Some days ago I published my challenge to turn into a profitable indie dev in 5 months and now I'm sharing my first app.

Here is: Ghostboard, a real-time analytics tool for Ghost blogs, without Google Analytics and zero cookies.

🤔 Origin

In 2012 I started this blog, then a Wordpress one and in 2017 I tested Ghost, I loved the experience and I moved my Wordpress blog to Ghost, but after I missed some stats and tools.

I searched specifically for any tool or service but didn't find but there were a lot of general analytics for any web.

After read the MAKE book by Pieter Levels, one of a lot I read this year, I decided to build something. Yes, once again, but this time something what I really needed for myself and I was willing to pay for.

I started with a tiny prototype in order to see if it was possible, then went online to connect to my blog and go testing, adapting and improving.

📦 What have so special

• 🏖 Ultra easy setup: just pasting one single line and it's ready. No code edition or theme integration
• 🔴 Real-time reports: live, not only about visits, but also about posts, content performance, SEO, email reports, posts per month, countries, browsers, etc. And so much incoming!
• ⚡️ Out-the-box works, don't need Google Analytics or whatever
• ✅ 100% GDPR compliant, respect privacy and with zero cookies
• 💞 30 days free trial available, no credit card required. Also starting only at $5 monthly.

🖐 Question: why to use Ghostboard instead of Analytics or whatever?

• 🤓 In Ghostboard you have specific analytics of your blog: SEO, content performance. And more incoming like tags, pages, authors, etc. This you will not find in any other generic analytics.
• 😥 With Analytics you have to edit templates
• 😵 In order to be GDPR compliant, you should add Opt-In y Opt-Out and that's mean: messages, coding, answers storaging, setup anonym IPs, etc.
• 🤖 If you are a hacker, want your own way and don't mind specific analytics, it's ok.
• 💰 Yes, there are some GDPR-compliant generic analytics, but also they multiply the Ghostboard price.
• 👍 So if you have a Ghost blog, want everything with no problems just try Ghostboard

🚀 Launching

Ghostboard was featured on Betalist on July 24th
August 9th on:
- Product Hunt
- Reddit
- Hacker News

August 10th on:

• Indie Hackers: Products and Show IH
• StartupTracker

🎉 Results

Positive:

83 upvotes on Product Hunt and 2 comments

On 10th August, at 11:16 AM ES it reached the Hacker News front page, position #16:

While I'm writing this, the entry has 58 votes and 14 comments. Some positive comments, even in Hacker News! 😅

Got feedback from the app too:

Of course, there are comments about why Ghostboard instead of any tool, about bugs in some devices, etc. I'm working on it and replying them.

📊 Yeah yeah yeah, but show me the money

Right now I got:

• 20 signups, people who leave their email
• 13 users, people who validated their email and set password
• 7 active blogs, people who finally setup Ghostboard

🌄 Conclusion

Finally I see it's my first launch with feedback and tiny but real impact, with a few users, who knows if they will be the first customers 🥁

🏆 In other hand I feel I achieved built something what some people care about, for the first time. Now it's time to improve it and spread the word.

🚴‍♂️ I have worked very hard the last weeks, maybe it doesn't matter, but I will keep working hard 💪

Please leave my a comment with your feedback or question, I'm happy to reply and help you 🙂