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Solo developer of a productivity app for the Mac for quite a number of years now. Yes, desktop apps are still very relevant and at least on the Mac, plenty of p

Solo developer of a productivity app for the Mac for quite a number of years now. Yes, desktop apps are still very relevant and at least on the Mac, plenty of people willing to pay good money (unlike, say, the mobile market). Whether to go desktop or web really depends on the application itself. Don't try and shoehorn it into one or the other. Ultimately, you'll need to find the right niche. Like in most industries, most people will fail (you usually don't hear their stories) and success will most likely not be immediate. Doing things solo is tough so some general advice: - You are going to be wearing many different hats but if you can afford it, contract out what you don't do well (like design, for many programmers). - You have fewer resources but also a lower bottom line. Don't expand without taking that into account, not just for the moment, but for the long term. It will affect how desperate you get with your revenue model. - Don't undercharge (especially if you go desktop). As mentioned, people still appreciate the value of desktop software. Probably a lot more but those are the main ones plus I have support emails to deal with.

SyneRyder 10y ago
> Don't undercharge (especially if you go desktop). This is incredibly important advice! Marketing & actually finding customers is the hardest part of the business, so if you only need a few customers, you'll be way ahead of the pack. I know someone who is selling a Photoshop Plugin for $100 and seems to be doing okay from it, even though that's more than the price of Photoshop Elements itself! If your product is valuable enough to your customer, they'll pay for it. If they're earning $100/hour & your product saves them even two hours of work, it's a no-brainer. > ... plus I have support emails to deal with. Don't forget this when considering your pricing. Some percentage of your customers will always need support, and you need to account for all those 15 minute blocks where you're helping people. If you're selling a $2 app, a single support email wipes out your earnings from several sales.

SyneRyder 10y ago

> Don't undercharge (especially if you go desktop). This is incredibly important advice! Marketing & actually finding customers is the hardest part of the business, so if you only need a few customers, you'll be way ahead of the pack. I know someone who is selling a Photoshop Plugin for $100 and seems to be doing okay from it, even though that's more than the price of Photoshop Elements itself! If your product is valuable enough to your customer, they'll pay for it. If they're earning $100/hour & your product saves them even two hours of work, it's a no-brainer. > ... plus I have support emails to deal with. Don't forget this when considering your pricing. Some percentage of your customers will always need support, and you need to account for all those 15 minute blocks where you're helping people. If you're selling a $2 app, a single support email wipes out your earnings from several sales.