Building Zebbly

For a while now I’ve been building Zebbly, a social shopping and wishlist site, and it’s finally at the point where I can share it. The idea is simple: create wish lists and share products you love, from any store, in one place.

The itch came from how scattered wish lists are. Your Amazon list can’t hold the thing you found at a local shop, and “what does your daughter actually want for her birthday” still gets answered over text message. Zebbly makes the list itself the product. You can search Amazon, Target, and Walmart right on the site, save products from anywhere else, and mix in custom ideas like subscriptions or local shopping. Lists carry context, like sizes and interests, so gift-givers aren’t guessing.

Building a product alone is a strange and useful experience. There’s no one to hand the design to, no one to write the requirements for, and no one else to blame when a feature doesn’t earn its place. Every decision from the data model to the empty states is yours, which is equal parts freeing and humbling.

It’s live now, and our family wish lists run on it. You can read more on the project page.