Building FindPlugins.ai

Hey everyone! I wanted to share with you a little bit about a recent project of mine. I've been deep diving into the world of AI and discovered a gap I thought I could fill. So, I set out on a quest to create FindPlugins.ai, a product review website for plugins built for ChatGPT and other language models. Now, if you're into tech and development like me, you're probably wondering what tools I used to put this together. So, let's break it down.

Firstly, the core of the website is built with Next.js. I've always appreciated its hybrid static and server rendering capabilities, and it truly shines with this project. Coupled with MongoDB as the database, it's been a smooth ride from the start. Speaking of MongoDB, this was my first time using their Atlas product as well as the Mongoose Object Document Mapper (ODM). Let me tell you, it was a game changer.

Diving into MongoDB's Atlas was a bit like discovering a new favorite song. It's intuitive and easy to navigate, and before I knew it, I was reading and writing to the database within a few minutes of installing the NPM package. Honestly, it was refreshing how straightforward it was compared to some tools I've wrestled with in the past. Mongoose, as an ODM, was instrumental in structuring the data and creating complex queries.

For the UI, I used Chakra UI and TailwindCSS. These two combined gave me the flexibility and speed I needed to create a responsive, accessible, and stylish website. Chakra UI's component library is comprehensive, and TailwindCSS’s utility-first approach made it easy to customize each part of the website. Plus, hosting the website on Vercel was a breeze and offered great performance right out of the box.

Now, let me tell you why I felt motivated to build this website. It all started while I was researching potential plugins for ChatGPT. I quickly found the lack of search functionality quite challenging. I mean, how do you efficiently find the gems hidden in the ocean of plugins? Hence, the birth of FindPlugins.ai.

Going forward, I've got big plans for the website. I'm going to implement user login capabilities using NextAuth. Then, I'm looking to add a feature for rating and reviewing plugins. This will enable users to sort plugins based on ratings, and the reviews will provide insights into the functionality of each plugin.

But I won't lie, there are risks. It's highly possible that OpenAI will introduce a similar feature in the next couple of weeks. But, I'm banking on the value of third-party ratings and reviews that users can trust due to my non-affiliation. Besides, this site will also serve as a launchpad for any ChatGPT plugin I build in the future.

And who knows, maybe I can eventually utilize it to promote my new AI-generated puzzle app, PuzzleGenerator.ai!

Well, there you have it, a little behind-the-scenes tour of building FindPlugins.ai. I hope this inspires you to create something of your own or at least give MongoDB's Atlas and Mongoose a shot. Trust me; it's worth it!