The latest articles on DEV Community by Haroon Yousaf (@haroon-yousaf). https://dev.to/haroon-yousaf https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3879944%2F58e7d531-d27d-4877-bc9c-01e9c12c7bdb.jpg https://dev.to/haroon-yousaf en Haroon Yousaf Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:37:07 +0000 https://dev.to/haroon-yousaf/i-built-169-free-online-tools-solo-from-pakistan-heres-my-story-3bjh https://dev.to/haroon-yousaf/i-built-169-free-online-tools-solo-from-pakistan-heres-my-story-3bjh <p><strong>The Problem I Was Trying to Solve</strong></p> <p>Every time I needed to compress an image, format JSON, <br> or merge a PDF — I had to open 3 different websites.<br> Some had ads everywhere. Some required signup.<br> Some charged money for basic features.</p> <p>I thought — why not build one place that does it all?</p> <p><strong>What I Built</strong></p> <p><strong>TakeTheTools</strong> — a free all-in-one platform with <br> 169+ online tools for developers, designers, and <br> everyday users.</p> <p>🛠️ What's inside:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Image Tools</strong> — compress, convert, resize, crop</li> <li> <strong>PDF Tools</strong> — merge, split, protect, watermark</li> <li> <strong>Developer Tools</strong> — JSON formatter, JWT decoder, Regex tester, SQL formatter</li> <li> <strong>Text Tools</strong> — word counter, case converter, slug generator</li> <li> <strong>Math &amp; Calculators</strong> — BMI, loan, percentage</li> <li> <strong>Security Tools</strong> — password generator, AES encrypt</li> </ul> <p>✅ No signup required<br><br> ✅ Files never leave your browser<br><br> ✅ 100% free forever </p> <p><strong>Tech Stack</strong></p> <ul> <li> <strong>Framework:</strong> Next.js 15 (App Router)</li> <li> <strong>Styling:</strong> Tailwind CSS</li> <li> <strong>Deployment:</strong> Vercel</li> <li> <strong>Language:</strong> TypeScript</li> </ul> <p><strong>The Hard Part</strong></p> <p>I built this completely solo from Pakistan with <br> zero investment and zero team.</p> <p>No funding. No support. Just code and consistency.</p> <p>The biggest challenge wasn't the code — it was <br> staying motivated when no one was watching.</p> <p>But I kept going. And today TakeTheTools has <br> 169+ tools live and growing.</p> <p><strong>What I Learned</strong></p> <ol> <li> <strong>Ship fast</strong> — perfect is the enemy of done</li> <li> <strong>SEO matters</strong> — more than I thought</li> <li> <strong>Consistency beats motivation</strong> — show up every day</li> <li> <strong>Community helps</strong> — sharing your work matters</li> </ol> <p><strong>Try It</strong><br> <a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F6wrzcqy6zjxtwv3imx8l.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F6wrzcqy6zjxtwv3imx8l.png" alt=" " width="800" height="875"></a></p> <p>🌐 <strong>Live site:</strong> <a href="https://takethetools.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://takethetools.com</a></p> <p>Would love your feedback — what tools would YOU <br> want to see added next? Drop a comment below 👇</p> webdev nextjs react showdev