Releasing your web application into the wild

Question

Let's say you've written the next social networking phenomenon (or any other web app). You've chosen Java, Tomcat, Apache and Oracle (or whatever setup that you like). You know want to get it out there on the web and have people sign up and start using it.

What is the next step for something that you have written at home and want to get it out there into the wild?

Edit: Sorry for the confusion, I was actually in a rush to get this post up before heading out, so what I was actually referring to was a commercial deployment. Not only putting it on a web server somewhere but what nitty gritty things were involved in doing that. If you have a dedicated server from an ISP, what would be involved in regards to setting up the database you want with the schema you require and what sort of access do you get to do what you want. I apologise if it still may sound a little flakey but I've never had to do anything like that before and was just wondering if there was anything tricky involved. It may just be as simple as signing up and popping your web app archive onto a server and that's it. I was just wondering whether there was something more to it and whether there are any things to look out for or any gotchas. I also appreciate the responses in regards to marketing as they were very informative as well. So thanks to those that talked about that!

Answer 1

I hate to point out the obvious, but put it on a web server and let people use it.

You might also want to read 37Signal's Getting Real.

Answer 2

Marketing! There's no fixed answer to the question of how you market a site, but if you want to get people to use it, then you need people to know about it. That could mean making sure it's rated highly in Google (and other search engines) for relevant key-words, or it could mean paying to advertise, or it could mean getting a page on your site submitted to reddit, stackoverflow etc. More likely, you want to start with your friends and family and get them using it, to make sure you can cope with real users, and then let word spread by word of mouth. If the site is good enough, they will come.

Edit: I'm not sure if this is really what you were asking about, so it might be a totally irrelevant answer, in which case I apologise!

Answer 3

The first two things to do are register your domain, should cost around US$24/year for a .com. You can check what's available at whoIs. Next chose an ISP to host your app, the costs vary from $5/month upwards. At the low end of the market you'll have your own virtual web server, which is a small slice of a larger machine. Should give you free Java, Tomcat, MySQL etc. If you really do need Oracle (or MSSQL) your range of options will be smaller and more expensive. The next jump up from there is having you're own dedicated server with an ISP you'll be looking at US$100/month for that kind of service.

Note it's possible to pay a lot for web hosting - if you're just starting out it's easy to get something going to try it out. The quality and access you get from your ISP's admin tool is really important, and the amount you pay doesn't seem to relate to the level of access you get.

Answer 4

Apart from the obvious technical stuff:

Blog about it and tell other bloggers about it. If your product is good they'll spread the word.

Also try out twitter. Search for "keywords" related to your product. That's properly one of the fastest way to get out there. I agree with "Toytown Mafia": Have a look at 37signals it's really worth reading.

Answer 5

I agree with Ben. By "out there into the wild", I assume you mean actually marketing and not deployment issues.

1) Consider who your target audience is. – Where will you find them? Are you aiming for cutting edge geekdom and the early adopters? Or are you aiming for grandma? How will you reach them?

2) What problem does your product help solve?

3) Blog about it. Set up a "product" blog explaining your design decisions, how great your product is and how it can help do X. Eg: "Facebook helps me keep in touch with all my friends..."

4) Forums. Are there forums for your particular market place? Don't go spamming forums, but consider adding a link to your product to your forum signature.

5) Are there news websites for the niche your aiming for? Will they be willing to link to you?

6) Paid Ads. – Google ads costs money, but it is more targeted. Consider ads on blogs too, espically if they blog about the market sector for your product.

7) Don't forget about the off-line world. Are there magazines or events you can promote your website at too?

8) These things take time. Don't give up straight away.