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Darin Larimore
Darin Larimore

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Why I Built Another Feedback Tool

#webdev #laravel #productivity

Why I Built Another Feedback Tool

Let's be honest - the market doesn't need another feedback tool. But I needed one I could afford.

As a freelance developer at Daring Designs, I was paying $59/month for Marker.io. Great tool, but the price stung every month. So I did what every developer does when faced with a recurring cost: "How hard could it be to build this myself?"

Narrator: It was harder than that.

The Core Problem

Most feedback tools fail not because of features, but because of friction. Clients don't want to:

  • Create another account
  • Remember another password
  • Learn another platform
  • Check yet another tool for updates

So I built Notedis with one key feature: clients can reply via email, and their feedback automatically appears on visual boards.

Making It Dead Simple to Install

One thing I learned from using feedback tools: if installation is complicated, people abandon it. I've seen tools that require OAuth flows, API key management, or complex configuration just to get started.

For Notedis, I wanted it to be as simple as Google Analytics - just drop a script tag on your site and you're done.

The Installation Process

When you create a site in Notedis, you get a unique widget key. Installation is literally just adding one line of code in the
<head> tag of your website like this:

<head>

  <!-- Notedis Snippet -->
  <script>
    window.notedisConfig = {
      siteKey: 'site_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx',
      apiUrl: 'https://notedis.com'
    };
  </script>
  <script src="https://notedis.com/js/widget.js" async></script>
</head>
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That's it. No configuration objects, no initialization code, no API keys to manage. The widget automatically:

  • Loads asynchronously (won't block page rendering)
  • Positions itself in the bottom-right corner
  • Captures screenshots with html2canvas
  • Handles the entire feedback flow
  • Works across all modern browsers

Why This Approach Works

For developers: Copy, paste, ship. No documentation to read, no setup wizard to complete.

For clients: The feedback button just appears. They click it, describe their issue, and they're done.

For me: Each site gets a unique key tied to their account, making it easy to route feedback to the right place and enforce subscription limits at the API level.

The widget script is dynamically generated per site, so I can update the functionality globally without users needing to update their snippet.

The Technical Challenge: Email-to-Platform Integration

The hardest part wasn't the screenshot annotations or the visual boards - it was making email replies work reliably.

What I had to solve:

1. Email Parsing

  • Handle different email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.)
  • Parse reply threading correctly
  • Strip signatures and quoted text
  • Handle forwards and BCCs

2. Mapping Replies to Feedback Items

  • Generate unique identifiers in email headers
  • Handle out-of-order replies
  • Preserve context across multiple replies

The Business Side

Pricing: $20/month (vs $59+ for competitors)

Trial: 14 days with usage-based limits (1 site, 30 feedback items) so users can properly evaluate it.

Target Market: Freelancers and small agencies who need core functionality without enterprise bloat.

Current Status: Launched on Product Hunt, got first paying customers who aren't friends/family. Small wins, but feels huge as a solo builder.

Tech Stack

Kept it lean to minimize costs:

  • Laravel backend for email processing
  • Canvas API for screenshot annotations
  • Webhook integration for incoming emails
  • Minimal infrastructure overhead

What I'd Do Differently

  1. Validate pricing earlier - Still not sure if $20/mo is the sweet spot
  2. Build email integration first - It became the selling point but was the hardest part

For Other Indie Devs

If you're thinking about building a SaaS to replace an expensive tool you use:

✅ Do it if: You understand the problem deeply and have a clear differentiator
❌ Don't if: You're just competing on price alone

The "cheaper alternative" only works if you're solving a real pain point for an underserved market.

Try It Out

If you're managing client feedback and tired of the friction, check out notedis.com.

Would love feedback from fellow devs - especially on the email integration approach. How would you have tackled this differently?

Questions for the community:

  • Have you built email-to-platform integrations? What were your biggest challenges?
  • What's your take on competing with established players on price vs features?
  • Any tips for solo devs doing SaaS marketing on a budget?

Drop your thoughts below! 👇

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