Creating Free Photoshop: 5 Steps to Millions

Contents:

• The Journey from Flash Games to an Innovative Graphics Editor
• Photopea: How a Free Graphics Editor Conquered the World
• Photopea User and Revenue Growth: Current Data and Support Costs
• "I Prefer to Work Alone, and That's Okay with Me"

The path from flash games to an innovative graphics editor

Ivan Kutskir became acquainted with computers at the age of 14, when his family moved to the Czech Republic in search of better financial opportunities. After successfully graduating from high school in 2009, he enrolled at the University of Prague, majoring in Programming. During this time, Ivan already had experience developing simple browser-based Flash games and began his foray into the world of animation. These skills formed the foundation for his subsequent development in IT, which subsequently led to a successful career in programming and game development. Ivan actively used Adobe Photoshop in his work, which inspired him to create a similar program accessible to a wider audience in the browser. At the age of 22, while still a university student, he spent his free time experimenting with browser games, which further developed his skills and creativity. This idea became the basis for the development of an intuitive and functional online image editor that meets the needs of users looking for accessible and effective tools for editing graphics.

In 2013, Ivan created his The first web tool was a simple editor that allowed users to open PSD files, load, and save their layers. This project, called Photopea, was initially conceived as a hobby, and Ivan did not expect its commercial success. However, after a year, he realized the potential of his creation and decided to develop it further. Its popularity was due to the presence of unique features that were missing on the market, making Photopea a sought-after tool among designers and graphic artists. Since then, the project has continued to evolve, introducing new tools and improving the user experience. In the first half of the 2010s, there were only a few browser-based editors on the web, among which Pixlr, PicMonkey, BeFunky, and Sumopaint stood out. These tools provided only basic functions, such as changing contrast and saturation, which made Photopea a unique product. While Ivan was pursuing other projects, Photopea became his true calling, and this editor has achieved significant success thanks to its advanced features and intuitive interface. Photopea offers users a rich set of image editing tools, making it competitive with other online editors.

Photopea: How a Free Graphic Editor Conquered the World

Photopea is an online graphic editor that has become a significant advancement in digital design. It offers users powerful image editing tools without registration. Since its launch in 2017, Photopea has quickly gained popularity, as evidenced by the tens of thousands of users who joined the platform early on. Unique features, such as PSD file support and an intuitive interface, make it an ideal choice for both graphic design professionals and enthusiasts. Users can easily edit photos, create graphics, and apply various effects, making Photopea a versatile tool for anyone working with images.

In June 2017, Photopea began using advertising for the first time, allowing its creator, Ivan Kutskir, to earn $400 per month. This significant event confirmed his confidence in the project's high potential for further development. Thanks to this step, Photopea was able to attract more users and strengthen its position in the online editing market.

After the release of the first public version of the Photopea editor, many well-known blogs began publishing reviews of this tool. According to statistics, approximately 60% of new users came to the platform via links from these reviews, emphasizing the importance of high-quality content for attracting a target audience. Reviews help potential users better understand Photopea's functionality and benefits, which contributes to its growth in popularity and the number of active users.

Ivan Kutskir notes that his site became visible in Google Search after just five or six years, without investing a penny in advertising. This underscores the importance of organic growth and online visibility. Organic promotion is key to a successful online business, as it allows you to attract a target audience without incurring additional advertising costs. Creating high-quality content and optimizing your website for search engines play a crucial role in achieving high search rankings.

Photopea is an online image editor reminiscent of Adobe Photoshop and GIMP, providing users with an intuitive interface and a wide range of features. It supports various file formats, including PSD, AI, RAW, SKETCH, and ANI, as well as CSS styles. This makes Photopea a versatile tool for designers and graphic professionals, allowing them to work on projects of any complexity. The ability to edit files without installing software on a computer makes Photopea a convenient choice for users seeking high efficiency and accessibility.

Photopea offers the unique ability to edit PDF files, making it one of the best tools in its class, especially when compared to other editors that lack this feature. The program supports 40 languages, including Russian, making it accessible to a wide audience. Photopea also offers convenient keyboard shortcuts and offline editing, significantly increasing flexibility.

Photopea allows users to load and save brush templates in TPL format and export their work in 16 different formats. This functionality makes the editor an excellent choice for designers and artists seeking flexibility and variety in their work. With support for various formats, Photopea meets the needs of both professionals and amateurs, allowing you to easily integrate your work into other projects.

Photopea User and Revenue Growth: Latest Data and Support Costs

Photopea has demonstrated impressive growth, doubling its user base every six months for several years. The service is currently used over 10 million times per month. According to the latest Google Analytics data, as of April 2021, Photopea attracts approximately 3 million unique visitors monthly, which equates to approximately 100,000 users per day. The average visit duration is 10 minutes. Photopea is particularly active in countries such as India, the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. This online image editor has become popular due to its accessibility and functionality, which allows users to edit images without having to install software.

According to Photopea's developer, the popularity of this online image editor is largely due to word of mouth. Users actively share their impressions of the service, underscoring the importance of a quality product and its reputation among users. Effective recommendation marketing drives Photopea's audience growth and underscores the importance of reviews and recommendations in today's digital world.

Photopea's primary source of revenue is advertising, which accounts for approximately 90% of the platform's total revenue. Users can purchase a premium, ad-free subscription for $10 for three months. Additionally, the developer offers special licenses for companies wishing to install Photopea on their servers and use it offline. This solution is especially relevant for organizations that prefer to store data locally, highlighting growing concerns about online security. Thus, Photopea offers flexible use cases, making it attractive to both individuals and businesses.

Photopea developer Kutskir reports stable revenue growth, which is directly related to the growing number of users. In 2020, revenue exceeded $500,000, reaching approximately $1 million between April 2020 and April 2021. This growth continued last fall, and revenue has now stabilized at a high level. Photopea continues to attract users, which positively impacts the project's financial performance. Kutskir notes: "I've dedicated eight years of my life to developing Photopea, which is a significant contribution to the project. My annual server costs are only $50—the minimum amount necessary to support it." When Kutskir was just starting out, Photopea's revenue was $500 per month—ten times less than his classmates' earnings. However, over time, his income has increased significantly, highlighting the enormous potential of online services in the modern economy. Kutskir's success illustrates how digital services markets can grow and be profitable despite initial challenges.

"I prefer to work alone, and I'm happy with that."

According to statistics, about 20% of Photopea users use the editor on their smartphones. A significant proportion of these are teenagers in countries such as India and Brazil, where mobile devices are often the only affordable technology in families. Despite numerous requests to create a mobile app, developer Ivan Kutskir rejects the idea, arguing that it would require a change in development approach and could reduce the user experience.

Kutskir emphasizes that developing a mobile application will require paying fees to Apple and Google. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of users are already successfully using Photopea through the browser on their mobile devices without any difficulties. This demonstrates that the web version of Photopea provides convenience and functionality without the additional cost of creating a separate application.

Photopea is becoming a popular tool for teaching computer graphics in a number of educational institutions, as its use is more cost-effective compared to Photoshop. Kutskir has spoken with Adobe representatives twice: once regarding technical issues, and then Adobe itself contacted him for advice on the browser version of Photoshop. "I don't know how Adobe feels about Photopea, but in business there is always competition," Ivan says. This approach allows educational institutions to effectively teach students the basics of graphic design without overburdening their budgets.

Ivan Kutskir works on Photopea alone and understands that this presents significant difficulties. He notes that having a team does not always speed up development, as it can lead to misunderstandings. As a result of his mistakes, about 10% of users experience problems using the editor. Despite this, Ivan makes every effort to quickly fix problems, although sometimes they cannot be resolved immediately. The continued development of Photopea depends on his experience and commitment to improvement, which makes his work especially valuable to users.

Ivan spends an average of 6-8 hours a day working on Photopea. There are times when he can't work on a project for several weeks, for example, due to computer repair or other commitments. Although Kutskir doesn't put improvements first, he constantly strives to improve the product, which speaks to his high dedication.