Welcome to ProductNest

ProductNest is a free community platform where makers share tools and products, and where anyone can discover free tools — including free alternatives to popular paid products. This guide covers every feature so you get the most out of it.

1. Signing In

Tap "Continue with Google" on the homepage. There's no password to remember — once you sign in, your session is saved and you'll be taken straight to the Feed on your next visit automatically.

2. The Home Feed

This is your main screen after logging in. Here's what you'll find:

• Top / Recent tabs — "Top" sorts posts by most likes, "Recent" shows the newest posts first.
• Search icon (🔍) — tap it to open a search bar and filter posts by tag (e.g. "ai", "design"). You can also tap any tag shown on a post to instantly filter by it.
• "Filtering: [tag]" badge — appears when a search is active; tap the × to clear it.
• Post cards — each shows an image, the maker's name and photo (tap to view their profile), how long ago it was posted, the title, description, tags, like count, and action buttons.
• 🎯 "Free alternative to" badge — if a maker marked their tool as a free alternative to a paid product (e.g. Canva), you'll see this yellow badge on the post.

3. Promoting Your Product

Tap the "+ Submit" button at the top to open the submission form. Fields include:

• Product Title (required)
• Description — explain what it does
• Website Link (optional) — shown as a "Visit Website" button on your post
• WhatsApp Number (optional) — only add this if you want people to message you directly; if left blank, no WhatsApp button will show
• Tags — up to 3, separated by commas (e.g. "tools, education, ai") — these make your post searchable
• Free alternative to (optional) — if your tool replaces a paid product, name it here (e.g. "Canva") and a badge will appear on your post
• Product Image — pick any image; it's automatically compressed to roughly 16:9 and ~100KB so your post loads fast for everyone

Tap "Submit Post" when ready. Your post appears instantly in the Feed and in your Dashboard.

4. Interacting with Posts

• ❤️ Like — tap the heart to like/unlike a post; the count updates instantly.
• See Details — opens the full post page with the complete description, tags, WhatsApp button, website link, and comments section.
• Comments — on the Details page, type a message and tap "Post" to leave a comment. Comments show the commenter's name and photo, newest first.
• WhatsApp icon (📱) — only appears if the maker added a number; tap it to open a chat with them directly.

5. Your Profile Menu

Tap your avatar (top-right corner) to open a menu with:

• Edit Profile — update your profile photo (auto-compressed), name, a short bio (max 100 characters), and your website link.
• Dashboard — see below.
• Important Pages — quick access to About Us, Contact Us, Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, and Disclaimer.
• Logout — signs you out and returns you to the login screen.

6. Your Dashboard

Your personal control center, showing:

• Stats bar — total posts, followers, and following counts.
• Get a Backlink button — see section 8 below.
• My Posts — every post you've made, with its like count. Tap "View" to open it, or "Delete" to remove it permanently.

7. Following Other Makers

Tap any maker's name or photo on a post (or their name in the Feed) to open their public profile. There you'll see their bio, website, follower/following counts, all their posts, and a Follow button. Following someone sends them a notification.

8. Getting a Backlink for Your Website

If you have your own website, ToolNest can give it a free backlink:

1. Go to Dashboard → tap "🔗 Get a Backlink"
2. Enter your website URL and tap "Generate Embed Code"
3. Copy the code shown and paste it anywhere on your website (then publish/save your site)
4. Come back and tap "Verify Backlink"
5. Once verified, your badge becomes a live, dofollow backlink from ProductNest — and you can track all your backlinks and their status here anytime

9. Notifications

Tap the bell icon (🔔) in the header to see when someone likes your post, comments on it, or starts following you. A red badge with a number shows how many notifications you haven't read yet.

10. Live Now

Tap the "🟢 Live" button in the header to see who else is currently active on ToolNest, shown as a live grid of avatars. On larger screens (desktop), live users also appear automatically along the left and right sides of the Feed. Tap any avatar to visit their profile.

11. Legal and Info Pages

From the "Important Pages" menu you can always find: About Us (our mission), Contact Us (how to reach support), Privacy Policy (how your data is handled), Terms and Conditions (platform rules), and Disclaimer (about third-party content).

12. Chatting with Makers

Open any maker's profile and tap the Chat button below Follow to send them a private text message. Chat is text-only. For photos, voice notes or video, use the WhatsApp number the maker shared on their post (if they added one). You'll get a bell notification when someone messages you.

13. Leaderboard

Tap the trophy icon (🏆) in the header to see the top products. "This Week" ranks products posted in the last 7 days by likes, and "All Time" shows the most liked products overall.

Still have questions? Visit our Contact Us page — we're happy to help.