Building in Public: My Journey with NeatDrive

SaaS Building in Public

I'm building NeatDrive, an app that scans your Google Drive, finds the mess, and helps you clean it up. I mostly work solo and lean on AI to write code I couldn't manage on my own. NeatDrive is powered by a lot of code, and I want to share my journey, including the challenges I've faced.

I think most build-in-public posts highlight wins. However, I want to share three times I got stuck instead. You learn more when you turn losses into wins.

The Scan That Kept Starting Over

Big Drives would scan, seem to make progress, then quietly start over from zero. Small ones were fine.

I spent four sessions staring at the scanning code. I was looking in the wrong place. The scan saves a checkpoint as it goes, allowing it to resume later. However, the field holding that checkpoint wasn't part of the data model. So every save "worked" but threw the value away. The next round, the scan checked its checkpoint, found nothing, and started over.

There was no error, no crash. Just a value quietly falling on the floor.

Lesson: When something restarts, don't assume the restart is the bug. Check whether it can remember anything at all.

Why Is Your Whole Drive From 1980?

NeatDrive flags stale files you haven't touched in years. My first version told people they had thousands of ancient files. That was way too many.

It turns out many of them were photos dated January 1, 1980. I learned that this date is a classic placeholder for "we don't actually have a real date here." I was reading it as a real timestamp and mistakenly calling the files 46 years old.

I rebuilt how the app decides what's stale. Now, those placeholder dates count as "unknown" instead of "ancient."

Lesson: Your data can lie to you in small, consistent ways. Now I sanity-check the numbers before trusting the logic. Does "5,000 stale files" even sound right?

Accessibility, the Hard Way

I've always cared about accessibility. It's been part of my day job for years, including the legal side of getting it wrong. I knew the stakes going in. What I underestimated was how much hands-on work it takes to actually meet the bar in code.

When I sat down with WCAG line by line, I found that a chunk of my app didn't clear it. Text was too faint to read, fonts were too small, controls couldn't be used with a keyboard, and form fields had no labels for screen readers.

So, I fixed it. I adjusted contrast, sizes, keyboard navigation, and labels. It took a few passes to stop reintroducing the same problems.

Lesson: Knowing accessibility matters and knowing how to build it are two different skills. I had the first and had to learn the second.

The Importance of User Feedback

User feedback is crucial for any app's success. I learned that early on. After launching a beta version, I received valuable insights from users. They pointed out features that were confusing or missing.

I took their feedback seriously. I made changes based on their suggestions. This process helped me create a more user-friendly experience. It also reinforced the idea that I can't build in a vacuum. Listening to users is key.

Security and Compliance

As I developed NeatDrive, I realized that security and compliance are paramount. Users need to trust that their data is safe. I researched best practices for data protection and compliance with regulations.

I implemented encryption and secure access protocols. I also made sure that users could easily manage their privacy settings. This focus on security not only protects users but also builds trust in my app.

Future Plans for NeatDrive

Looking ahead, I have exciting plans for NeatDrive. I want to add features that enhance user experience. For example, I plan to introduce advanced search capabilities. This will help users find files quickly and efficiently.

I also want to integrate with other tools that professionals use daily. This will make NeatDrive even more valuable. My goal is to create a seamless experience for users, allowing them to manage their Google Drive clutter effortlessly.

Conclusion

None of these challenges were fun to face, but they were the parts I learned from the most. I'd rather write them down honestly than pretend it was smooth sailing. NeatDrive is closer to launch because of what fixing these issues forced me to learn.

Stay tuned for more updates as I continue this journey. If you're struggling with a messy Google Drive, NeatDrive is here to help you regain control and optimize your storage while ensuring data safety and compliance.

---wix---