For weeks, I thought nobody was listening.
I kept changing things, improving the words, polishing the site, thinking it was all just quiet.
Then, while checking the security of my website, I looked a little closer at the admin system.
Twenty-seven attempts to subscribe.
I just sat there, staring at the screen.
At first, I wondered whether they were bots or spam. But the attempts were spread across weeks, not all arriving in one suspicious rush. I couldn’t know who was behind every attempt, but there was a real possibility that people had been trying to connect.
And they couldn’t finish subscribing because the confirmation emails weren’t arriving.
Twenty-seven attempts to knock, and my website decided to take a surprise holiday.
Brilliant.
And the person responsible for checking whether the door worked?
Well, you’re reading his reflection.
Joking aside, I felt two completely opposite things at once.
I was genuinely happy. And genuinely disappointed.
Happy because someone might have read something I’d written and recognised a little of their own story. Or perhaps they were simply curious about where ZeroWic is going.
Even the possibility means more to me than a number on a screen.
I’m not building ZeroWic just to collect subscribers. I’m hoping to find people with similar vibes, different ideas, and stories to share. People who might support each other, challenge each other, or just make someone else’s day a little easier.
Then came the disappointment.
Not because I missed out on 27 subscribers. I don’t even know whether every attempt came from a different person.
It was the thought that someone tried to connect, and something I’d built stopped them.
I was so busy checking words that I forgot to check whether people could even reach me.
That’s on me.
I spent weeks polishing details and making improvements. Meanwhile, I hadn’t properly checked one of the simplest things: what happens when somebody wants to join?
The problem is now fixed, and I’ve tested the whole process, including the confirmation email. I’ve also set up notifications so I’m less likely to miss a problem like this again.
To anyone who tried to subscribe and couldn’t: I’m genuinely sorry.
You gave ZeroWic a moment of your time, and I wish the door had been open. If you find your way back here, I’d be really glad if you tried again.
Not for the numbers. Knowing someone connected with this matters to me.
Today, I found something that made me smile and kick myself at the very same time.
Quite an achievement, really.
But that’s building, isn’t it? We try, we get things wrong, we learn.
And hopefully, next time, we remember to check whether the bloody door’s open.
Building. Not done. Never will be.
Keep Smiling.