Supporters only? What’s that about?

I build a lot of small tools, apps and experiments. Over the years I’ve made plenty of websites and apps that never saw the light of day, mostly because of a mix of fear of rejection and imposter syndrome.

For a long time, it felt safer to keep things on my hard drive than risk someone not liking them.

In the last few months, I’ve decided to take a leap and start opening the door to those personal projects—even when they’re not perfectly polished. They can be a little rough around the edges, a bit too niche, or not really “product” material.

Those projects still take time, focus, and more than a few cups of tea and biscuits. Instead of turning every single one into a big “proper” release, I share some of them with the people who choose to support my work directly. So when you see “supporters only”, it really just means: this is useful but a bit experimental, and if you’re happy to support what I’m doing, you’re very welcome to use it.

When you support me via Buy Me a Coffee, you’re basically saying thank you for the tools I’ve made and that you’d like me to keep making them.

Buying me a coffee is not a gateway fee or a product purchase. You’re not buying access to anything. The “supporters only” apps are simply things I choose to open the door to because you’ve decided to back what I’m doing. They’re a thank-you, not something you’ve paid for.

The apps I open up to supporters are things I don’t release publicly: the more experimental, niche or early-stage projects that live in that “supporters only” space. It’s where I put the stuff that’s useful, but maybe not quite ready for a full public launch.

Being a supporter also means you’re closer to the work. I’m more likely to listen to your feedback, try your ideas and prioritise fixes or improvements you suggest, because I know you’ve chosen to support what I’m making.

Most of all, it helps me know people actually appreciate what I do. I don’t have any analytics and I deliberately don’t track clicks. I’d much rather you tell me directly that you like what I make available to you—whether that’s in my Discord or by sending me a message. Supporters make it much easier for me to keep opening the door to things I’d otherwise leave hidden on my hard drive.

I use Buy Me a Coffee because it’s a simple way for people to say “thanks”.

You can drop a one-off “coffee” when you feel like it, and that’s it. No accounts to manage, no dashboards, no pressure.

If you do want to support me, this is where to go:

Sometimes, yes.

A supporters-only tool might grow into a more polished app or site, and if that happens there’s a good chance it will eventually get a proper public release. In some cases, supporters may still get earlier builds, extra features or a bit more behind-the-scenes access, simply because you were there first.

Other times, a project will probably stay “supporters only” forever. That usually happens when something is just too niche, too experimental, or too fragile to maintain as a general public product.

I make those decisions on a case-by-case basis, based on how people are using something, how much work it is to keep alive, and whether it really makes sense to release it more widely.

If you’re reading this, it means you were at least curious about what “supporters only” means, and that already means a lot to me.

Whether you ever decide to support me financially or not, I’m genuinely glad you’re here and interested in the things I build. Knowing that real people are using (or even just looking at) these projects is a big part of what helps me push past the fear of rejection and hit “publish” instead of quietly filing everything away.

If you do choose to support me, thank you for helping me keep opening the door to the slightly wonky personal projects that might otherwise stay hidden on my hard drive. And if you don’t, that’s completely fine too—you’re still very welcome here.