The Idea Behind TextTally

TextTally emerged from a simple observation: while creating content for marketing clients, I found myself constantly switching between various tools to analyze text. I needed word counts, readability scores, and keyword density in one place.

This fragmented workflow was costing me valuable time, so I decided to create a browser extension that would provide all these metrics instantly with just a right-click.

Key Features

Comprehensive word and character counts (with and without spaces)
Estimated reading time calculation
Flesch-Kincaid readability score and grade level assessment
Keyword frequency analysis for content optimization
Sentence length metrics with alerts for overly complex sentences
Privacy-focused design with all processing done locally

Development Challenges

Building TextTally presented several interesting technical challenges. I needed to create an extension that was lightweight yet powerful, with a clean UI that wouldn't distract users from their writing flow.

The most significant challenge was implementing accurate readability metrics in JavaScript. I extensively researched linguistic algorithms to ensure TextTally's analysis was accurate and helpful for real writing scenarios.

User-Centered Design

TextTally's interface was designed with simplicity in mind. I utilized a clean, intuitive layout with teal and coral accent colors that make data easy to scan while ensuring accessibility.

The extension works through a simple context menu - select text, right-click, choose "Analyze with TextTally," and instantly get comprehensive metrics in a clean popup interface.

Privacy and Performance

From the outset, I was committed to building TextTally with a focus on privacy. All text analysis happens directly in the user's browser - no data is ever sent to external servers or stored anywhere. This not only protects user privacy but also ensures the extension works quickly without network latency.

I also optimized the extension's performance to ensure it processes text instantly, even for longer documents, without impacting browser performance.