The Problem
The web is full of single-purpose tools that demand an account, send your data through a server, and lard up the page with ads to justify all that. For most small tasks — formatting JSON, analyzing an email header, drilling a phonics list — there is no reason for any of that to leave your tab.
The Approach
WebBits is a growing shelf of focused, single-page utilities. Each "bit" does one job, runs entirely in the browser, and stays small enough to read.
A sampling of bits
- Spamilyze — paste raw email source to analyze SPF / DKIM / DMARC and spoofing signals.
- Backgammon — keyboard-first play against a friend or three AI difficulties.
- Drum Practice Pad — mic-based timing trainer with Stick Control exercises and genre beats.
- Mandarin Phonics Trainer — pinyin drills with tone-accuracy scoring.
- Receipt Tracker — OCR-capture, tag, and export receipts as a ZIP.
- PDF Markdown / JSON Formatter / DynamoDB Cost Estimator — practical small stuff.
The Stack
Tailwind for layout, Alpine.js for the bits of state, Shoelace for the components that would otherwise take a week. No build steps — each bit is a self-contained directory so the surface stays small and durable across years.
The Outcome
A shelf I add to whenever an itch shows up. The constraint of "must fit on one page, without a build step" turns out to be a useful design force.