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283 points TIPSIO | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.217s | source

Hi HN!

My name is Nick and this is my fun side project. Please lay it on me. HN can think of Tips.io as a cracked out Tailwind Playground that has page management and amazing AI integration.

There are a few core ideas:

1) The HTML is the CMS

There are no fields or restrictions. Just hover, click, and start tweaking any HTML. Also, certain elements you click will have special easy edit abilities:

- <img> auto creates an uploader, stock photo picker (or HTML)

- <video> auto creates an uploader, stock video picker (or HTML)

- <svg> auto creates a big icon picker (or HTML)

- <div class="prose"> auto creates a WYSIWYG Editor (or HTML)

2) Slices

Think of these as just individual HTML sections of a page or lil baby single-file components. They are self-contained and isolated so you drag them around easily. The real power comes from reuse across your pages and linking them (aka, one HTML footer updates globally). You can also use "slices" from any other tips.io project for quickly expanding your site with more design options.

3) AI Elements, Not Pages

Another cool concept is you can select any element on an HTML slice an edit that individually vs re-streaming/rebuilding and entire component every time. We support 5 different AI models right now. Some other really intense/cool AI integration is coming soon.

4) Tailwind Everything, No Build Step, & Theming

We have a custom "themer" to make creating Tailwind config files near instant with real-time font trying, color palettes/preset trying, and more. All our Tailwind is automatic and requires zero config instantly. The same Tailwind that magic runs client-side will run server-side so quick no one knows a build step is happening. Tailwind and AI are also a match made in heaven.

Other features:

- Animations - Zoomable page tree - Basic Forms (yes on your static site!) - Analytics - Redirects, site passwords, and much more.

Tech:

- 100% Cloudflare Workers - Svelte - UnoCSS

Some resources:

- Promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8U2rJJX-rk - Tutorial & demo video: https://tips.io/tutorial - Just launch: https://new.tips.io

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tmpz22 ◴[] No.42176603[source]
This is solid, I'll show my appreciation by giving constructive criticism. This is after giving it the "120 second glance" that I imagine is how most people scan projects quickly without a proper deep dive:

* First impression: this is a website builder that looks and feels like many other website builders, with some advantages like low onboarding friction, and AI integration. As a solo project reaching par is a triumph. But I think if you continue to diverge your marketing page from a default SaaS startup style you can separate yourself more from the pack AND build a reputation as a better design tool instead of another design tool. Of course the product is more important than the landing page, but perception is perception. You do for example show personality in some of the loading pages which I personally enjoy.

* I got about 4 hours of sleep last night. I was thrilled when I could click into your app and immediately play around without having to register or experience other forms of friction. But complex design interfaces are overwhelming to me. How do I learn your tool quickly? Why should I invest the time to learn your tool versus other great tools? These are questions I'm left with after a quick scan. There are a lot of developer tools vying for my time. And I imagine their all working on AI integrations if they don't have it already.

* As a SWE I don't like Tailwind. I don't like the syntax soup, I don't like having to memorize less conventional syntax because my brain already has enough trivia in it, and I prefer small indie projects that are maintained by extremely small teams with limited resources. As a result I do not reach for Tailwind (despite having paid the $300 or whatever for their membership!). What about developers who don't want to use Tailwind?

* As a potential business customer, can I depend on you? Where will this product be in multiple years? What's the process to transition from a competing tool? What's the process for transitioning to a different tool? Enterprise customers, where the real money is, care about consistency and managing liability sometimes (often?) more then the potential value of a new tool. Consider looking into various compliance licensing, industry audits, and enterprise features, that will be needed to attract investors who want returns based on enterprise sales, not consumer sales.

I wrote this up because I like your project and hope you succeed. Hopefully it helps!

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brtkdotse ◴[] No.42180603[source]
> What about developers who don't want to use Tailwind?

What's that Steve Jobs quote? "You know, you can please some of the people some of the time"

I have a hunch there's a good reason almost all of these site builders go with Tailwind rather than classic CSS, but as mostly-backend developer I couldn't tell you what that was :)

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1. nojs ◴[] No.42181199[source]
Context for the quote: https://youtu.be/oeqPrUmVz-o