Yes, very often someone has recognized the very problem the Asker has and built something to address it. "Why re-invent the wheel?" as the old saw goes.
By all means, do recommend an app if it will solve the Asker's problem. Just don't simply leave a link as an answer and move on.
An ideal answer will provide a link to the app, a basic description (perhaps even quoted from the site itself), and, probably most importantly, will explain how the app/tool will solve the Asker's problem. If you've used the app yourself, a short anecdote about how it helped you would also be useful.
It's also okay to recommend an app that you have created, but remember:
- you must disclose your affiliation every time
- if all (or most) of your answers are hawking your product(s), the community is not going to look on that favorably, even with disclosure
Bad:
You can use widget-breaker for this. It's great!
Good:
I think the WidgetBreaker Chrome Extension will work for you. It's designed to frob your widgets when they get de-frobbed. Since you're trying to foo the bar, this should do what you need. Just:
- Create your profile
- Set the widget-frobber to use your Google Account
- Mark the bars to be foo'd
I had a similar situation with my bazzes, and this fixed them right up.
(Note: I am not the developer, just a satisfied user.)
These are just basic examples, not templates.
To recap:
Do:
- Link to the app/tool
- Explain how it will solve the Asker's problem
- Disclose your affiliation to the product, if any
Don't:
- Just link to the app (or, worse, just name the app without even a link)
- Make all (or a large portion) of your answers to promote your product(s)
- Neglect to say how the app will solve the problem