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Growth Platform
ToolsZip
SEO tooling suite
A high-traffic suite of free SEO utilities engineered for edge caching, near-zero cost per visit, and organic acquisition at scale.
- React
- Node.js
- Cloudflare
- Redis
- PostgreSQL
The problem
Free tools attract enormous traffic and destroy margins if every request touches an origin server.
Business challenge
Serve millions of tool runs a month at a hosting cost that stays effectively flat.
Research
Analysed which tool inputs repeat: 78% of requests were duplicates within a 24-hour window.
Planning
Push computation to the edge, cache aggressively by normalised input hash, and keep the origin for authenticated work only.
Architecture
- Edge workers running deterministic tool logic
- Cache keys derived from normalised, hashed inputs
- Origin API reserved for saved projects and exports
- Static-first pages with per-tool structured data for search
Database design
PostgreSQL for accounts and saved runs only; anonymous tool usage never touches the database.
API flow
- 01Request hits the edge and is normalised into a cache key
- 02Cache hit returns instantly; miss computes at the edge
- 03Authenticated saves proxy to the origin API
Implementation
- Each tool shipped as an independently deployable edge module
- Programmatic SEO pages generated from a tool manifest
- Core Web Vitals treated as a release gate
Key features
- Instant, no-signup SEO utilities
- Saved projects for registered users
- Programmatic landing pages per tool
- Edge-computed results
Performance
- Lighthouse 98+ across every tool page
- Origin traffic reduced to 8% of total requests
Lessons learned
- Cache key design is a product decision, not an ops detail.
- Programmatic SEO only works when each page genuinely does something.
Taking on 2 new partnerships for Q4
Let's talk about what you're building
Thirty minutes, no pitch deck. Bring the problem - you'll leave with an honest read on scope, risk and the fastest credible path to launch.