Linknest was a project 2014-2022

This is what i wrote in an email to the users when I shut it down:

I built and designed the first version of Linknest in 2014 to help myself and close friends save bookmarks visually. There was a lack of good tools focused on visual bookmarking at that time. Built-in bookmarks in the browsers were dull, lacked an overview and were boring to use. Pinboard and similar services existed and were good, but not that exciting to use.

I looked at different visual tools to save things, but which usually had way too many features and not really focused around just bookmarks/links. Something like Pinterest paired with Dribbble. Nowadays however, there are ton of really good products.

I wanted a responsive web app that worked everywhere where I could save links easily. I wanted very few features and something that could give me a visual overview. Save in collections with their own short URLs that were easy to share. I made lists for various job projects, collected inspiration sites and handy tools.

Linknest was a fun side project that taught me a lot about building and designing a product. I had the chance to learn many things that I have benefited from both in my own projects and in my working life. I had to build a whole stack, UI design, both front end and back end development, write copy, send emails, build an audience. I still think it’s important to be passionate about side projects, to learn new things but not least – to have fun.

The ecosystem around Linknest grew a little over the years, features such as a small CLI, a Chrome extension, being able to follow other users, inspiration mode, RSS/JSON feeds, etc.

Linknest has been online for 8 years! I saved 2380 links in 135 collections over the years.

It’s been a long time and even though there has been almost no development made in the last 4 years, still it is up and running. Nowadays I don’t have as much time, and it’s tough to keep a web app online, keep it updated, secure and the tech stack relevant. Sadly, it’s time to say goodbye.

What happens now?

The website will be shut down Dec 1 2022. You can use it until then.

You can export your links easily by going to edit Profile → Download my data. This will download a JSON file which contains all your links, with the metadata (title, url, tags collection)

So long, and thanks for all the great links!

Some images shared on on my Dribbble account