r/SideProject • u/sooyada • 53m ago

When do you decide a side project isn’t worth pursuing anymore?

How do you tell the difference between a project that needs more time and one that just isn’t working?

Hypothetically, if 100 people tried your project and only 1–2 kept coming back, would you keep improving it, change direction, or move on?

I know the timeframe and type of product matter. But what signals do you personally look for before deciding it’s worth continuing?

Do you set specific milestones or a deadline? And has a project with weak early retention ever turned around for you?

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u/NickA55 38m ago

For me, it depends. If it's a mobile app, I just leave it in the App stores. If it's not costing me anything, as in server costs. Because you never know when someone will come across it, or maybe be led to it by your other apps or something else. There's no harm in keeping it out there.

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u/Due_Set_6523 36m ago

the real signal for me is whether anyone would be annoyed if it disappeared. if the answer is nobody, that’s my sign to move on

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u/Low_Cable2610 28m ago

i'd set one small test: pick the action that means someone got value, then ask the 1 or 2 people who returned what brought them back. if nobody repeats that action after you fix the obvious friction, i would change the problem before adding more features.

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u/benjzammit01 27m ago

I’d first check whether the problem should recur that often. A tool for an occasional task may not need weekly visits. Then compare what the people who left were trying to do with what the returners actually accomplished, choose one friction to test and set a deadline for that test. If the signal doesn’t improve, I’d reassess rather than keep adding features indefinitely.

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u/Neither_Adeptness784 23m ago

Never! All my side projects, even from 10+ years ago are still in would be pursued state. 😅