What I Learned Building a Browser-Based File Converter

When I started building a file conversion tool, I thought it would be simple: Upload file → convert file → download file. Done. Turns out file formats are full of surprises. A few things I learned: • “Converting” often means transforming structure, not just changing an extension. • Compression can be lossy or lossless, and that tradeoff matters more than I realized. • Browser-side processing can solve privacy concerns for users who don’t want files stored on servers. • Tiny usability choices (dr