Feb 23 – New features for Type
Feb 23 – New features for Type
Sharing my indie hacker journey.
Hello, and welcome to my monthly newsletter. I’m Nicolas, and each month I share updates about what I’m working on and where I’m at in my indie hacker journey.
Consider subscribing if you haven’t already 👇
In February, I kept building features for Type, fixed an embarrassing bug, and started doing some woodworking.
Let’s dive into it. 👇
🗒️ Note preview
A few friends have asked for the ability to preview the current note at any time for more context. I decided to put it right below the text field, and you can toggle it at any time by typing ⌘ + Y or clicking the option in the menu bar.
🗂️ Switching between notes
Something I really wanted to do from the start is provide the ability to switch between different notes.
The first challenge for me was to make a decision regarding the UI, should I have a horizontal or vertical layout?
I couldn't make up my mind, so I started prototyping to see what it really felt like. Turns out the vertical layout worked much better. People are also more used to this layout.
Sometimes a wireframe just isn't enough, you have to build a prototype to really see how it feels.
The app seems really complete now. I implemented all the features I wanted, it's time to improve the UI & UX. 💅
You can test it out today by joining the beta!
📭 Inbox zero
I'm a little embarrassed by this, but it turns out I had the DNS configured incorrectly, so I haven't been able to receive any emails sent to nicolas@usetype.app for the past 6 months! 😲
I only realized this when a friend of mine told me he had sent some feedback by email, but I haven't received anything.
I was so frustrated because that means all the feedback sent to this email by the beta testers never made it to my inbox during that time, and they might have thought I ignored them.
Fortunately, it was an easy fix and everything is working fine now. 😮💨
Please send me your feedback again!
📈 Stats
From what I can see in my Twitter stats, tweeting about new features and asking for feedback on a design is what works best.
Twitter
Personal account: 318 followers (+34 / +10.7%)
Type account: 16 followers (+5 / +31.25%)
ConvertKit
Personal account: 21 (+21 / +100%)
Type account: 41 subscribers (+12 / +29.27%)
🔍 Recommendations
Each month I share a few findings.
Waves Wallpaper Pack – 10 vibrant, minimal wallpapers that look beautiful on your desktop and mobile. Charles Patterson recently released a few wallpaper packs, and every time I buy them. They are just too good.
Quitter – A macOS app that automatically hides or quits apps after periods of inactivity. I've been using it on and off over the past few years. I'm still amazed at how old, simple, and effective this app is.
Introduction to App Store Optimization – I recently read
Matteo Spada's free "Introduction to App Store Optimization" ebook. I learned a lot about ASO, especially how to find a good keyword.
💫 Bonus
I started to build my own desk top!
It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, and I finally had the opportunity to do it thanks to my friend Séraphin Hochart who is passionate about woodworking, so he's helping me out.
Here are the specs:
White maple
Width: 160 cm (63")
Height: 2.5 cm (1")
Depth: 75 cm (29.5")
The first step was to plan the tops with a planner. This machine is so noisy!
It was long and repetitive but I’m super happy with the result! 🤌
It really feels good to do something with my hands, to create something tangible. I also find it quite meditative. 🧘♂️
Next steps: trim the edges and assemble the tops.
👋 That’s all for now…
I hope you enjoyed this issue. Let me know how I can improve this newsletter. I'm doing this mostly for myself to keep track of what I've accomplished this year, but if it helps some of you in the meantime, I would be very happy. 🙂
If you’re finding this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend, and consider subscribing if you haven’t already.
Thank you for reading!
Until next time! ✌️
Nicolas