Get a Beta Start

June 01, 2004

Many companies’ products, google’s gmail, amazon’s a9.com, tribe.net, are choosing to launch their products beta these days. I recently had a project (Original Version is located here, see my “Web Design Horror Story” for more info), myself, launch beta this past week. Many factors sometimes can influence why a product should be launched to the public in beta. Fellow web designer Jason Fried, of 37 signals, and I were fortunate enough to contribute to a Wired article by Daniel Terdiman discussing this very topic. This topic got me thinking more about the advantages of launching an online product to the public in beta. It reminds me a bit of preseason football. You can test out new plays, new players, or strategies in preseason play. Public beta launches also allow you to test out the market, the people that use your product, and receive public feedback. Plus, if something goes wrong, it is just preseason, it won’t count against you. Some of the advantages I see with public betas are:

• It gives people a chance to give feedback on a product. (benefits of feedback)
• It allows you to test the market of the product to see if it is really worth the investment.
• You get real results fast from actual people, not just testers.
• It provides a better transition for people from previous versions to a next one.

In the end, beta product launches can certainly make your product ‘beta’.