The latest articles on DEV Community by Y B (@y_b_429964b27b70c6fd1137b). https://dev.to/y_b_429964b27b70c6fd1137b 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%2F4160098%2F6d0cf280-69b6-49db-b714-3868c239d14e.png https://dev.to/y_b_429964b27b70c6fd1137b en Y B Sat, 03 Oct 2026 16:05:19 +0000 https://dev.to/y_b_429964b27b70c6fd1137b/why-i-built-onekitly-bringing-everyday-online-tools-into-one-place-1hh3 https://dev.to/y_b_429964b27b70c6fd1137b/why-i-built-onekitly-bringing-everyday-online-tools-into-one-place-1hh3 <h1> Why I Built OneKitly: Bringing Everyday Online Tools Into One Place </h1> <p>There is a strange problem with the web today: we have more tools than ever, yet completing a simple task can still mean opening five different websites.</p> <p>Need to calculate something? One website.</p> <p>Convert a value? Another website.</p> <p>Work with a PDF? Another one.</p> <p>Use a developer utility? Search again.</p> <p>Check a finance calculation? Open another tab.</p> <p>None of these tasks are particularly difficult, but the friction adds up quickly.</p> <p>That was the starting point behind OneKitly.</p> <h2> The problem I wanted to solve </h2> <p>I often found myself searching for small online utilities that I only needed for a few seconds.</p> <p>The experience was usually the same:</p> <ul> <li>search Google</li> <li>open several results</li> <li>close websites overloaded with ads</li> <li>reject tools that required registration</li> <li>find another website</li> <li>finally complete a task that should have taken 20 seconds</li> </ul> <p>I started wondering why so many useful online tools had to exist as completely separate experiences.</p> <p>What if calculators, converters, document tools, developer utilities, finance tools and productivity tools could live in the same place?</p> <p>That idea eventually became <a href="https://onekitly.com/en" rel="noopener noreferrer">OneKitly</a>.</p> <h2> One platform instead of dozens of bookmarks </h2> <p>The goal with OneKitly is not to reinvent every tool on the internet.</p> <p>The goal is to make frequently needed utilities easier to access.</p> <p>Instead of remembering dozens of websites, users can visit one platform and find tools grouped into clear categories.</p> <p>The platform currently focuses on areas such as:</p> <ul> <li>calculators</li> <li>converters</li> <li>PDF and document tools</li> <li>developer utilities</li> <li>finance tools</li> <li>productivity tools</li> <li>everyday web utilities</li> </ul> <p>And the collection keeps growing.</p> <p>One of the most important decisions was to keep the experience browser-based.</p> <p>For many small tasks, downloading an application simply doesn't make sense.</p> <p>If you need a tool for 30 seconds, you should ideally be able to open it, complete the task and move on.</p> <h2> Building tools is easy. Building a toolbox is harder. </h2> <p>One thing I quickly discovered while building OneKitly is that creating individual tools is only part of the challenge.</p> <p>Once you have dozens of utilities, completely different problems appear.</p> <p>How do users discover the right tool?</p> <p>How should tools be categorized?</p> <p>How do you keep navigation simple when the number of tools keeps increasing?</p> <p>How do you design an interface that works for someone who knows exactly what they need, while still helping someone who is just browsing?</p> <p>These questions became just as important as building the tools themselves.</p> <p>A good toolbox needs more than tools.</p> <p>It needs organization.</p> <h2> Keeping the interface simple </h2> <p>OneKitly is designed around a relatively simple principle:</p> <p><strong>The interface should disappear and let the tool do the work.</strong></p> <p>That means avoiding unnecessary steps wherever possible.</p> <p>A user should not need to read a manual before using a calculator.</p> <p>A converter should not require an account.</p> <p>A basic utility should not hide the result behind several screens.</p> <p>This sounds obvious, but simplicity is surprisingly difficult to maintain as a project grows.</p> <p>Every new feature adds another opportunity to make the interface more complicated.</p> <p>So one of the ongoing challenges is deciding not only what to add, but also what not to add.</p> <h2> Performance matters for small tools </h2> <p>Speed is especially important for utility websites.</p> <p>If someone opens a tool to perform a task that takes five seconds, a slow website immediately makes the experience feel wrong.</p> <p>That has influenced many decisions around OneKitly.</p> <p>The ideal workflow looks like this:</p> <ol> <li>Find the tool.</li> <li>Open it.</li> <li>Complete the task.</li> <li>Get the result.</li> <li>Move on.</li> </ol> <p>Anything between those steps needs a good reason to exist.</p> <h2> Building for different types of users </h2> <p>Another interesting challenge is that an online toolbox attracts very different audiences.</p> <p>A developer might need a technical utility.</p> <p>A student might need a calculator.</p> <p>A freelancer might need to work with a PDF.</p> <p>Someone running a business might need a financial calculation.</p> <p>Another person might simply need a quick converter.</p> <p>That means the platform cannot assume too much technical knowledge from the person using it.</p> <p>The underlying tool might perform something complex, but the experience should still feel simple.</p> <p>I think this is one of the most interesting parts of building utility products: complexity often belongs behind the interface, not in front of the user.</p> <h2> What I learned from building OneKitly </h2> <p>A few lessons have become clear during the project.</p> <h3> 1. Small problems are worth solving </h3> <p>Not every product needs to solve an enormous problem.</p> <p>Saving someone two minutes on a task they repeat regularly can still create real value.</p> <h3> 2. Distribution matters as much as development </h3> <p>You can build a useful tool, but if nobody discovers it, it effectively doesn't exist.</p> <p>SEO, community feedback and product discovery are therefore part of building the product, not something that happens afterward.</p> <h3> 3. Users expect speed </h3> <p>People are remarkably patient with complex software.</p> <p>They are much less patient with simple tools.</p> <p>If the task is simple, the experience needs to feel instant.</p> <h3> 4. Every additional click matters </h3> <p>When someone only wants a quick result, even a small amount of unnecessary friction becomes noticeable.</p> <h3> 5. A collection can become a product itself </h3> <p>Individual utilities may be simple.</p> <p>But once they share navigation, design, search, categorization and a consistent user experience, the collection starts becoming something more useful than the individual pieces.</p> <h2> What's next? </h2> <p>OneKitly is still evolving.</p> <p>The plan is to continue expanding the library while improving the experience around discovery, navigation and speed.</p> <p>I'm particularly interested in building tools that people repeatedly search for but that are often scattered across outdated or overly complicated websites.</p> <p>The long-term goal is simple:</p> <p><strong>Make OneKitly the place you check first when you need a useful online tool.</strong></p> <p>If you're a developer or product builder, I'd also be interested to know how you approach collections of small tools.</p> <p>Do you prefer building focused standalone products, or do you think combining related utilities into a broader platform creates a better experience?</p> <p>I'd love to hear your thoughts.</p> productivity webdev tooling