dewedev/PROJECT_ROADMAP.md

Developer Tools - Project Roadmap

Last Updated: October 14, 2025

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🎯 Vision

Build a comprehensive suite of developer tools with a focus on:

1. Privacy-First - All processing in browser
2. User-Friendly - Intuitive UI/UX
3. Monetization - Ad-supported with optional ad-free experience
4. Quality - Consistent patterns across all tools

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📊 Current Status

✅ Completed Tools

• Object Editor - JSON/PHP serialized data editor
• Table Editor - Tabular data editor with multi-format support
• Invoice Editor - Professional invoice generator

✅ Completed Infrastructure

• Consistent input patterns (Create/URL/Paste/Open)
• Collapsible sections (Export, Usage Tips)
• Data loss prevention (confirmation modals)
• Dark mode support
• Responsive design
• Documentation (EDITOR_TOOL_GUIDE.md, EDITOR_CHECKLIST.md)

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🚀 Roadmap

Phase 1: Foundation & Monetization (Current - Week 1-2)

Priority 1: Advanced URL Fetch ⭐

Status: Planned
Timeline: 1-2 days
Impact: HIGH - Benefits all existing and future tools

Features:

• Simple mode (current: just URL + GET)
• Advanced mode (toggle):
  • HTTP method selector (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH)
  • Custom headers (key-value pairs)
  • Request body editor (JSON/form-data)
  • Query parameters builder
  • Auth presets (Bearer, Basic, API Key)
• Save/load request presets
• Response headers display
• Status code display

Benefits:

• Users can fetch from authenticated APIs
• Support for private company APIs
• GitHub API with auth tokens
• GraphQL endpoints
• Any REST API with custom requirements

Implementation Notes:

• Add to all existing editors (Object, Table, Invoice)
• Reusable component: AdvancedURLFetch.jsx
• Store presets in localStorage
• Validate JSON in request body

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Priority 2: Ad Space Preparation 💰

Status: Planned
Timeline: 1 day
Impact: HIGH - Start monetization immediately

Desktop Layout:

┌────────────────────────────┬─────────┐
│                            │  [Ad]   │
│   Main Content             │         │
│   (Tool Editor)            │  300px  │
│                            │         │
│                            │  [Ad]   │
│                            │         │
│                            │  [Ad]   │
└────────────────────────────┴─────────┘

Mobile Layout:

┌─────────────────────────┐
│                         │
│   Main Content          │
│   (Scrollable)          │
│                         │
├─────────────────────────┤
│   [Ad Banner 320x50]    │ ← Sticky
└─────────────────────────┘

Specifications:

• Desktop:

  • 300px fixed width right column
  • Sticky scroll (ads stay visible)
  • 3 ad blocks maximum
  • Ad sizes: 300x250, 300x600
  • Hide below 1200px viewport width
  • Main content: calc(100% - 320px)

• Mobile:

  • 320x50 or 320x100 banner
  • Sticky bottom position
  • Close button for better UX
  • Add padding-bottom to content

Implementation:

• Create AdColumn.jsx component
• Create AdBlock.jsx component
• Create MobileAdBanner.jsx component
• Update ToolLayout.jsx to include ad spaces
• Add responsive breakpoints
• Test with placeholder ads first

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Priority 3: AdSense Integration 💵

Status: Planned
Timeline: 1 day
Impact: HIGH - Start earning revenue

Steps:

1. Apply for Google AdSense account
2. Add AdSense script to index.html
3. Create ad units in AdSense dashboard
4. Implement ad components with AdSense code
5. Test ad display and responsiveness
6. Monitor ad performance

Ad Units Needed:

• Desktop Sidebar 1 (300x250)
• Desktop Sidebar 2 (300x250)
• Desktop Sidebar 3 (300x600)
• Mobile Bottom Banner (320x50)

Compliance:

• Add Privacy Policy page
• Add Terms of Service page
• Cookie consent banner (if required)
• GDPR compliance (if applicable)

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Phase 2: Content Expansion (Week 3-6)

Markdown Editor 📝

Status: Planned
Timeline: 1-2 weeks
Impact: HIGH - Major new feature, attracts new users

Core Features (MVP):

• Input Methods:

  • Create New (empty/sample)
  • URL Import (fetch markdown from GitHub, Gist, etc.)
  • Paste (markdown, HTML auto-convert, plain text)
  • Open Files (.md, .txt, .html, .docx)

• Editor:

  • CodeMirror with markdown syntax highlighting
  • Split view (editor + live preview)
  • View modes: Split, Editor Only, Preview Only, Fullscreen
  • Markdown toolbar (Bold, Italic, Headers, Links, Images, Code, Lists, Tables)
  • Line numbers
  • Word count & statistics

• Preview:

  • Live rendering (marked + DOMPurify)
  • Syntax highlighting for code blocks (highlight.js)
  • GitHub Flavored Markdown support
  • Table of Contents auto-generation
  • Mermaid diagram rendering (in preview)

• Export:

  • Markdown (.md) - Standard, GFM, CommonMark
  • HTML (.html) - Standalone with CSS
  • Plain Text (.txt)
  • PDF (.pdf) - via html2pdf
  • DOCX (.docx) - via docx library

Advanced Features (Post-MVP):

• Tables support (GitHub-style)
• Task lists (checkboxes)
• Footnotes
• Emoji support (😄)
• Math equations (KaTeX)
• Templates (README, Documentation, Blog Post, etc.)
• Markdown linter
• Link checker
• Format beautifier

Libraries:

• marked or markdown-it - Markdown parser
• turndown - HTML to Markdown
• mammoth.js - DOCX to HTML/Markdown
• html2pdf.js - HTML to PDF
• docx - Generate DOCX files
• highlight.js - Code syntax highlighting
• mermaid - Diagram rendering
• katex - Math rendering (optional)

Why Markdown Editor?

• High demand from developers
• Complements existing tools
• Unique value: conversion hub
• Great for SEO
• Relatively straightforward to implement

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Diagram Tool 🎨

Status: Planned
Timeline: 1-2 weeks
Impact: MEDIUM-HIGH - Separate tool, different audience

Decision: SEPARATE from Markdown Editor

Why Separate:

• Different use cases (documents vs diagrams)
• Different UX needs (text-heavy vs visual-heavy)
• Better specialization
• More SEO entry points
• Can be more powerful than mermaid alone

Core Features (MVP):

• Input Methods:

  • Create New (empty/sample diagrams)
  • URL Import (fetch mermaid/PlantUML code)
  • Paste (mermaid code, PlantUML, etc.)
  • Open Files (.mmd, .mermaid, .txt)

• Editor:

  • Text-based editor (Mermaid syntax)
  • Live preview
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Error detection

• Diagram Types (Mermaid-based):

  • Flowchart
  • Sequence Diagram
  • Class Diagram
  • State Diagram
  • Entity Relationship Diagram
  • Gantt Chart
  • Pie Chart
  • Git Graph

• Export:

  • PNG (.png)
  • SVG (.svg)
  • PDF (.pdf)
  • Mermaid Code (.mmd)

Advanced Features (Post-MVP):

• Visual editor (drag-and-drop nodes)
• Excalidraw-style drawing
• Draw.io-style interface
• Import from PlantUML
• Custom themes
• Collaboration features

Libraries:

• mermaid - Diagram rendering
• html2canvas - PNG export
• svg-to-pdf - PDF export

Why Separate Diagram Tool?

• Mermaid is powerful but limited
• Users want visual editing
• Can compete with Lucidchart, draw.io
• Different target audience
• Can be monetized separately

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Phase 3: Monetization Backend (Week 7+)

Payment Integration 💳

Status: Future
Timeline: 1 week
Impact: MEDIUM - Enables ad-free revenue

Prerequisites:

• Significant traffic (>1000 daily users)
• Ad revenue validated
• User requests for ad-free option

Features:

• One-time payment (no subscription)
• Multiple duration options
• Stripe/PayPal integration
• Simple checkout flow
• Email receipt

Pricing Strategy (Recommended):

• 1 month: $2.99
• 3 months: $6.99 (save 22%)
• 6 months: $11.99 (save 33%)
• 12 months: $19.99 (save 44%)

Implementation:

• Backend: Node.js + Express (or serverless functions)
• Database: PostgreSQL or MongoDB
• Payment: Stripe API
• Email: SendGrid or similar

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User Accounts (Simple) 👤

Status: Future
Timeline: 1 week
Impact: MEDIUM - Required for ad-free tracking

Features:

• Email + password authentication
• OAuth (Google, GitHub) - optional
• Ad-free status tracking
• Purchase history
• Simple profile page

No Complex Features:

• No social features
• No data sync (keep tools client-side)
• No collaboration
• Just auth + payment tracking

Implementation:

• Auth: Firebase Auth or Auth0
• Database: Store user ID + ad-free expiry date
• Frontend: Check ad-free status, hide ads

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Ad-Free Experience 🚫

Status: Future
Timeline: 3 days
Impact: MEDIUM - Premium user experience

Features:

• Hide all ads for paid users
• "Remove Ads" badge in UI
• Expiry reminder (7 days before)
• Easy renewal process

Implementation:

const { user, isAdFree } = useAuth();

return (
  <div className="flex gap-5">
    <main className="flex-1">
      {/* Tool content */}
    </main>
    {!isAdFree && <AdColumn />}
  </div>
);

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🎯 Success Metrics

Phase 1 (Foundation & Monetization)

• Advanced URL Fetch used by >50% of users
• Ad impressions: >10,000/day
• Ad revenue: >$50/month
• No significant performance degradation

Phase 2 (Content Expansion)

• Markdown Editor: >1,000 users/week
• Diagram Tool: >500 users/week
• Total tools: 5 (Object, Table, Invoice, Markdown, Diagram)
• Ad revenue: >$200/month

Phase 3 (Monetization Backend)

• Ad-free purchases: >10/month
• Ad-free revenue: >$50/month
• Total revenue: >$250/month
• User satisfaction: >4.5/5 stars

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📈 Growth Strategy

SEO Optimization

• Optimize page titles and meta descriptions
• Add structured data (Schema.org)
• Create sitemap.xml
• Submit to Google Search Console
• Create blog posts about tools
• Create tutorial videos
• Build backlinks

Content Marketing

• Write "How to" guides
• Create comparison articles (vs competitors)
• Share on Reddit (r/webdev, r/programming)
• Share on Hacker News
• Share on Twitter/X
• Share on LinkedIn

Community Building

• Create Discord server (optional)
• Add feedback form
• Respond to user feedback
• Add feature request voting
• Create changelog page

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🛠️ Technical Debt & Improvements

Performance

• Implement code splitting
• Lazy load heavy components
• Optimize bundle size
• Add service worker (PWA)
• Implement caching strategies

Testing

• Add unit tests (Jest)
• Add integration tests (React Testing Library)
• Add E2E tests (Playwright)
• Set up CI/CD pipeline

Accessibility

• Add ARIA labels
• Test with screen readers
• Ensure keyboard navigation
• Add focus indicators
• Test color contrast

Documentation

• Create API documentation (if applicable)
• Create user guides
• Create video tutorials
• Create FAQ page

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📝 Notes

Decision Log

• 2025-10-14: Decided to separate Diagram Tool from Markdown Editor for better specialization
• 2025-10-14: Prioritized Advanced URL Fetch over Markdown Editor for immediate impact
• 2025-10-14: Chose ad-first monetization strategy with optional ad-free experience
• 2025-10-14: Decided on one-time payment (no subscription) for ad-free

Risks & Mitigation

• Risk: Ad revenue too low
  • Mitigation: Focus on traffic growth, optimize ad placement
• Risk: Users use ad blockers
  • Mitigation: Polite message asking to whitelist, offer ad-free option
• Risk: Competition from existing tools
  • Mitigation: Focus on unique features (conversion hub, privacy-first)
• Risk: Backend costs too high
  • Mitigation: Start with serverless, scale as needed

Future Ideas (Backlog)

• Code Formatter (Prettier-based)
• JSON Diff Tool
• Base64 Encoder/Decoder
• URL Encoder/Decoder
• Hash Generator (MD5, SHA256, etc.)
• QR Code Generator
• Color Picker & Converter
• Regex Tester
• Cron Expression Generator
• JWT Decoder
• API Testing Tool (Postman-like)

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End of Roadmap