A Class Project That Turned Into Something I Kept Building
DigiToolz started as a class project. I needed to build something functional using an API, and I picked the OpenAI API because I wanted an excuse to actually use it instead of just reading about it. I opened VS Code, and that was the beginning of the toolbox.
I did not set out to build a suite of tools. I set out to finish an assignment. It just turned into something I kept adding to once I saw what was possible.
What DigiToolz Actually Is
DigiToolz is a small collection of browser-based utility tools. Nothing complicated, just things I found myself needing while working on web design and SEO tasks:
| Tool | Built With |
|---|---|
| Username Generator | OpenAI API |
| SEO Error Checker | OpenAI API |
| Password Generator | JavaScript |
| Website Color Contrast Checker | JavaScript |
Building It With AI, Not Just Reading About It
Before this project, most of what I knew about HTML and CSS came from tutorials. Tutorials are fine until you hit a wall the tutorial does not cover. That happened constantly.
Once I started building DigiToolz in VS Code with AI open next to me, the wall stopped being a wall. I could ask exactly what was breaking, get a direct answer, and keep moving instead of digging through forum posts hoping someone had the same problem years ago.
The OpenAI API was the part that made two of the tools actually work. The Username Generator and the SEO Error Checker both needed something smarter than static logic, so that is where the API came in. The other two tools, the password generator and the color contrast checker, are simpler and run on plain JavaScript.
What I Actually Learned
The tools themselves are small. What mattered more was what building them taught me. I stopped copying examples and started understanding why a fix worked instead of just pasting it in and moving on.
That shift is the real difference between using AI to skip learning and using AI to actually learn faster. I was still doing the thinking. AI just removed the hours I used to lose stuck on one broken function.
Where It Fits Now
DigiToolz is not a product I am trying to sell. It is proof of an early step, the same class-project starting point that eventually led to the automation and scripting work I do now for my own business and for clients.
If you want to see what came after DigiToolz, the rest of the projects I have built live on my Projects page.