Four months ago I decided to build a simple utility website.
The original plan was maybe 15–20 tools.
Instead, I somehow ended up shipping 120+ tools covering PDFs, images, developers, students, finance, AI utilities, and a lot of niche calculators.
Looking back, I made almost every mistake a solo developer can make.
Hopefully this saves someone else a few months.
*1. Stop waiting for the "perfect launch"
*
I spent four months building before showing the project to anyone.
Huge mistake.
Nobody cares how many features you have.
People care whether you solve their problem.
If I started again, I'd launch after 10–20 tools and let users decide what to build next.
*2. Boring tools get used more than clever ones
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I thought people would love the complicated AI tools.
Instead, the most used ones were things like:
- Image Compressor
- PDF Merger
- JSON Formatter
- QR Code Generator
- Password Generator
Simple wins.
People search for solutions, not engineering.
*3. Niche tools are an SEO superpower
*
Everyone builds a BMI calculator.
Almost nobody builds things like:
- Pakistani Electricity Bill Calculator
- Zakat Calculator
- CNIC Validator
- Cricket Run Rate Calculator
- Construction Bid Comparison Tool The search volume is lower.
The competition is almost zero.
Those pages have become some of my favourites because they solve real problems.
*4. Browser APIs are incredibly underrated
*
Many tools don't need a backend.
Compression.
Image editing.
QR generation.
JSON formatting.
Regex testing.
UUID generation.
Password generation.
CSV editing.
All of these can happen directly inside the browser.
That means:
- Faster
- More private
- Cheaper to host
- Works offline
*5. Docker can save you from cold starts
*
One problem almost drove me insane.
My AI background remover worked perfectly locally.
Production?
Every first request timed out.
The reason:
The U2Net model (used by rembg) downloaded on first request.
Around 170 MB.
The fix?
Download the model during the Docker build instead.
One tiny change.
Massive improvement.
*6. Users hate unnecessary accounts
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I removed logins completely.
No email.
No registration.
No "Create an account to continue."
People just use the tool and leave.
That's exactly what most utility websites should encourage.
*7. Performance matters more than animations
*
I spent hours making animations look perfect.
Users never mentioned them.
They did notice:
- slow loading
- laggy interactions
- mobile issues
Speed is a feature.
*8. Mobile users deserve first-class treatment
*
More than half the internet is mobile.
If your utility only works nicely on desktop...
You've already lost a huge percentage of users.
Every tool I build now starts with mobile in mind.
*9. Build things you personally need
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One of my favourite features is an Online Clipboard.
Open it on your desktop.
Scan a QR code.
Start typing on your phone.
The text appears instantly.
No login.
No app.
No emailing yourself.
It wasn't built because someone requested it.
It solved a problem I had every week.
Those are often the best products.
*10. Marketing is part of building
*
Developers often think marketing starts after shipping.
It doesn't.
If nobody knows your project exists...
It doesn't matter how clean your architecture is.
Building is comfortable.
Marketing is uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, both are required.
Where the project is today
The project has grown into DukoTools, a collection of 120+ free online tools.
Everything is free.
No signup.
Many tools work entirely in the browser, and the site can even be installed as a Progressive Web App for offline use.
I'm now focusing on improving the existing tools based on real user feedback instead of endlessly adding new ones.
If you have a favourite online tool that doesn't exist—or one that could be significantly better—I'd genuinely love to hear about it.
Building is fun.
Building things people actually use is even better.
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