DEV Community: Tool Maxo

Amazon Cut Product Titles to 75 Characters: A Small Checker That Finds Every Problem

Tool Maxo — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:36:50 +0000

On 27 July 2026 Amazon started limiting product titles to 75 characters including spaces in every category except media (books, music, video and software keep 200). Titles over the limit get shortened by Amazon itself, which means sellers lose control of the words shoppers see. A new 125-character "item highlights" field takes the details that no longer fit.

Rewriting thousands of titles by hand is error-prone, so we built a checker. Here are the rules it encodes and the bits of code that do the work.

The rules worth automating

Length: at most 75 characters (200 for media). Count code points, not bytes.
Banned characters: ! $ ? _ { } ^ ¬ ¦ unless they are part of the brand name.
No word more than twice, ignoring small words such as "and", "for", "with".
No promotional wording: "free shipping", "best seller", "hot sale", "100% guaranteed"…
Backend search terms must stay under 250 bytes. If they reach 250, Amazon ignores the whole field.

Counting characters and bytes correctly

const chars = s => [...s].length;                       // code points, so emoji count as 1
const bytes = s => new TextEncoder().encode(s).length;  // UTF-8 bytes for search terms

"é".length is 1 but it takes 2 bytes; Arabic letters take 2 and many Asian scripts 3. That difference is exactly why search terms are measured in bytes.

Finding repeated words

const SMALL = new Set('a an and or for the with in on of to by at from'.split(' '));
function repeated(title, brand = '') {
  const skip = new Set(brand.toLowerCase().split(/\s+/));
  const count = {};
  for (const w of title.toLowerCase().match(/[\p{L}\p{N}]+/gu) || []) {
    if (!SMALL.has(w) && !skip.has(w)) count[w] = (count[w] || 0) + 1;
  }
  return Object.keys(count).filter(w => count[w] > 2);
}

repeated('Zentro Power Bank 20000mAh Power Bank USB C Power Bank', 'Zentro');
// → ['power', 'bank']

Promotional wording and banned characters

const PROMO = /\b(free shipping|best ?seller|hot sale|on sale|cheap(est)?|limited time|top rated|guaranteed)\b|#1\b/gi;
const BANNED = /[!$?_{}^¬¦]/g;
const promo = [...new Set(title.match(PROMO) || [])];
const banned = [...new Set(title.match(BANNED) || [])];

A real before and after

Zentro Stainless Steel Water Bottle 750ml Insulated BPA Free Leak Proof Lid for Gym Travel Office Kids Adults Keeps Cold 24 Hours Black (135 characters)

Zentro Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, 750 ml, Leak-Proof, Black (72 characters)

The words that were cut are not lost: "BPA free", "gym", "travel" and "keeps cold 24 hours" go into item highlights and bullets, and the rest into backend search terms (under 249 bytes, no repeats of title words).

Try it

The full checker, with bullets, description and search-term byte counts, is free here: Amazon character counter. There is also a longer guide on rewriting titles for the 75-character limit and a set of free Amazon seller tools (FBA profit, BSR estimate, keyword gaps).

How to Convert JPG to PDF Online for Free (No Sign-up, No Watermark)

Tool Maxo — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:59:09 +0000

Turning photos or scanned pages into a PDF is one of those small tasks that comes up constantly: a job application, a school assignment, receipts for expenses, ID documents for a visa form. And almost every free tool you find makes it harder than it should be — account required, watermark on your document, or a daily limit that kicks in exactly when you need it.

Here's a simple, free way to do it without any of that.

The simplest approach: a free in-browser converter

Tool Maxo offers a free JPG to PDF converter that runs entirely in your browser. You open the tool, select your images, arrange their order, and download a single PDF. There is no account, no upload queue, and no watermark on the output — your files never leave your device, which is worth knowing when you're handling ID documents or anything personal.

(https://www.toolmaxo.com/ — browse the full set of free tools if you need more than the PDF converter.)

Step by step

Open the JPG to PDF tool in your browser.
Choose the images you want to convert — most tools accept JPG, PNG, and WebP.
Drag them into the order you want them to appear in the document. Page 1 is the first image.
Check the page size and orientation settings. A4 portrait is the safe default for documents; keep the original orientation for photos.
Click convert and download your PDF.

Tips for a clean result

Order matters. Number your files before you start (01-cover.jpg, 02-page.jpg…) so the sequence is obvious.
Mind the file size. If your scans are huge, compressing the images first keeps the final PDF small enough to email. Tool Maxo's free image compressor handles that without visible quality loss: https://www.toolmaxo.com/
Scan quality first. A crooked, shadowy phone photo becomes a crooked, shadowy PDF page. Retake the photo with even lighting before converting — five minutes of rescanning beats an hour of fixing.
Check before sending. Open the downloaded PDF and flip through every page. It's the one step everyone skips and the one that catches every mistake.

Why no sign-up tools are better for this

Converting documents means handing a tool your personal paperwork. A converter that processes everything locally in your browser — no server upload, no account storing your email — removes the entire privacy question. There's nothing to leak, nothing to delete later, and no "free trial" that expires.

That was the whole process: select, order, download. Next time you need to turn a stack of photos into a single document, you know where to go.

How to Convert JPG to PDF Online for Free (No Sign-up, No Watermark)

Tool Maxo — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 06:49:01 +0000

Here's a simple, free way to do it without any of that.

The simplest approach: a free in-browser converter

(https://www.toolmaxo.com/ — browse the full set of free tools if you need more than the PDF converter.)

Step by step

Open the JPG to PDF tool in your browser.
Choose the images you want to convert — most tools accept JPG, PNG, and WebP.
Drag them into the order you want them to appear in the document. Page 1 is the first image.
Check the page size and orientation settings. A4 portrait is the safe default for documents; keep the original orientation for photos.
Click convert and download your PDF.

Tips for a clean result

Order matters. Number your files before you start (01-cover.jpg, 02-page.jpg…) so the sequence is obvious.
Mind the file size. If your scans are huge, compressing the images first keeps the final PDF small enough to email. Tool Maxo's free image compressor handles that without visible quality loss: https://www.toolmaxo.com/
Scan quality first. A crooked, shadowy phone photo becomes a crooked, shadowy PDF page. Retake the photo with even lighting before converting — five minutes of rescanning beats an hour of fixing.
Check before sending. Open the downloaded PDF and flip through every page. It's the one step everyone skips and the one that catches every mistake.

Why no sign-up tools are better for this

That was the whole process: select, order, download. Next time you need to turn a stack of photos into a single document, you know where to go.

How to Remove an Image Background for Free (No Photoshop, No Sign-up)

Tool Maxo — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:53:39 +0000

This guide was originally published on the Tool Maxo site. It is republished here with the original author's permission and the canonical URL set to the original.

Product photos, profile pictures, thumbnails, presentation slides — sooner or later you need a clean cutout with the background gone. Photoshop can do it, but it costs money and takes learning. Here is how to get a clean transparent background in about a minute, free.

Step 1: Start with a decent photo

Background removal works best when the subject stands out from the background — a person against a plain wall, a product on a table. Busy backgrounds with similar colors to the subject (a brown dog on a brown couch) are harder for any automatic tool. Good lighting helps more than a good camera.

Step 2: Use a free background remover

Open a free remover that works without an account — Tool Maxo's Background Remover runs entirely in your browser, so your photo never leaves your device. Upload the image, and the tool separates the subject from the background automatically. Download the result as a PNG to keep the transparency.

Why browser-based matters here: background removal used to mean uploading your photo to someone's server. If the photo is a product shot, a client headshot, or anything personal, keeping it on your own device is simply safer — and there is no upload wait.

Step 3: Check the edges

Zoom in on hair, fur, glasses frames, and translucent edges. Automatic removal sometimes leaves a faint halo of the old background or eats a little into the subject. If the edges look rough, try a photo with better contrast between subject and background rather than fighting the tool.

Step 4: Put the cutout to work

A transparent PNG drops cleanly onto anything: a white background for a marketplace listing, a colored slide, a thumbnail, a social post. If you need a solid background instead of transparency, place the cutout on a plain color — white for product listings, a brand color for social graphics.

When to do it manually

Automatic removal handles 90% of cases. For the rest — wispy hair against a complex background, glass, or fine mesh — no free automatic tool will nail it, and that is where manual masking in a real editor earns its keep. But try the one-minute free route first; most everyday cutouts never need more.

Free, no sign-up, no watermark — and your photos stay on your device the whole time.

How to Make a QR Code for Free (No Sign-up, No Watermark): A Practical Guide

Tool Maxo — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 05:47:34 +0000

This guide was originally published on the Tool Maxo site. It is republished here with the original author's permission and the canonical URL set to the original.

QR codes are everywhere now — on business cards, café tables, payment stickers, Wi-Fi passwords, event flyers. Most online generators want you to create an account first, or stamp their logo on your code. You do not need any of that. Here is how to make a clean, free QR code that scans every time.

Step 1: Know what a QR code can hold

A QR code is just a picture that stores text. It can hold a URL, a plain text note, a phone number, or a whole Wi-Fi login (SSID + password), so scanning it can open a page, start a chat, or connect a guest to your Wi-Fi without typing anything.

Step 2: Static or dynamic?

Most free tools make static QR codes: the data is baked into the pattern itself, so it never expires and nothing can track who scans it. Dynamic codes route scans through a server so you can edit the link later and see analytics — useful for marketing campaigns, but they usually require a paid subscription and every scan is logged by a third party. For a business card, menu, or Wi-Fi password, static is the right choice: free forever and fully private.

Step 3: Generate it in under a minute

Open a free generator that works without an account — Tool Maxo's QR Code Generator runs entirely in your browser, so what you type never leaves your device. Pick the content type (URL, text, phone, email, Wi-Fi, WhatsApp), enter your data, and download the PNG.

Step 4: Make it scan reliably

A QR code that does not scan is worse than no QR code. A few rules that actually matter:

Size matters. For print, keep the code at least 2 × 2 cm (about 1 inch); bigger is always safer. On a screen, the code should be at least ~120 px on a side.
Keep contrast high. Black on white is the gold standard. Light colors on dark backgrounds often fail in cheap scanners, so test before you print.
Mind the quiet zone. Leave a clean margin around the code — about four modules (squares) wide. Designs that fill the QR code to the edge look modern but break scanning.
Test with two phones. Scan it with both an iPhone and an Android camera, at arm's length, before you print 500 flyers.

Step 5: Print it right

Download the highest-resolution PNG available — a tiny file will blur in print and fail to scan. If you are printing on a small item (a business card, a sticker), keep the URL short so the pattern stays simple; long URLs make dense patterns that small prints cannot reproduce.

That is the whole process: pick static, use a no-account generator, keep it high-contrast with a margin, and test on two phones. The free QR Code Generator at Tool Maxo is the one I use — no sign-up, no watermark, and the code you download is yours with no expiry and no tracking.

How to Compress Images Without Losing Quality: A Practical Guide

Tool Maxo — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 06:55:49 +0000

This guide was originally published on the Tool Maxo blog. It is republished here with the original author's permission and the canonical URL set to the original post.

Big images are the number one reason websites load slowly, emails bounce, and online forms reject your upload. The good news: most photos can be made 50–90% smaller with no visible difference. Here is exactly how, whether you are optimising a website, sending photos, or filling in an application form.

Step 1: Resize to the size you actually need

Resizing gives the biggest saving of all — halving the width and height leaves only a quarter of the pixels. A phone camera saves 4000+ px wide; nothing on the web needs that. Typical widths that are more than enough:

Use	Resize to
Full-width website banner	1920 px
Blog or product image	1200 px
Email image	600–1200 px
Social media post	1080 px

Keep the aspect ratio locked so nothing looks stretched.

Step 2: Pick the right format

Format	Best for	Notes
JPG	Photos	Excellent compression, universal support, no transparency
PNG	Logos, icons, screenshots with text	Lossless and transparent, but large files
WebP	Websites	Usually 25–35% smaller than JPG at the same quality; works in all modern browsers

The classic mistake is saving photos as PNG — the same photo can be five times bigger than as JPG or WebP.

Step 3: Use the quality sweet spot

JPG and WebP use lossy compression, and the quality slider controls how much detail gets thrown away. Cameras save at 95–100%, but you can go much lower before any change is visible:

Quality	Typical saving	Visible difference
90%	40–60%	None
80%	60–75%	None for almost all photos
70%	70–85%	Very slight, only when zoomed in
50%	80–90%	Noticeable on gradients and text

For most websites, 75–80% is the sweet spot. For photos with fine text or product detail, stay at 85–90%.

Step 4: Hitting an exact size (20 KB, 50 KB, 100 KB)

Many exam, job and government portals set a strict upload limit. Instead of guessing quality settings, use a compressor with a target file size field — it finds the highest quality that fits automatically. The most common limits are 20 KB, 50 KB, 100 KB and 200 KB.

Watch your privacy

Many "free" compressors upload your photos to their servers to do the conversion. Browser-based tools that assemble everything on your own device never see your files at all — which also makes them fast with large photos.

I use Tool Maxo's free image compressor for this: it tries the original format and WebP, keeps the smaller one, and shows the saving for each file. Free, no sign-up, no watermark. The same site hosts 70+ other free online tools if you ever need a word counter, a JPG-to-PDF converter or a QR code generator — all working the same privacy-first way.

Frequently asked questions

What quality should I use for website images?

75–80% for most photos; 85–90% for images with fine text or product detail.

Is WebP better than JPG?

Usually yes for the web — 25–35% smaller at the same quality, with transparency support, and it works in all modern browsers.

How do I compress a photo to exactly 100 KB?

Use a compressor with a target-size field instead of guessing the quality slider — it automatically finds the highest quality that fits the limit.

Does compressing the same JPG twice lose quality?

Yes. Each save loses a little more, so always compress from the original file.

Originally published at Tool Maxo (https://www.toolmaxo.com/) — 70+ free online tools, no sign-up needed.

Full version with screenshots: https://www.toolmaxo.com/compress-images-without-losing-quality/

How to Write Meta Titles & Descriptions That Get Clicks

Tool Maxo — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:31:51 +0000

Your title and meta description are the first things people see on Google — and often the only reason they click your result instead of someone else's. Search engines give you this free advertising space on every page, so it pays to use it well. Here is how to write meta titles and descriptions that earn the click, with formulas, examples and a free preview tool.

This post is a republication of the original guide on ToolMaxo, republished here with the canonical URL set to the original.

Why meta titles and descriptions matter

Your title and description are a free ad for every page. They don't directly raise your rankings, but a higher click-through rate brings more traffic from the same position — and sustained clicks are a positive signal.

Think of it this way: moving from position 5 to position 3 roughly doubles your clicks, but so does writing a title twice as clickable at the same position. The second one takes ten minutes.

How to write a meta title that gets clicks

A great title is specific, honest and front-loads the benefit. Put the most important words first, because Google may cut off the end.

Length: Keep titles around 50–60 characters. Longer titles get truncated with an ellipsis, which can hide your key message.

Page type	Aim for
Blog post	50–60 characters
Product page	50–60 characters
Homepage	Brand + main benefit
Guide / tutorial	Keyword + year or number

Title formulas that work:

Number + benefit: "7 Free Tools That Compress Images Instantly"
How-to + outcome: "How to Write Meta Titles That Get Clicks"
Question: "How Many Pages Is 1,000 Words?"
Comparison: "WebP vs PNG: Which Loads Faster?"

Match the search intent: informational queries want guides and answers, transactional queries want products and prices. And never use clickbait — if the page doesn't deliver, visitors bounce and Google notices.

Add your brand at the end for important pages ("… | ToolMaxo"), but skip it when every character counts.

How to write a meta description that gets clicks

The meta description is the 1–2 line summary under your title in search results. Google usually shows about 155 characters — longer text gets cut off.

Description formulas:

Benefit + proof: "Compress images up to 90% smaller with no visible quality loss. Free, no sign-up, works in your browser."
Question + answer: "Wondering how long your speech should be? Convert words to minutes instantly with our free calculator."
Feature list: "Count words, characters, sentences and reading time. Includes keyword density and speaking time."

Include your main keyword naturally — Google bolds matching words, which draws the eye. But don't stuff keywords; one natural mention is enough. Every page needs a unique description: duplicates make your results blur together.

End with a gentle call to action when it fits: "Try it free", "See how", "Calculate now".

Title and description examples

Blog post
Title: How Many Pages Is 1,000 Words? Word Count Guide
Description: Convert words to pages, speaking time and reading time with quick tables. Find out how long 1,000 words really is.

Product page
Title: Free Image Compressor — Reduce JPG & PNG Size Online
Description: Compress JPG, PNG and WebP images up to 90% smaller without losing quality. Free, unlimited, no sign-up.

Homepage
Title: ToolMaxo — 70+ Free Online Tools, No Sign-Up Needed
Description: Count words, compress images, generate QR codes and more. Fast, free online tools that respect your privacy.

Services page
Title: SEO Content Writing Services | ToolMaxo
Description: Data-driven SEO articles that rank and convert. See samples and pricing — no commitment required.

Common mistakes to avoid

Keyword stuffing: "Free tools, best free tools, online free tools" reads as spam and gets ignored.
Duplicate titles: every page needs its own title and description.
Clickbait: promising what the page doesn't deliver kills trust and rankings.
ALL CAPS or excessive punctuation: it looks spammy and can get rewritten by Google.
Forgetting mobile: most searches happen on phones, where even fewer characters show.

How to preview your title and description

Before publishing, check how your snippet looks in Google. Paste your title and description into a SERP preview tool to see exactly where truncation happens on desktop and mobile.

ToolMaxo's free SERP preview tool shows your title, URL and description exactly as Google would, with character counts and pixel-width warnings.

Check clicks, not just rankings

After publishing, open Google Search Console and compare click-through rates across pages. Rewrite the lowest-CTR pages first — small title tweaks often beat chasing new keywords.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good meta title length?
Around 50–60 characters. Google truncates longer titles, so put key words first.

What is a good meta description length?
About 150–155 characters. Longer descriptions get cut off with an ellipsis.

Do meta descriptions affect rankings?
Not directly, but a compelling description earns more clicks, and more clicks from the same position is a positive signal.

Originally published at ToolMaxo (toolmaxo.com) — 70+ free online tools, no sign-up needed.

How Many Words Is That? Word Count Guide for Pages, Speeches & Essays

Tool Maxo — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:21:10 +0000

This guide was originally published on the ToolMaxo blog. It is republished here with the original author's permission and the canonical URL set to the original post.

"Write 1,000 words." "Keep your speech to five minutes." "The caption must be under 2,200 characters." Word limits are everywhere — in essays, conference talks, and blog posts on DEV — but it is hard to picture what they actually mean. How many pages is 1,000 words? How many words fit in a three-minute speech? This guide turns word counts into pages, minutes and characters, with quick tables you can check in seconds.

How many pages is it?

With a standard setup of 12-point Times New Roman or Arial and 2.5 cm (1 inch) margins, a page holds about 500 words single-spaced or 250 words double-spaced.

Words	Single-spaced	Double-spaced
250	½ page	1 page
500	1 page	2 pages
1,000	2 pages	4 pages
1,500	3 pages	6 pages
2,000	4 pages	8 pages
3,000	6 pages	12 pages
5,000	10 pages	20 pages

These are estimates. Headings, short paragraphs, lists and larger fonts mean fewer words per page, so always check the exact count rather than the page number.

How long is a speech?

Most people speak at about 130 words per minute in a presentation, a little slower than in normal conversation. Nervous speakers often go faster, so leave some room.

Speaking time	About this many words
1 minute	130
2 minutes	260
3 minutes	390
5 minutes	650
10 minutes	1,300
15 minutes	1,950

The same numbers work for YouTube and TikTok voiceovers: a 60-second Short needs a script of about 130 words. Paste your script into a word counter and it shows the speaking time automatically.

How long does it take to read?

An average adult reads about 200 words per minute online, faster when skimming. So a 1,000-word article takes about five minutes to read, and a 2,000-word guide about ten. Showing the reading time at the top of a blog post helps readers decide to stay.

Typical lengths for essays, posts and more

School essay: 300–1,000 words.
University essay: 1,500–3,000 words, set by your course.
Cover letter: 250–400 words, never more than one page.
Blog post: 800–1,500 words for most topics; detailed guides often run 2,000 words or more.
Product description: 50–300 words.
Email: under 200 words gets read; long emails get skimmed.

If your teacher or client gives a limit, follow it exactly. Many universities allow 10% above or below the word count, but check your own rules.

Words and characters

Social media and forms often limit characters instead of words. In English, one word is about 5–6 characters including the space, so 100 words is roughly 500–600 characters.

Where	Limit	About
X (Twitter) post	280 characters	45–50 words
Instagram bio	150 characters	25 words
Instagram caption	2,200 characters	350–400 words
Google meta description	about 155 characters	25 words
SMS (English)	160 characters	25–30 words

For exact counts, with and without spaces, use a character counter.

Too many or too few words? Quick fixes

Cut filler: "very", "really", "in order to" (use "to") and "due to the fact that" (use "because").
Remove repeats: say each point once, in the place it fits best.
Too short? Add an example, a number or a short explanation of why the point matters, rather than padding sentences.
Check the result: paste the final version into a word counter. If the text was drafted with AI help, an AI detector shows whether it still sounds machine-written.

Frequently asked questions

How many pages is 1,000 words?

About 2 pages single-spaced or 4 pages double-spaced, with a 12-point font and standard margins.

How many words is a 5-minute speech?

About 650 words, based on a comfortable speaking pace of 130 words per minute.

How long does it take to read 1,000 words?

About 5 minutes at an average reading speed of 200 words per minute.

How many characters are in 100 words?

Roughly 500 to 600 characters including spaces in English, because the average word has four to five letters plus a space.

Originally published at ToolMaxo (toolmaxo.com) — 70+ free online tools, no sign-up needed.