wrote about Apixies on Dev.to. A small collection of micro-APIs I was building because I kept needing the same utilities across projects. A few of you played around with it, left some great comments, and I just kept building.
Here's what actually happened.
From 5 endpoints to 39
The original post had five APIs: SSL checker, security headers, email inspector, user agent parser, and HTML-to-PDF. That was it.
Since then I've added 34 more:
- DNS Lookup, WHOIS, Domain Availability for the networking stuff I kept reaching for
- QR Code Generator, Screenshot Capture, URL Shortener for generating things
- JSON β CSV, Base64, Markdown to HTML, Color Converter for format conversion
- Text Analyzer, Word Counter, Hash Generator, Password Generator for text and crypto
- IP Geolocation, HTTP Status Checker, Link Checker, Meta Tag Extractor for inspection
Full list at apixies.io/docs/endpoints.
Every endpoint works the same way: one API key, same JSON envelope, predictable error handling. If you've used one Apixies endpoint, you already know how all of them work.
Browser tools for everything
This was the biggest change since the original post. Every single API now has a browser tool at apixies.io/tools. No signup, no API key, just use it.
Need to check an SSL certificate? Go to the tool page, type a domain, get your answer. Need to validate an email? Same thing. Need to convert some JSON to CSV? Paste it in.
I built these because most developers don't want to set up an API integration just to check one thing. The browser tools handle the quick one-off use case, and the API is there when you need to automate it.
A sandbox in the docs
The documentation now has a live sandbox where you can test any endpoint with real parameters and see the actual response before writing any code.
No fake data, no mocked responses. You hit the real API and see exactly what comes back.
What happened with traffic
For the first couple of months after rebuilding the site: nothing. Basically zero impressions on Google.
Then about two weeks ago, something clicked. The Google Search Console graph went vertical. Impressions jumped to over 3,000 a week. Average position dropped to 5.5, sometimes as low as 3. That's page one. The text analysis endpoint alone pulled over 1,500 impressions in a single week.
Real companies started signing up. Developers from 77 countries have found the site. I even got a registration from a Swiss IT security company, which I definitely didn't expect.
What I'd tell the version of me who wrote the original post
Build the free tools. The browser tools are what Google indexes and what developers find when they search. They're the front door. The API is the product behind it.
Consistency matters more than features. Every endpoint returning the same JSON structure, using the same auth, handling errors the same way. That's what makes 39 APIs feel like one product instead of 39 random scripts.
Don't wait until it's perfect. The original post had five endpoints and rough docs. Some of you still found it useful. If I'd waited until I had 39 endpoints to post anything, I'd probably still be building in silence.
What's next
More endpoints. I have a backlog of ideas and community suggestions. More guides walking through real use cases. And keeping the free tier generous, because the whole point is that these utilities should just be easy to grab and use.
If you want to try it:
- Browser tools (no signup): apixies.io/tools
- Developer guides: apixies.io/guides
- API docs: apixies.io/docs
- Free API key (no credit card): apixies.io/register
I'd love to hear what you think. And if there's a micro-API you keep wishing existed, tell me. The last batch of endpoints came directly from suggestions like that.
Thanks for reading. And to those of you who checked it out a year ago, you're the reason I kept going.
β BuΔra
apixies.io
Top comments (6)
5 β 39 APIs in one year. Google Page 1. From a DEV post to real traction.
This is exactly why we say "just ship it" and "build in public." You never know where a simple "I built this" post will take you.
I remember seeing your original post! (or at least I feel like I did π ) The SSL checker was my favorite back then.
Quick question: Which of the new 34 APIs surprised you the most? Like, which one got way more usage than you expected?
Congrats man. This is the good stuff. π
Thanks! And yeah the SSL checker is still one of the most popular.
Honestly? The Text Analyzer. I almost didn't build it because it felt too basic. Word count, character count, reading time. Nothing fancy. But it ended up getting more traction on Google than anything else. Like 1500 impressions plus 500 impressions for its guide page in one week. Turns out every CMS and form builder eventually needs text analysis and nobody wants to pull in a whole NLP library just to count words.
The boring ones win apparently.
Ha yeah exactly. The simpler the better. Got a few more "boring" ones coming soon, check the ideas board at apixies.io/community-ideas if you want to vote on what I should build next
Haha, that's literally the story of every successful tool ever. The "boring" stuff wins because it solves real problems people actually have, not the fancy problems developers wish people had π
Text Analyzer is such a perfect example β it's simple, it's useful, and it does ONE thing well. No bloat, no complexity. Just word count, character count, reading time. And that's exactly why it took off.
The 1500+ impressions in a week proves it. People don't need AI-powered sentiment analysis with blockchain integration to count words. They just need something that works, fast and simple.
Also, you hit on something big: "nobody wants to pull in a whole NLP library just to count words." That's the key insight right there. Every dev knows the pain of adding a massive dependency for one tiny feature. Your tool saves them from that.
The SSL checker being popular makes total sense too β security is always top of mind, and people want quick validation without digging through technical docs.
This is honestly such a good reminder for anyone building stuff: solve the simple, everyday problems first. The fancy stuff can come later (or never).
Keep shipping, man! Would love to see what other "boring" tools you come up with. Text Analyzer already proving that boring = bank π°
Congratulations @bicibg! Well done on your website!
Wishing you that everything goes exactly as youβve planned.π₯°
Thanks @cristea_theodora, really appreciate the kind words! π