What is the best way to release a web app in beta?
Hello fellow Indie Hackers,
I'm currently in the process of making a website and I'm wondering what the best strategy is to launch a beta version.
So, I want to launch small and gather some user feedback before going all-in on promotion.
There are a couple of scenarios I'm considering:
-
Launch the website on the default URL (example.com) and somehow make it clear to the end-users that the website is still in beta and that some functionalities might be buggy/not working.
This could be done by having a label at the top of the page or some kind of pop-up. -
Keep it simple and launch on a subdomain beta.example.com - seems logical, but might hurt in the long run.
-
Launch on example.com/beta for example and redirect the users that land on the homepage to the beta page.
I'm leaning towards either the first or last option because I'll be able to build backlinks and promote the correct URL while still in beta instead of having the users visit a subdomain.
When the website is finally ready to launch I could simply redirect example.com/beta to either the home page or leave it as is for beta testing future functionalities.
How did you launch and what was your approach for a beta launch (if you had any)?
Hi!
I think what you should care about is how to get users to your web app.
And a little "beta" label beside the logo would be fine.
There will be just few visitors in the beginning, or none at all, trust me. Unless you have some way to drive traffic. Nowadays, it's really hard to get them unless you have a good product.
So, that's what should be your concern.
Best luck :)
I was just gonna post this. Launching a site with a lot of traffic is an amazing problem to have. Most likely the site will launch and get very few visitors, so I wouldn't worry too much about early users having to deal with the beta state.
I like to directly engage with the people testing... and the URL can be whatever...
And no matter how much you polish internally, that first user recording of the test run is gut wrenching
Make sure to have
Those are super key... otherwise you'll just be kinda confused as to why X or Y is not working as well as you'd like it to
Something like https://www.userbrain.com/en/ is great btw for UX feedback
Thanks for all the advice!
I'm still in the very early stages of product development (one weekend in 😅), but planning to release it to the public as soon as I have a couple of features.
I have decided to just go with a simple beta label and that's it. To start off it will be a free product, but as I integrate more and more features I'll be adding premium functionalities to the website.
If you have any more tips & tricks let me know! I'd love to hear them 🙂
With a beta release, you're basically asking people to help you test your product before the official launch. You want to put it in front of people and get feedback for how you can improve it. In exchange for their feedback, you can offer them a special deal, give them access to the app before it's public, or offer them free usage for a limited amount of time.
The best way to release a web app in beta is on social media. You want as many people as possible to see your app so that you can gather large amounts of feedback quickly. You can use sites like Twitter and Facebook to announce the release and drum up interest, and then direct interested parties to a website where they can sign up for access.
Hey Reverie,
Just a text label "beta" in a small font beside your logo is solid. That's what I did, until my app could accept payments.
In all honesty, I think you'll want to remove that "beta" label as soon as possible as most folks are too flooded with alternative choices and won't be too keen to try products with "perceived" glitches - unless of course, you're first to market to solve a real big pain. :)
Happy hacking!