5 ms·

I just made something, so how do I sell it (tool for web developers)?

5 points by sroussey 16y ago

So, now that it is too late, is there even a market for tools for developers? I've seen so many attempts fail. But if there is, how do I improve my pitch? By too late, I mean I developed an extension to Firebug and made it available for sale[1]. Very version 1, yet very useful for people using some JavaScript frameworks. But shipped. Still embarrassed by the code, so I have it minimized. I can finally start on that refactor. Well, if there is a market... I focussed my attention on ExtJS because it uses abstractions that happen to map to the DOM, rather than building the other way around. It wasn't built to fit Firebug. So this makes Firebug fit the framework. I have a sucky 60second screencast if you want to know what I mean[2]. Yes, it is silent. So that ought to be the first change, I suppose... I also used ExtJS because I knew it well, and I wanted to address my personal pain points. I added Dojo Toolkit, SproutCore, and qooxdoo in various degrees of support along the way. The jQueryUI support makes me wince, but it is something, and I have ideas on how to improve it in the future. I tried to make the site[3] simple in design, and use color in only a few places -- to draw attention to the download button, for example. I got some great quotes from Mozilla and Sencha, and posted them on the home page. I suck at copywriting and sales pitches. But I'm trying, and want to learn. Please help! Thanks! -steve-- [1] http://www.illuminations-for-developers.com/product/debugger/ [2] http://www.illuminations-for-developers.com/about/ [3] http://www.illuminations-for-developers.com/

Brian60625 16y ago
You don't. Developers would rather spend two months building their own than spending a dollar on yours. No matter how awesome. I have been there.
- sroussey 16y ago
  Yeah, I know... though it is already too late at this point. Usually I just volunteer for dev tools (I'm a contributor to Firebug).
- minalecs 16y ago
  In all honestly I don't think that is true, and would really like to see your product. As a developer unless the utility provides a huge boost in productivity ( which is relative ), or is a tool that i've been looking for a long time.. its not really worth paying for. Also developers tend to be forgiving when it comes to tools and will accept free or open source alternatives more than an average user, again unless their is a perceived huge productivity boost. For example: Firebug was such a huge boost in doing web development, they could of easily charged for this and developers would of payed.
  - sroussey 16y ago
    Maybe, but I know how much developers have donated to Firebug, and, well, I hope this does better!
- tst 16y ago
  So he should try to sell this to their CIOs?
  - sroussey 16y ago
    I like that, I just need to find them...
- dstein 16y ago
  Developers would rather spend two months building their own than spending a dollar on yours. This is a true, and somewhat unfortunate side-effect of the open source movement. The expectation that all tools be free, makes it completely unprofitable to build quality tools. And thus, makes it harder to build quality software.
  - hasenj 16y ago
    On the other hand, it made tools really cheap, so you can almost take them for granted and focus on building products for end users without worrying too much about the cost of tools.
xd 16y ago
I'm actively developing a very large scale ExtJS project and this looks awesome. Have you thought about pitching it to Sencha themselves? I just done a quick google to see if you can extend the Chrome developer tools (as this is what we use in work) and came straight across your posts asking the same question .. it's a shame you can't. But I could quite happily pick up firefox instead, if this extension works as well as it looks in the screencast.
- sroussey 16y ago
  They mentioned it at the end of the Sencha conference, back when it was in beta. Hopefully there will be more to come. BTW: I am in contact with the Chrome people, and have a start on things there... And the extension does work as well as the screencast... :) Let me know if you have an experience otherwise, and I'll fix it.
  - xd 16y ago
    Nice work. I just purchased it and will be sticking it under the other developers noses tomorrow (only two other guys and myself). Will feedback on how it fits in.
    - sroussey 16y ago
      Awesome, thanks!
cancelbubble 16y ago
Provide a free version with limited functionality. Provide a full version demo that expires in 30 days.
sroussey 16y ago
Someone on #starups mentioned that I didn't post a writeup, so here it is: http://www.illuminations-for-developers.com/blog/article/2011/01/07/48809/Introduction-to-Illuminations-for-Developers http://www.illuminations-for-developers.com/blog/article/201...
revorad 16y ago
I am working on something to help developers sell their products. Feel free to email me (in profile).