Navigaweb

Claudio Pomes, Founder

Rome, Italy

2026

Navigaweb is keeping tech advice free in Italy

In 2008, Claudio Pomes launched Navigaweb as a way to share tech tips, tricks, and tools for free with friends and family. The site has since grown over the last 15 years into a trustworthy resource in Italy, all kept free thanks to an ad-supported business model.

Punto di partenza (Starting point)

If you ever had an IT related question, you could count on Claudio Pomes (aka Pomhey) to help you out: How to fix a Windows issue. Recommendations for free software. Suggestions for a more private way to browse the web.

Claudio, who had studied economics, but wound up in IT consulting and working in data centers, didn’t mind them at first, but eventually, he found himself repeating a lot of the answers.

“So I thought, why not put everything in one place?” Claudio remembers.

Driven by this vision, Claudio launched the blog in 2008 as a hobby. He established it as a practical resource to document and share the technical insights, shortcuts, and free tools that he personally relied upon.

And thus Navigaweb was born, which essentially translates to “surf the web” in English.

Sure, the site was rough around the edges (Claudio wasn’t a designer or developer, after all), but it was the content that became the star of the show.

And that was not only enough for visitors to stick around, but to keep coming back too. They appreciated the helpful explanations, the practical advice; no influencer energy required. “I was never trying to be famous; just useful,” Claudio explains.

And it’s that mindset that’s continued to sculpt Navigaweb ever since.

Claudio Pomes of Navigaweb typing at his computer, editing articles for the tech advice blog.

Percorso aperto (An open path)

As traffic started to pick up for his blog, Claudio found himself at a crossroads familiar to a lot of indie publishers: how to keep pumping out great content without charging his readers, while still being able to support himself financially.

“I write about free tools. Free solutions,” Claudio explains. “It wouldn’t make sense to lock that behind a paywall.”

So that left him with one real alternative — ads.

That’s when Claudio chose Google AdSense to help him display ads on his website, attracted to how simple it was to set up, and how well it worked alongside the platform he ultimately went (and stayed) with: Blogger.

“At the time, AdSense felt almost unreal,” he says. “It was easy, and it worked.”

In 2011, Claudio took a leap of faith. Although leaving a secure, permanent position in IT consulting was daunting, he was convinced that Navigaweb had outgrown the spare time he could allot to it. He resigned to dedicate himself fully to the project, a move that allowed him to scale the business, increase publication frequency, and evolve the content into professional, deeply detailed technical guides.

And ads have been his single source of revenue ever since, a way to keep the site humming along, without compromising on his values. “Ads are just part of the internet,” Claudio says. “People understand that. You see ads, and in exchange, you get free content.”

Something else about ads: they let Claudio remain independent. For example, he's managed to avoid sponsored posts he didn’t believe in, letting him recommend products and tools that only he would use personally.

These days, you can still find Claudio answering questions for free, only now, he doesn’t have to repeat himself as often, especially for things like: How to automatically block calls from unknown numbers. What are the best File Explorer tricks in Windows 11. How to get free API keys for AI.

“Ads are just part of the internet. People understand that. You see ads, and in exchange, you get free content.”

Navigaweb's homepage filled with free tips and tool recommendations for users in Italy, along with a glance at how the blog is also delving into short-form video content.

Navigazione continua (Ongoing navigation)

Once Claudio switched over to running Navigaweb on a regular basis, his life had a few meaningful changes.

First, since he now works from home, that means setting his own schedule (even if that sometimes slips, but then again, who could blame him?). “The hardest part is that when you work alone,” he admits, “there’s no coworkers, no boss. You have to create structure yourself.”

Second, he’s able to be more present for his family. “With my children, I can be available for activities at any hour of the day.”

And third, ad revenue has helped Claudio both ride out Navigaweb’s growth curve, especially when his traffic spiked during the 2020 pandemic lockdown, as well as weather the more challenging times.

At one point, he even had two writers on the payroll. But today, he’s back to running things solo, but not without the help of GenAI tools that have come onto the scene, both for editing his work and converting it into short videos.

“I use AI to write faster,” he says. “But you still have to check everything. The responsibility stays with me.”

Despite the changing landscape, Claudio still remains committed to Navigaweb’s mission: practical help that’s free. “I still believe in the free model,” he says. “Help people; don’t make them pay.”

When Claudio thinks about what’s next, he first wants to go back and update past articles, while continuing to test new formats like those short-form videos he’s been making.

"With the AI revolution reshaping the web, the future is harder to predict than ever," he admits. "It’s a fragile moment where traditional sites risk being cut out of the loop. Yet, I intend to harness these new tools to transform the site once again. I’m still curious to see where this leads, and that curiosity has always been the engine behind Navigaweb."

About the Publisher

Claudio Pomes is the founder of Navigaweb, an Italian blog focused on tech tips and tool suggestions. With a degree in Business Administration and a background in IT consulting, Claudio has spent more than 15 years building up the site, writing, and updating it to make it better for folks in Italy and beyond. Based in Rome, he continues to run Navigaweb as a one man shop these days, still committed to keeping its content free and accessible.

Closeup of Claudio Pomes, founder of Navigaweb, working from his home office in Rome, where he writes and updates articles for his Italian readers.