WordWise
LiveReflective word-of-the-day web app. Node.js/Express. AGPLv3. Live at wordwisehiccups.vercel.app.
1. 20,000+ Word Engine with Intelligent Caching
WordWise draws from a curated pool of over 20,000 English words (3 to 12 letters), each paired with rich definitions from the Free Dictionary API. A 50% in-memory cache hit rate minimizes API calls, while a 4-second client-side fallback guarantees that you always see a word — even if the network is slow or the API is unreachable. Three-attempt retry logic with exponential backoff ensures resilience without hammering upstream services.
2. Full-Screen Nature Landscape Backgrounds
Every visit serves a fresh, full-screen nature landscape — either a photograph or a video, chosen randomly from Pexels' highest-resolution catalog. The 50/50 photo-to-video ratio keeps each session visually distinct. Every background includes a subtle photographer attribution linked to the original Pexels page, respecting creative commons licensing.
3. Desktop Timezone Bar with Interactive Tooltips
A glass-blur strip across the bottom of the screen displays 12 major world timezones, updating every 30 seconds. Hovering over a city reveals a tooltip with local facts — population, notable landmarks, cultural trivia. Hovering over the date shows historical events that occurred on that day. It's a quiet invitation to explore the world while reflecting on a word.
4. Graceful Degradation Architecture
WordWise is built to never show a broken state. Server-side AbortController timeouts (3–4 seconds), pre-bundled fallback words embedded in the client bundle, and a multi-attempt fallback chain ensure that every page load delivers a complete experience — word, definition, background — regardless of network conditions. If the Pexels API fails, you get the word on a clean canvas. If the dictionary API fails, the word appears without definition. Something always renders.
5. Zero-Tracking Deployment
No cookies. No analytics. No accounts. No telemetry. WordWise runs on Express.js deployed to Vercel, making outbound requests only to the Free Dictionary API and Pexels. The 190KB word pool is bundled with the client. What you read is between you and the page — and the page doesn't remember you were there.
Part of the Kovina ecosystem
A collection of open-source tools built for ownership, permanence, and everyday use.
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