The first step on the property (project) ladder

Late last year I started work on the Nag Me Not browser extension as a sister project to the WordPress plugin.

The plugin focused on cleaner dashboards for client accounts, while the extension would have been for support / maintenance people who log in to many different sites each day. It covered the core blocking basics but it wasn’t overly polished and was never released.

People build MVP’s to see what sticks and get early feedback. I prefer my MPP (Minimum Path to Profitable) concept as it needs a bit more polishing (be bug free) but still focuses on the essentials: Is it good enough to make money?

Rather than get hung up further on which project should be my longer term hero product I decided to just get on with building and to release something useful as promptly as possible.

Nag Me Not seemed the ideal candidate as it’s small, has a fixed purpose and I have an idea of the perfect audience. There is also the added bonus of no costly infrastructure.

As extensions are HTML / JS based it’s an ideal refresher to get back to website basics (with AI assistance to fill in the knowledge gaps).

The revamped version 2.0 now supports bulk importing from CSV, handy for sharing a master list between a support team, as well as a manual way to add additional blocks to either normal / extreme mode.

It will be freemium, with 2 domains allowed for free (at any one time) using the built in blocking list. The premium version will allow unlimited domains, bulk importing and manual additions. Plus unlimited devices, as support people may have multiple browsers and limited licencing just gets messy.

To me this seems a good balance of the basics for free to get a taste for it but also providing valid benefits for teams or pro users.

At time of writing a Chrome Web Store profile has been created and the extension is under review. A new domain has been set up for it at NagMeNotWP.com with the new site build well under way. Detailed guides for both the extension and plugin are next up on the content list

After that it will be a call for feedback from some support teams to see how they get on. Is it as useful as I expect could be? I hope so.

Given enough sites accessed over a year and the cognitive time saved not having to navigate around notices it can only be a boost to productivity. When time is money, time saved will soon add up.

What next for summer?

While there are still 3 weeks to go till the schools break up, I decided to hold off on the big project decisions during the summer holidays to allow for family time as well as work.

Paying client work will remain top priority, with content work for Nag Me Not and Administrator Toolkit following after. This type of work will fit into shorter periods, while allowing for fresh air breaks or a kick around at the park.