Jan 2026 – Now
Sole developer with a keep-it-simple-stupid mindset to avoid security exposures and ensure user data is minimal and secured. Developed core site architecture and design, including admin site accessibility alongside strong security measures, with easy ability to host app downloads, publish new builds across multiple platforms, and handle user purchases with Stripe. AI-assisted with React.
Overview
bytejake llc is my personal brand of specialty, shorter term projects focusing on utility and style in that order. These projects aim to be sleek, smooth, and reliable, and deal with a problem I personally face.
This started with my app samplore, followed shortly after by daplore, a lil brother program to samplore.
In these cases "maximizing explorability" was a concept that offers a lot of subjectivity on how to approach, so I am excited I was able to create a unique UX in a space that embraces these novel approaches to these problems.
In launching these apps, a third product came out: the bytejake storefront!
The goals of this storefront:
- Create a space for launching samplore properly with ease of use for the users.
- Offer a way to have users, purchases, and license activation.
- Develop a framework to allow future apps to be deployed quickly, as well as easy publishing of version updates.
- Keep it simple stupid, don't reinvent the wheel, but don't pull in a new package for every small thing.
- Learn web development in a more serious means. My personal site was one thing, this was made to be an order of magnitude up in complexity.
- Define my visual aesthetic as this brand develops and more apps follow suit. Establish an expected level of quality.
This website was designed from scratch in React, made to be a lightweight nodejs server with low overhead, and a focus on not expanding my dependency list unnecessarily. Stripe is really the only API I am dependent on, a happy choice.
In developing this site, user security quickly became something I took very seriously. It's not like we are collecting much data (literally an email, Stripe does all the risky business), but I wanted to make sure good practices were kept and a strong foundation was established. User trust is the name of the game with stuff like this. Expanding feature sets in the website can never compromise user security.
I hope to keep launching small utility apps under this banner for a minute. Both as a source of possible secondary income, but also as I see an interesting model for selling small apps in the future. I have possible plans to make content, advertising, and myself more front and center with this brand as it develops as well.