u/New_Interaction4011

I recently shipped a Chrome extension for free on the Chrome Web Store, and I'm honestly surprised by the growth so far. I kept it completely free because my main goal was to get users and see whether people actually found it useful. Now I'm seeing around 1.2K weekly users, with a pretty sharp growth curve over the last couple of weeks. The screenshot is from the Chrome Web Store analytics. Now I'm wondering, is there a good way to start earning from the extension without hurting user growth? I don't want to put the core functionality behind a paywall, bombard users with ads, or do anything that makes people uninstall it. I'm considering optional premium features, a one-time payment for advanced features, donations/support, sponsorships, or maybe a Pro version while keeping the core extension free. For people who have actually built and monetized Chrome extensions, what worked for you? I would especially like to hear about models that allowed you to monetize while keeping the free user base growing. Would really appreciate some practical advice from developers who have been through this.

I built CodeSamjho, basically a code visualization tool for CS students. The idea came from my own experience of learning coding and DSA. Sometimes you know what the code says but still can't really picture what's happening as it runs, so I built this to help with that.

It has step by step code execution, flowcharts, variable tracking, AI explanations and stuff around DSA.

The website is live, but I'm honestly not getting users or paid users. I have tried posting on Reddit, Discord, etc., but nothing has really worked so far.

So I'm kind of stuck now. Is the product actually not good enough am I just terrible at marketing or am I simply targeting the wrong people?

And how do you guys figure out when to keep pushing a product versus just accepting that it's not going anywhere?

Would really appreciate some honest advice from other solo founders.

Built this Chrome extension using Gemini 3.5 Flash its called Volumify: Volume Booster & Sound Equalizer

It basically enhances your audio experience when the platform's volume just doesn't feel vibey. It boosts the audio and gives a listening experience similar to what VLC does.

It currently supports YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, and a few other streaming platforms.

Would love it if you could check it out and share your honest feedback. 🙂

Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/cmlnnkijfgoacpjiffnnimkmknhbjdif

I recently saw a video from the Jagannathji Temple where it looked like there was one Lord Jagannathji idol inside the temple and another one being brought outside. I always thought there was only one main idol, so I got confused. Can someone explain why it looks like there are two? Is the one outside a special idol used for festivals or rituals, or is there another reason?

I built CodeSamjho to help students understand the flow and logic of code, especially for DSA and interview preparation.

Instead of just reading code, you can visualize its execution step by step with AI explanations, flowcharts, variable tracking, and more.

Would love your honest feedback what you like, what you don't, and what I can improve.

If you're interested, I also have a referral program. I'll share a referral code with you, and if you bring in 10 paid users (whether they choose the 1-month, 3-month, or 6-month plan), I'll give you 60% of the revenue from those successful referrals.

I built CodeSamjho, a platform to help people understand code by visualizing how it executes.

I'm not really looking for marketing hacks I genuinely want to know how you got your first real users.

If you were building a tool for students and beginners learning to code, how would you reach the people who actually need it?

Also if you try it out, I would love to hear what you think and what should i improve.

I built this using Claude. It was initially just a basic project to help me but later I thought of turning it into a proper website, and yes I m a junior and yes it’s vibe coded to a large extent. But Claude has been like a mentor to me because a real human would have yelled go awayyy.... anyways, it happens age crisis

As this is my first ever web SaaS project it might have some bugs and errors. If you notice any please share them through the email attached to the website. I will try to resolve them as soon as possible , I would really appreciate your reviews and feedbacks. It was 80% Claude, 1% me, and the rest was God , CodeSamjho(Understand Code)

https://codesamjho.online/