The latest articles on DEV Community by Dinesh Kumar Krishna (@krishnaisdinesh). https://dev.to/krishnaisdinesh https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4110534%2F7406d40a-a074-430e-872b-f9cf15391077.jpg https://dev.to/krishnaisdinesh en Dinesh Kumar Krishna Sat, 05 Sep 2026 02:03:03 +0000 https://dev.to/krishnaisdinesh/i-built-107-free-browser-based-tools-as-a-solo-developer-heres-what-i-learned-23c8 https://dev.to/krishnaisdinesh/i-built-107-free-browser-based-tools-as-a-solo-developer-heres-what-i-learned-23c8 <p>When I started building Cookies &amp; Cursor, my goal was simple: create a collection of genuinely free tools that don't require signup, don't track users, and actually work.</p> <p>Three months later, I have 107 tools live across 15 categories. Here's what I learned building them as a solo developer.</p> <p>What I built</p> <p>The tools cover:</p> <p>Finance calculators (mortgage, compound interest, loan, retirement, FIRE)<br> Developer utilities (JSON formatter, regex tester, base64 encoder, SQL formatter, crontab generator)<br> SEO tools (meta tag generator, robots.txt generator, schema generator)<br> Health calculators (BMI, BMR, body fat, macro calculator)<br> Text tools (case converter, word counter, diff checker, markdown to HTML)<br> Document generators (invoice, rent receipt, salary slip)<br> And more across 15 categories</p> <p>Everything runs client-side — no server processing, no data sent anywhere.</p> <p>What I learned</p> <ol> <li><p>Consistency matters more than perfection<br> Every tool follows the same template — same layout, same JSON-LD schema, same FAQ structure. Users instantly know what to expect. Building a template first saved hundreds of hours.</p></li> <li><p>"Try Example" button is underrated<br> I added a one-click "Try Example" button to every tool. It pre-fills realistic sample data so users immediately see the tool working. Bounce rate dropped noticeably after adding this.</p></li> <li><p>Client-side only has real limits<br> Some tools I wanted to build — like a live SEO analyzer or grammar checker — genuinely need a server. Knowing this upfront saved me from half-building things that couldn't work.</p></li> <li><p>Related tools matter<br> Each tool links to 3-4 related tools. A user on the mortgage calculator sees links to the loan calculator, compound interest calculator, and retirement calculator. This keeps users on the site longer.</p></li> </ol> <p>What's next</p> <p>Still working on getting the tools indexed by Google — domain authority takes time to build. Currently at DR 0 with minimal legitimate backlinks. Being honest about that.</p> <p>If you've built something similar or have thoughts on growing a tools site, I'd love to hear it in the comments.</p> <p>Check it out: cookiescursor.com/tools</p> webdev javascript opensource productivity