Why I soft launched my website

Back in November I released my new website to the world but without any kind of announcement. I just silently published the new site.

About a month later, I actually announced it.

I'd spent a long time working on my design and rebuilding my website, so why did I wait to get eyes on it?

Why did I soft launch?

First, we need to understand what that means.

What is a soft launch?

A soft launch is when you launch some kind of new product or service in secret.

It doesn't matter what is being launched however.

It could be a book, a service, or a website.

All that matters is that it is being launched in relative secrecy.

Although this does tend to be a trend that's more prevalent on, or at least due to, the web as it's easier to make a select number of users aware of the secret launch with tools like email marketing at our disposal.

But is there any benefit to it?

Why would you soft launch a product?

There's a few reasons you might launch in secret.

If you want to iron out your product and make sure that there's no flaws before you launch, using a select group of users to do so could be a great way of getting feedback early.

It could also be used to drive hype, where the secret initial users get excited about and are comfortable with your product and share it for the official release. This might help promote your product far more than just a single release would.

It could also be that there's no reason to announce your service

Should I do it?

Well that depends on your product and what you're trying to achieve.

If you only have a small group of users, you don't want to segment them down even further.

If you're confident that your product works well, you might find that a single explosive surge of initial users is better than a small trickle over time.

Its up to you which you choose, and if you think it's right for your product. Judge whether you should soft launch based on your goals and the product itself.

As for my website. I just wasn't sure it could handle all the users at once and I was right - as I almost reached my data limits on the few days when I originally launched.