I Built a Word Counter... Because I Was Tired of Everyone Else's
Funny enough, this wasn't supposed to become a product.
It started because I kept opening different word counters almost every day.
None of them were terrible.
But none of them felt pleasant to use either.
Ads.
Pop-ups.
Premium buttons.
Sign-up prompts.
After getting annoyed one too many times, I spent an evening building my own version.
Originally it was just for me.
A simple page that instantly showed:
- words
- characters
- reading time
- speaking time
- keyword density
without asking me for anything.
👉 https://clipgg.uk/en/word-counter
A few weeks later I realized the same thing had happened several times.
Every time I found myself repeating an annoying task, I built another small tool instead.
Eventually those tools became ClipGG.
I'm curious how other indie makers think about this.
Do you build small utilities only when you need them yourself, or do you start with market research first?
For me, almost every useful project has started with solving my own frustration.
I was listening to the dev tools podcast about oh my zsh this weekend, and it became quite obvious that a lot of tools do start very small like this. The key is to distribute as widely as possible, so that you can increase the likelihood of discovering other adjacent problems to solve.
That's a really good point.
Building the tool was actually the easy part. The much harder part is getting it in front of the people who actually need it. That's why I'm spending so much time writing posts, submitting ClipGG to directories, and talking with communities like this one.
I'm also finding that distribution teaches you just as much as building. Every conversation gives me ideas for improvements or completely new tools that solve related problems.
Thanks for sharing that perspective!
One thing I'd keep testing is whether people come back because they need a word counter or because they trust ClipGG to remove small recurring frustrations.
Individual tools are easy to copy. A reputation for consistently eliminating everyday friction is much harder to replicate, and it gives every new utility a head start.
I think that's exactly the direction I want to take.
The goal was never to build the best Word Counter on the internet. It was to create a place where people know they'll find simple tools that just work—no sign-up, no paywalls, no unnecessary friction.
If someone opens ClipGG because they trust the experience rather than because of one specific tool, I'd consider that a much bigger success.
Really appreciate your insight. It reinforces the direction I'm trying to build toward.
I'm glad it was useful.
Your reply gave me another thought about the direction you're building ClipGG in. It's specific enough that I'd rather share it directly instead of trying to condense it into a thread.
If you're interested, what's the best email to reach you on?