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Dilshod Gaipov
Dilshod Gaipov

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Why I built Orivo — a browser workspace for frontend prototypes

#webdev #javascript #frontend #css

I'm a freelance frontend developer. For years my "client prototype" workflow looked the same:

  1. npx create-... something
  2. Wait for node_modules to install
  3. Configure tailwind / vite / whatever
  4. Write 30 lines of HTML
  5. Realize the client just wanted to see a button move

Most of the value lived in step 4. Steps 1–3 were tax I paid every time.

So I built Orivo — a browser workspace for frontend prototypes.

What it actually does

  • HTML, CSS and JavaScript editor with instant preview (no build step, no waiting)
  • Share links so the client can review without me sending a zip
  • Export to HTML / JSON / ZIP when work needs to leave the tool
  • Snapshots so I can roll back when a client says "actually, the previous version"
  • Project structure that doesn't pretend a quick prototype is a full app

Who it's for

Not for full production apps — VS Code is fine for that.
Not for one-off snippets — CodePen is fine for that.

It's for the commercial middle: paid client prototype work that needs to move fast, stay organized, and look credible in front of a client.

What I learned shipping it

  • The hard part wasn't the editor. It was deciding what to not include. Every "what about X" feature I cut made the rest sharper.
  • Free tiers attract the wrong users. I made Free intentionally narrow — enough to test the tool, not enough to live there forever. Surprisingly that increased trust, not lowered it.
  • Sharing is the killer feature. Once a freelancer realizes they can send a review link instead of a screenshot, the workflow shift is immediate.

I'd love your honest reaction

If you've got 60 seconds, here's what would actually help me:

  1. Open orivo.dev (no signup needed for the playground).
  2. Try to recreate any tiny UI you've built recently — a card, a form, a hero section.
  3. Tell me the first thing that annoyed you in the comments below.

I'm not asking for compliments. I'm asking for the friction. The thing that made you go "ugh, why doesn't it just…" — that's the gold I'm looking for.

Bonus question for freelancers / studio devs reading this:
How do you currently send a frontend prototype to a client for review? Loom video? CodePen? Vercel preview? A zip on Google Drive? I'm collecting answers and the patterns are fascinating.

Thanks for reading. If the post resonated, a ❤️ or 🦄 reaction helps it reach other devs working in the same messy middle.

— Dilshod (@DilshodGaipov)

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