Stories from building Wordify
Lessons, decisions, and the occasional confession from shipping a vocabulary app to two app stores.
~6 min readWhy I stopped using Duolingo (and built something simpler)
Duolingo works for millions of people. It didn't work for me - and not for the reasons you'd expect. Here's why I stopped using it, what I tried instead, and why I eventually built my own vocabulary app.
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~6 min readLock screen widgets that actually teach you something - an honest roundup
Most lock screen widgets are clocks, weather, and battery percentages. A few are different - they teach you something every time you glance at your phone. An honest comparison of the apps that do this well in 2026.
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~7 min readHow spaced repetition actually works (and why most apps get it wrong)
A practical guide to spaced repetition - the SM-2 algorithm, how it actually decides when to show you each word, and the common mistakes most learning apps make. With examples in plain English.
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~5 min readHow Wordify started - a story about Spanish, side projects, and finally buying a Mac mini
The honest backstory behind Wordify - why I built a vocabulary app that lives on your lock screen, how a Spain vacation turned into a side project, and what I learned shipping to two app stores.
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