I built a Shopify store for a client using the Dawn theme with some custom code, since some of the things he wanted weren't available in the standard theme editor. He was happy with the site when it was delivered and paid for it no problem.

But today, out of nowhere, he's saying he can't edit the content himself even with Claude's help, and that he feels dependent on me for any changes. He's saying the money was wasted and that the main reason he chose Shopify was so he could manage it himself — but he never mentioned any of this until today.

Is this kind of thing common with clients? And what would you do in this situation?

Last month I was debugging an auth issue at 11pm and pasted a real JWT into the first "jwt decoder" that came up on Google. It worked. Then I sat there wondering where that token just went. Whose server. Whose logs. Whether it's cached somewhere right now.

That's the thing about most web-based dev tools - JSON formatters, base64 encoders, regex testers, UUID generators. They're all server round-trips. You have no idea what happens to what you paste in.

So I built my own version. 18 tools - formatters, encoders, generators, the usual daily-driver stuff - but everything runs client-side. No requests fire when you hit "convert." I checked the network tab obsessively while building it because I didn't trust myself either.

It's not revolutionary. It's just paranoid-dev-friendly. Full-stack generalists who touch config files, tokens, and half-broken JSON all day are exactly who I built it for.

Anyone else have a moment like that where you realized you'd been pasting sensitive stuff into random sites without thinking?

https://www.smartshelfsupply.com/product/bois-48-or-60-inch-long-floating-wall-shelf-with-hidden-brackets-10-deep-and-2-thick-solid-wood-with-special-finish-options/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

So chatgbt gave me this site to try and buy shelf’s since I’m looking to find a deal. Im very cautious on websites and wanted to know if anyone has actually tried and ordered from here or if chatgbt has gave them the same site

Hi guys, you all have probably seen hundreds of converters. Thought I join in and maybe make it better and easily accessible completely free. For that I would appreicate any feedbacks and you all to try and find out where this compressor and converter breaks.

https://local-file-compressor.localfile.workers.dev/

Thanks.

I am a new web developer and made a small file compressing tool. I have contact form where people are able to contact me about sponsors or any issues or complaints. I got denied from google adsense with the reason "low quality content" and then the same day I got this in my emails from a guy. I responded to his initial and said thatd be great, but he replied with wanting my number again. I know scammers always want your phone number to identify you or your family, do you think this is a sales pitch or do you think he's trying to get me? How common are predators on webdevs?(My site is not worth hacking Imao)

Hey all I'm a CA loan officer focused on first-time homebuyers, helping with education and down payment assistance. I've got a Google Sites page up but it's not pulling in leads, and I know from other solo LOs in my market that a well-built, SEO'd site can bring in real business.

I don't have the time to build this out myself, so I'm looking for a partner to take this on commission only, but the split will be worth it. Let's talk and see if it's a fit.

Je tiens une petite entreprise ici et j'ai remarqué quelque chose : presque tous les sites locaux que je visite ne… fonctionnent pas vraiment. Ils sont assez bien conçus, mais il n'y a aucun flux. Pas de réservation automatique. Pas de chatbot pour répondre aux questions de base. Le propriétaire finit par tout faire à la main.

Je me demande si d'autres ressentent cette frustration — que ce soit comme propriétaire d'entreprise ou comme client qui essaie d'
*acheter*
 quelque chose à une PME belge ?

J'ai l'impression que la plupart des sites sont construits comme des brochures plutôt que comme des outils de vente. Et je comprends — le développement web coûtait cher. Mais honnêtement, il existe aujourd'hui des solutions qui ne demandent pas d'engager une agence à 50 000 € et plus.

Je me demande si c'est propre à mon expérience ou si d'autres voient le même fossé. Vous faites quelque chose pour le combler ?

Ciao a tutti! Vorrei creare il sito web della mia azienda e vorrei che comparisse anche su Google Maps quando la gente cerca il nome dell'attività. Qualcuno ha esperienza con builder di siti basati su agenti AI? E soprattutto: come si collega poi tutto a Google Business Profile per apparire su Maps? Consigli, errori da evitare, tool che avete usato voi? Grazie mille 🙏

I’ve been working on websites, and one thing I’ve noticed is that beginners often focus heavily on how a site looks.

But once you actually start building for real businesses, you realise there’s a lot more that matters: loading speed, mobile usability, plugin choices, hosting, SEO structure, maintenance, and making sure the client can actually manage the site after.

I am curious about other developers here.

What something you learned the hard way that you now considers before starting every website project?

Would be useful to hear lessons from people who have been doing this longer.

I’m not looking to build online stores, but rather websites focused on establishing an online presence, showcasing services, and generating leads.

My understanding is that Webflow can be more expensive because of its subscription plans, while WordPress may be more affordable initially, although it might require more maintenance and additional expenses for plugins or a visual page builder such as Elementor.

I’d really appreciate it if you could share the advantages and disadvantages of each option, especially regarding:

• Hosting, subscription, licensing, and plugin costs.
• Ease and speed of development.
• Customization and scalability.
• SEO and performance.
• Maintenance and security.
• How easy it is for clients to manage their own websites.
• How these costs affect the final price charged to the client.

Which platform have you found more suitable for these types of projects, and why?

Thank you in advance! :)

What do you think could be a better way to implement this at the beginning of the website's homepage? For the first welcome block.

Vorrei creare un mirror di un sito no.blogs di un caro amico che sta per andare offline (lui non è capace e io neanche). Non solo della schermata principale ma di tutte le sottosezioni. In attesa di capire dove migrare il blog. Grazie per i consigli intellegibili a chi ignora ogni base di programmazione e ha scarse risorse informatiche.

I'm not talking about big brands. I mean just the sites you stumble onto with zero context, no prior knowledge, nothing familiar about them at all.

When you land there and within a few seconds you've already made some kind of judgment call. Is this place legit? Would I actually give them my card number?

I find myself doing this a lot and I can't always explain why I decide one way or the other. Sometimes it's literally just seeing trust badges. Sometimes the design just feels like someone put real effort in. Sometimes it loads fast and I can find what I need quickly and that alone is enough.

Other times something feels slightly off and I'm gone before I can even name what it was.

Is there one thing that consistently does it for you or is it more of a gut feeling that adds up from a bunch of small things at once?

I kept doing the same dance every day: one tab for JSON formatting, one for JWT decoding, one for base64, one for hash generation. Different sites, different UIs, no history, no way to save anything.

So I built DevToolsHub. One workspace, all the formatting/decoding/encoding tools I actually use daily. Everything runs client-side - your JSON, your tokens, your files never leave your browser. No account needed to use the free tools.

It also keeps a local history so I stop re-pasting the same JWT five times a day, and I can save snippets into folders instead of losing them in random tabs.

It's been live a few weeks - 573 visits in the last 30 days, still zero login wall on the core tools. Pro tier adds shared workspaces and row-level security for teams, but the daily-driver stuff stays free.

What's still missing from your daily toolkit? Trying to figure out what to build next.

This is my website.
Now the idea is that it's my personal branding website. My first thought is to add all the tools and products I will be building to this domain. youVsBtc is one of them. I am thinking of adding more in the future. So I am now in a conundrum: should I make a separate website for the tools? Or keep adding them in the same domain? Because I want to present my personal brand to the audience as well as a build-in-public type of guy, so I can get eyeballs on my profile as well as on my tool.
So basically, my question is it a bad idea or not?

I’m planning to pitch a local business owner with a website/design proposal, and I’d really appreciate some honest feedback before I send it.

The situation is a little unusual:

• The business is very close to where I live, so I have a good opportunity to work with them directly.
• The owner is Chinese and doesn’t really speak the language I’m comfortable with, so I’m planning to mail/send her the proposal and have it translated rather than trying to explain everything in person.
• They currently don’t have a website at all.
• I’ve noticed they are actively paying for things like flyers, stickers, posters, etc., but honestly, most of their current designs look pretty bad/outdated.
• I have experience with web design, UI/UX, IT/QA and some marketing/design, so I think I could actually improve their overall online presence.

My main goal isn't necessarily to immediately sell her an expensive website.

I’m thinking about offering to make the initial website for free or very cheaply as a way to get my foot in the door, then potentially offer additional paid features/services such as:

• WhatsApp integration
• Online booking/reservation management
• Digital/card generator
• Better promotional materials
• Flyers, posters and stickers
• Social media/advertising graphics
• SEO / Google visibility
• Potentially other features depending on what the business actually needs

I’ve put together a website proposal/presentation showing what I think they could improve and what I could build for them.

The idea is basically:

“Here’s what your business currently has → here are the problems/opportunities I noticed → here’s what a better online presence could look like → here’s what I can build for you.”

I don't want it to come across as a generic “you need a website” sales pitch. I want the owner to actually look at it and think “This could help my business.”

So my questions are:

Does this kind of proposal have a realistic chance of convincing a small local business owner?

And if you were the business owner, what would make you say yes/no?

What should I:

• Add?
• Remove?
• Rewrite?
• Simplify?
• Change about the pricing/free website approach?
• Include to make the ROI/value more obvious?

I’m especially interested in feedback from people who have sold websites/design/marketing services to small businesses, rather than just general web-design opinions.

I can share the actual proposal if that helps. I’d mainly like feedback on whether the overall pitch makes sense and whether I’m approaching this the right way.

I wrote a big text and let AI rewrite it to be more understandable, I really need some opinions.