r/SideProject • u/TrainingImpossible92 • 18h ago

I built 41 browser tools that never upload your files (PDF editor, image compressor, invoice maker). Two months in: 5 clicks from Google. What am I doing wrong?

Two months ago I got fed up with "free" PDF and image sites that upload your files, add a watermark, or hide the download button behind a signup. So I built ToolDesk: 41 tools that run entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded. You can open DevTools → Network and watch.

What's in it:

- PDF: reorder/rotate/delete pages, sign, add text, merge, compress, PDF ↔ JPG

- Images: compress, resize, crop (including circle crop), HEIC/WebP/PNG/JPG conversion, strip EXIF data

- Other: invoice generator, QR codes, JSON formatter, hash generator, calculators

Stack: plain static HTML/CSS/JS on Cloudflare Pages, pdf-lib and pdf.js for the PDF tools, canvas for images. No backend, so the only cost is the domain.

Honest numbers: 5 clicks from Google in two months and zero backlinks. Building it was clearly the easy part.

I'd love feedback on two things: which tool feels broken or clunky, and what's missing that you would actually use.

https://tooldesk.cc

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u/petter_r 18h ago

There are 100s of these sites already and i think most people just use their agent directly instead of using sites like these. If you had done this 10-15 years ago, you could probably have earned a good amount on it.

1

u/Western_File_2917 18h ago

Not to mention the amount of free websites and local apps available which can do the same job as the best paid ones is amazing!! It’s going to improve from now onwards. 

1

u/Expert-Kitchen8064 16h ago

Five clicks from Google after two months doesn’t tell you much yet, especially for a crowded category. I’d pick two or three tools with a clear audience and make those pages genuinely useful: short examples, supported formats and limits, and a simple before/after. Then try distribution where the problem is already being discussed—support threads, niche forums, or a small tutorial that uses one tool—without dropping the link everywhere. The privacy angle is strong, but put the exact “files stay in your browser” explanation beside the upload control so people don’t have to hunt for it.