Turning your App Development to a Successful Launch in 2025

Introduction

Unfortunately, just because you’ve got your app developed - it likely isn’t quite yet ready for the world! There’s a layer of polish that must be applied before you start bringing on users. We’ve worked with numerous startups and different types of founders - but one thing stays true - what comes after development is just as crucial as the development phase itself.

Launching your app in some ways is like opening a new restaurant. You can’t just unlock the doors and hope people walk in and everything goes forward smoothly - there's a whole process to ensure everything runs as planned.

Introduction

Unfortunately, just because you’ve got your app developed - it likely isn’t quite yet ready for the world! There’s a layer of polish that must be applied before you start bringing on users. We’ve worked with numerous startups and different types of founders - but one thing stays true - what comes after development is just as crucial as the development phase itself.

Launching your app in some ways is like opening a new restaurant. You can’t just unlock the doors and hope people walk in and everything goes forward smoothly - there's a whole process to ensure everything runs as planned.

Introduction

Unfortunately, just because you’ve got your app developed - it likely isn’t quite yet ready for the world! There’s a layer of polish that must be applied before you start bringing on users. We’ve worked with numerous startups and different types of founders - but one thing stays true - what comes after development is just as crucial as the development phase itself.

Launching your app in some ways is like opening a new restaurant. You can’t just unlock the doors and hope people walk in and everything goes forward smoothly - there's a whole process to ensure everything runs as planned.

Pre-Launch Essentials

Quality Assurance: Your App's Safety Net

Before your app faces real users, it needs to pass through comprehensive testing. Here's what that can looks like at the initial stages:

Beta Testing
- Test your app yourself going through every single click and back & forth journey a user can potentially encounter
- Release your app to literally just a couple of users and even pay them to find issues / bugs within the app. You want all the funky stuff that users might do to work seamlessly.
- Build a list of all bugs and potential issues with user-journeys
- Ensure you’ve gone back to the drawing board to fix these bugs and potential issues effectively
Compatibility Testing
- Test across different devices and screen sizes (phones, tablets, browsers)
- Verify performance on various browsers (chrome, safari, etc.)

Real-world example: The process detailed above is not meant to take weeks. When we work with startup founders, we literally spend 1-2 days (depending on the complexity of the app) to just test and list issues. And then another 1-2 days in planning and solving these issues. At the end of this 2-4 day sprint - even if there are no changes made, we know we are ready to spend additional marketing dollars to welcome users :).

Pre-Launch Essentials

Quality Assurance: Your App's Safety Net

Before your app faces real users, it needs to pass through comprehensive testing. Here's what that can looks like at the initial stages:

Beta Testing
- Test your app yourself going through every single click and back & forth journey a user can potentially encounter
- Release your app to literally just a couple of users and even pay them to find issues / bugs within the app. You want all the funky stuff that users might do to work seamlessly.
- Build a list of all bugs and potential issues with user-journeys
- Ensure you’ve gone back to the drawing board to fix these bugs and potential issues effectively
Compatibility Testing
- Test across different devices and screen sizes (phones, tablets, browsers)
- Verify performance on various browsers (chrome, safari, etc.)

Real-world example: The process detailed above is not meant to take weeks. When we work with startup founders, we literally spend 1-2 days (depending on the complexity of the app) to just test and list issues. And then another 1-2 days in planning and solving these issues. At the end of this 2-4 day sprint - even if there are no changes made, we know we are ready to spend additional marketing dollars to welcome users :).

Pre-Launch Essentials

Quality Assurance: Your App's Safety Net

Before your app faces real users, it needs to pass through comprehensive testing. Here's what that can looks like at the initial stages:

Beta Testing
- Test your app yourself going through every single click and back & forth journey a user can potentially encounter
- Release your app to literally just a couple of users and even pay them to find issues / bugs within the app. You want all the funky stuff that users might do to work seamlessly.
- Build a list of all bugs and potential issues with user-journeys
- Ensure you’ve gone back to the drawing board to fix these bugs and potential issues effectively
Compatibility Testing
- Test across different devices and screen sizes (phones, tablets, browsers)
- Verify performance on various browsers (chrome, safari, etc.)

Real-world example: The process detailed above is not meant to take weeks. When we work with startup founders, we literally spend 1-2 days (depending on the complexity of the app) to just test and list issues. And then another 1-2 days in planning and solving these issues. At the end of this 2-4 day sprint - even if there are no changes made, we know we are ready to spend additional marketing dollars to welcome users :).

The Launch - Week 1

Now that your app has passed the initial testing phase, it's time to start bringing in your first real users. Based on the type of business you have, here’s our suggested action plan for week 1 (you don't have to do all - but pick at least two marketing strategies):

Social Media Announcement Strategy

Create compelling posts that focus on the specific problem your app solves
Use platforms where your target users spend time (LinkedIn for B2B, Instagram/TikTok for B2C)
Share behind-the-scenes content of your development journey on Bubble.io to build authenticity

Direct User Outreach

Personally reach out to potential users who've shown interest during your development phase
Use a personalized message template but customize it for each recipient
Focus on how your app solves their specific pain points

Initial Marketing Push

Set aside a small budget ($500-1,000) for targeted ads
Use platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads with very specific targeting
Track which ad variations perform best for future scaling

Feedback Collection System

Set up a simple Google Form for user feedback
Drive users to provide feedback via email notifications
Implement Bubble.io's native forms for in-app feedback
Schedule quick 15-minute calls with early users
Use tools like Hotjar to track user behavior

The Launch - Week 1

Now that your app has passed the initial testing phase, it's time to start bringing in your first real users. Based on the type of business you have, here’s our suggested action plan for week 1 (you don't have to do all - but pick at least two marketing strategies):

Social Media Announcement Strategy

Create compelling posts that focus on the specific problem your app solves
Use platforms where your target users spend time (LinkedIn for B2B, Instagram/TikTok for B2C)
Share behind-the-scenes content of your development journey on Bubble.io to build authenticity

Direct User Outreach

Personally reach out to potential users who've shown interest during your development phase
Use a personalized message template but customize it for each recipient
Focus on how your app solves their specific pain points

Initial Marketing Push

Set aside a small budget ($500-1,000) for targeted ads
Use platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads with very specific targeting
Track which ad variations perform best for future scaling

Feedback Collection System

Set up a simple Google Form for user feedback
Drive users to provide feedback via email notifications
Implement Bubble.io's native forms for in-app feedback
Schedule quick 15-minute calls with early users
Use tools like Hotjar to track user behavior

The Launch - Week 1

Now that your app has passed the initial testing phase, it's time to start bringing in your first real users. Based on the type of business you have, here’s our suggested action plan for week 1 (you don't have to do all - but pick at least two marketing strategies):

Social Media Announcement Strategy

Create compelling posts that focus on the specific problem your app solves
Use platforms where your target users spend time (LinkedIn for B2B, Instagram/TikTok for B2C)
Share behind-the-scenes content of your development journey on Bubble.io to build authenticity

Direct User Outreach

Personally reach out to potential users who've shown interest during your development phase
Use a personalized message template but customize it for each recipient
Focus on how your app solves their specific pain points

Initial Marketing Push

Set aside a small budget ($500-1,000) for targeted ads
Use platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads with very specific targeting
Track which ad variations perform best for future scaling

Feedback Collection System

Set up a simple Google Form for user feedback
Drive users to provide feedback via email notifications
Implement Bubble.io's native forms for in-app feedback
Schedule quick 15-minute calls with early users
Use tools like Hotjar to track user behavior

The Launch - Week 2

This is your iteration week - time to act on that valuable early feedback:

Analyzing User Feedback

Organize feedback into categories:
- Bug reports
- User Experience flows
- User Interface issues
- Feature requests
Prioritize fixes based on impact and frequency of mentions.

And recognize and accept that this is the first version of what will be hopefully a full-fledged application. It is not possible to address everything immediately. Our recommended course of action is to first get the bugs out of the way and then to understand and alleviate any User Experience issues (these could be that the app doesn’t navigate as users want from one screen to another). Everything else, in our view, can wait for now - especially Feature Requests.

Making Quick Iterations

Focus on "quick wins" first - simple UI/UX improvements
Update unclear copy or confusing instructions
Fix any broken user journeys
Address edge cases that early users have discovered

Once you’re clear on how you need to prioritize issues, you’ll recognize you need to go a step deeper. For instance, solving a bug might require development work which is time-consuming and the entire process can easily take a few days even. However, some simple UI improvements (simply fixing language or placement of a button) are changes that can be done in minutes. Now you need to consider - how can you iterate on the product such that it actually leads to a win for users.

Example: When we were building a Jobs Marketplace app, in the first week of launch we received feedback that in one of our secondary ‘posting a job’ flows, the CTA button had the text: ‘Add a Company’ - this was confusing users. Users were looking to post a job and were not sure what Add a Company would do. Instead of fixing bugs - we first simply changed the text on the CTA button.

Communication Strategy

Keep early users updated on fixes and improvements
Show appreciation for their feedback
Document changes in a simple changelog
Share progress updates on social media

Very quickly you will realize that all that planning and documentation that you did in the first phase, seems a little less structured once users start giving you feedback and potentially you start executing upon it. And this is where a pro starts to differ from a first-time founder - while it's great to make changes, get them deployed, and solve the user problem immediately - it's even more important that you can keep track of all the changes you are making and the rationale behind them. Without a process to make changes, you’ll realize that literally within weeks (let alone months), all your wireframes are potentially no-longer relevant. Please avoid this challenge. Take out the time to document and keep things explainable - this will help you build clarity on what your product needs and what it doesn't need.

The Launch - Week 2

This is your iteration week - time to act on that valuable early feedback:

Analyzing User Feedback

Organize feedback into categories:
- Bug reports
- User Experience flows
- User Interface issues
- Feature requests
Prioritize fixes based on impact and frequency of mentions.

And recognize and accept that this is the first version of what will be hopefully a full-fledged application. It is not possible to address everything immediately. Our recommended course of action is to first get the bugs out of the way and then to understand and alleviate any User Experience issues (these could be that the app doesn’t navigate as users want from one screen to another). Everything else, in our view, can wait for now - especially Feature Requests.

Making Quick Iterations

Focus on "quick wins" first - simple UI/UX improvements
Update unclear copy or confusing instructions
Fix any broken user journeys
Address edge cases that early users have discovered

Once you’re clear on how you need to prioritize issues, you’ll recognize you need to go a step deeper. For instance, solving a bug might require development work which is time-consuming and the entire process can easily take a few days even. However, some simple UI improvements (simply fixing language or placement of a button) are changes that can be done in minutes. Now you need to consider - how can you iterate on the product such that it actually leads to a win for users.

Example: When we were building a Jobs Marketplace app, in the first week of launch we received feedback that in one of our secondary ‘posting a job’ flows, the CTA button had the text: ‘Add a Company’ - this was confusing users. Users were looking to post a job and were not sure what Add a Company would do. Instead of fixing bugs - we first simply changed the text on the CTA button.

Communication Strategy

Keep early users updated on fixes and improvements
Show appreciation for their feedback
Document changes in a simple changelog
Share progress updates on social media

Very quickly you will realize that all that planning and documentation that you did in the first phase, seems a little less structured once users start giving you feedback and potentially you start executing upon it. And this is where a pro starts to differ from a first-time founder - while it's great to make changes, get them deployed, and solve the user problem immediately - it's even more important that you can keep track of all the changes you are making and the rationale behind them. Without a process to make changes, you’ll realize that literally within weeks (let alone months), all your wireframes are potentially no-longer relevant. Please avoid this challenge. Take out the time to document and keep things explainable - this will help you build clarity on what your product needs and what it doesn't need.

The Launch - Week 2

This is your iteration week - time to act on that valuable early feedback:

Analyzing User Feedback

Organize feedback into categories:
- Bug reports
- User Experience flows
- User Interface issues
- Feature requests
Prioritize fixes based on impact and frequency of mentions.

And recognize and accept that this is the first version of what will be hopefully a full-fledged application. It is not possible to address everything immediately. Our recommended course of action is to first get the bugs out of the way and then to understand and alleviate any User Experience issues (these could be that the app doesn’t navigate as users want from one screen to another). Everything else, in our view, can wait for now - especially Feature Requests.

Making Quick Iterations

Focus on "quick wins" first - simple UI/UX improvements
Update unclear copy or confusing instructions
Fix any broken user journeys
Address edge cases that early users have discovered

Once you’re clear on how you need to prioritize issues, you’ll recognize you need to go a step deeper. For instance, solving a bug might require development work which is time-consuming and the entire process can easily take a few days even. However, some simple UI improvements (simply fixing language or placement of a button) are changes that can be done in minutes. Now you need to consider - how can you iterate on the product such that it actually leads to a win for users.

Example: When we were building a Jobs Marketplace app, in the first week of launch we received feedback that in one of our secondary ‘posting a job’ flows, the CTA button had the text: ‘Add a Company’ - this was confusing users. Users were looking to post a job and were not sure what Add a Company would do. Instead of fixing bugs - we first simply changed the text on the CTA button.

Communication Strategy

Keep early users updated on fixes and improvements
Show appreciation for their feedback
Document changes in a simple changelog
Share progress updates on social media

Very quickly you will realize that all that planning and documentation that you did in the first phase, seems a little less structured once users start giving you feedback and potentially you start executing upon it. And this is where a pro starts to differ from a first-time founder - while it's great to make changes, get them deployed, and solve the user problem immediately - it's even more important that you can keep track of all the changes you are making and the rationale behind them. Without a process to make changes, you’ll realize that literally within weeks (let alone months), all your wireframes are potentially no-longer relevant. Please avoid this challenge. Take out the time to document and keep things explainable - this will help you build clarity on what your product needs and what it doesn't need.

Post-Launch Success Strategy

Once you're receiving consistent positive feedback, it's time to scale:

Marketing Expansion

Increase ad spend on channels that work
Start content marketing (blog posts about your journey on Bubble.io)
Engage with relevant online communities
Consider partnerships with complementary services

This might take time (and likely will - everything doesn't get solved in Week 1). We encourage you to be patient and keep iterating on the content, messaging, and channels - until you’ve got customers consistently loving your product, we recommend being patient rather than expanding marketing.

Growth Optimization

Set up proper analytics tracking
Monitor key metrics:
- User acquisition cost
- User retention rate
- Time spent in app
- Core feature usage
A/B test different user onboarding flows

Now, once you’ve got the marketing and product side nailed, its important to start building the foundations for you to manage scale. Its only at the time when you have either thousands of users on the platform (at least weekly) or are generating thousands of dollars of revenue (at least monthly) that you should consider setting up analytics and KPI measurement systems.

Technical Scaling

Optimize your Bubble.io app for performance
Set up proper database indexing
Implement caching strategies
Monitor app performance metrics

And once you’ve got these thousands of users on the platform, its not time to start worrying about the technical debt you might have accumulated to get to where you are. This is the time to start obsessing over app performance and implementing advanced dev strategies that can help you scale your products to the next tens of thousands of users.

Post-Launch Success Strategy

Once you're receiving consistent positive feedback, it's time to scale:

Marketing Expansion

Increase ad spend on channels that work
Start content marketing (blog posts about your journey on Bubble.io)
Engage with relevant online communities
Consider partnerships with complementary services

This might take time (and likely will - everything doesn't get solved in Week 1). We encourage you to be patient and keep iterating on the content, messaging, and channels - until you’ve got customers consistently loving your product, we recommend being patient rather than expanding marketing.

Growth Optimization

Set up proper analytics tracking
Monitor key metrics:
- User acquisition cost
- User retention rate
- Time spent in app
- Core feature usage
A/B test different user onboarding flows

Now, once you’ve got the marketing and product side nailed, its important to start building the foundations for you to manage scale. Its only at the time when you have either thousands of users on the platform (at least weekly) or are generating thousands of dollars of revenue (at least monthly) that you should consider setting up analytics and KPI measurement systems.

Technical Scaling

Optimize your Bubble.io app for performance
Set up proper database indexing
Implement caching strategies
Monitor app performance metrics

And once you’ve got these thousands of users on the platform, its not time to start worrying about the technical debt you might have accumulated to get to where you are. This is the time to start obsessing over app performance and implementing advanced dev strategies that can help you scale your products to the next tens of thousands of users.

Post-Launch Success Strategy

Once you're receiving consistent positive feedback, it's time to scale:

Marketing Expansion

Increase ad spend on channels that work
Start content marketing (blog posts about your journey on Bubble.io)
Engage with relevant online communities
Consider partnerships with complementary services

This might take time (and likely will - everything doesn't get solved in Week 1). We encourage you to be patient and keep iterating on the content, messaging, and channels - until you’ve got customers consistently loving your product, we recommend being patient rather than expanding marketing.

Growth Optimization

Set up proper analytics tracking
Monitor key metrics:
- User acquisition cost
- User retention rate
- Time spent in app
- Core feature usage
A/B test different user onboarding flows

Now, once you’ve got the marketing and product side nailed, its important to start building the foundations for you to manage scale. Its only at the time when you have either thousands of users on the platform (at least weekly) or are generating thousands of dollars of revenue (at least monthly) that you should consider setting up analytics and KPI measurement systems.

Technical Scaling

Optimize your Bubble.io app for performance
Set up proper database indexing
Implement caching strategies
Monitor app performance metrics

And once you’ve got these thousands of users on the platform, its not time to start worrying about the technical debt you might have accumulated to get to where you are. This is the time to start obsessing over app performance and implementing advanced dev strategies that can help you scale your products to the next tens of thousands of users.

Key Takeaways

Launch fast but launch smart - spend those crucial 2-4 days testing thoroughly
Personal outreach and direct feedback are gold in the early days
Don't be afraid to iterate quickly based on user feedback
Start with a small marketing budget and scale what works
Monitor and optimize performance as you grow

Helpful Resources

Bubble.io Documentation - For technical optimization
User Testing - For user feedback
Hotjar - For user behavior tracking
Google Analytics - For tracking metrics
Notion Templates - For organizing feedback and tasks

Remember: A successful launch isn't about being perfect - it's about being present, listening to your users, and iterating quickly. The beauty of building with no-code platforms like Bubble.io is that you can make changes rapidly based on real user feedback.

Key Takeaways

Launch fast but launch smart - spend those crucial 2-4 days testing thoroughly
Personal outreach and direct feedback are gold in the early days
Don't be afraid to iterate quickly based on user feedback
Start with a small marketing budget and scale what works
Monitor and optimize performance as you grow

Helpful Resources

Bubble.io Documentation - For technical optimization
User Testing - For user feedback
Hotjar - For user behavior tracking
Google Analytics - For tracking metrics
Notion Templates - For organizing feedback and tasks

Remember: A successful launch isn't about being perfect - it's about being present, listening to your users, and iterating quickly. The beauty of building with no-code platforms like Bubble.io is that you can make changes rapidly based on real user feedback.

Key Takeaways

Launch fast but launch smart - spend those crucial 2-4 days testing thoroughly
Personal outreach and direct feedback are gold in the early days
Don't be afraid to iterate quickly based on user feedback
Start with a small marketing budget and scale what works
Monitor and optimize performance as you grow

Helpful Resources

Bubble.io Documentation - For technical optimization
User Testing - For user feedback
Hotjar - For user behavior tracking
Google Analytics - For tracking metrics
Notion Templates - For organizing feedback and tasks

Remember: A successful launch isn't about being perfect - it's about being present, listening to your users, and iterating quickly. The beauty of building with no-code platforms like Bubble.io is that you can make changes rapidly based on real user feedback.

Turning your App Development to a Successful Launch in 2025

Turning your App Development to a Successful Launch in 2025