Developer Products

I’ve built and worked on products for developers, and a few things have become clear to me.

1. Open source

Developers like to understand what they are using.

Open source makes it easier to learn, debug, contribute, and trust a product.

You don't always need to open everything, but transparency matters.

Developers want to try a product before talking to sales.

A free tier or a simple trial removes friction and lets people see if the product actually works for them.

Let the product speak for itself.

Good documentation can be the difference between someone trying your product and leaving it.

Keep it simple. Show real examples. Answer real questions.

Write for beginners, but don't waste the time of experienced developers.

When something goes wrong, developers want useful answers.

Support should understand the product and the problem, not just follow a script.

The shorter the path from a question to a solution, the better.

Don't just build a product and wait for developers to come to you.

Go where they already are. GitHub, X, Reddit, Discord, meetups, and other communities.

Listen, contribute, and help.

Community isn't a marketing channel. It's a long-term relationship.

Build products developers can understand.

Make them easy to try.

Document them well.

Listen to the people using them.

And be part of the community you're building for.