2020 Indie Dev Retrospective: Growth, Challenges, and a Whole Lot of Coffee

Ah, 2020. The year the world collectively decided to try a giant, unplanned remote work experiment. For us indie devs, already accustomed to the solitude of our home offices (or, let's be honest, the nearest coffee shop with reliable Wi-Fi), the pandemic presented a unique set of challenges and, surprisingly, opportunities. Let's dive into a brutally honest retrospective of my indie dev journey through that bizarre year.

The Unexpected Boom

Frankly, at the start of 2020, I was terrified. My main project, a niche productivity web app for distributed teams, was just starting to gain traction. The initial lockdowns threatened to strangle it in its crib. Who would need another productivity app when the world was on fire?¹

Turns out, a lot of people.

As companies scrambled to adapt to remote work, the demand for tools that facilitated collaboration, communication, and task management exploded. My little web app, built on a shoestring budget with a Node.js backend and a React frontend, found itself perfectly positioned to capture some of that demand.

My user base tripled in the first few months of the pandemic. Vercel bills went through the roof, and I frantically optimized database queries to keep the app from collapsing under the increased load. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

The Stress Test: Scaling (and Almost Failing)

Scaling is always a pain, right? You think you've planned for every contingency, but real-world usage always finds the weak spots in your architecture. Here's where things got real:

• Database Bottlenecks: My initial PostgreSQL database setup, hosted on a small DigitalOcean droplet, quickly became the bottleneck. I spent several sleep-deprived nights migrating to a managed PostgreSQL instance on AWS, learning about connection pooling and query optimization the hard way.
• Frontend Performance: As the user base grew, the initial React codebase, written in a rush to get to market, started to show its age. I had to refactor several key components to improve rendering performance and reduce bundle size. I experimented with code splitting and lazy loading, which helped significantly, but it was still a constant battle.
• Support Overload: More users meant more support requests. I quickly realized I couldn't handle everything myself. I started documenting common issues and creating a knowledge base, which helped reduce the support load, but it was still a significant time sink.

Honestly, there were moments when I thought the whole thing would crumble. I definitely came close to burnout.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (aka Leveraging Open Source)

During this period of frantic scaling, I truly came to appreciate the power of open-source software. Here's a few tools that saved my bacon:

• Sentry: Error tracking and monitoring. This was essential for identifying and fixing bugs in production. Frankly, without it, I'd have been flying completely blind.
• Redis: Caching and session management. Redis helped me significantly improve the performance of the web app by caching frequently accessed data and managing user sessions efficiently.
• React Query (now TanStack Query): Data fetching and state management. This library simplified data fetching and caching on the frontend, making the app more responsive and performant.

I also started using more managed services like Vercel for deployment and Netlify for static content hosting. These services significantly reduced the operational overhead and allowed me to focus on building features and improving the user experience.

The Rise of No-Code (and My Skepticism)

2020 was also the year that no-code platforms started to gain serious traction. Tools like Bubble, Webflow, and Zapier promised to democratize software development and empower non-technical users to build their own applications.

While I appreciate the potential of no-code tools, I remain skeptical about their limitations for complex applications. For simple marketing websites or basic automation tasks, they're fantastic. But for anything that requires custom logic, complex data models, or high performance, I still prefer the flexibility and control of traditional code. That being said, I did use Zapier to automate a few tasks like sending welcome emails and creating support tickets. It was incredibly useful for that!

What I Learned (and What I'd Do Differently)

Looking back, 2020 was a year of intense growth and learning. Here are some key takeaways:

• Invest in infrastructure early: Don't wait until you're drowning in traffic to optimize your database and backend architecture. Plan for scalability from the beginning.
• Document everything: Create a comprehensive knowledge base for your users and internal documentation for yourself. This will save you countless hours in the long run.
• Embrace automation: Automate as many tasks as possible, from deployment to customer support. This will free up your time to focus on the things that really matter.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help: The indie dev community is incredibly supportive. Don't hesitate to reach out for advice and support when you're stuck.
• Take care of yourself: Burnout is a real threat. Make sure to take breaks, exercise, and spend time with loved ones. Your mental and physical health are essential for your long-term success.

If I could go back and do things differently, I would have:

• Hired help sooner: I waited too long to bring on additional support, which put a lot of unnecessary stress on myself.
• Focused more on marketing: I spent too much time focusing on development and not enough time on marketing and user acquisition.
• Implemented better monitoring and alerting: I could have caught some performance issues earlier if I had better monitoring and alerting in place.

The Road Ahead

2020 was a wild ride, and it taught me a lot about myself, my business, and the power of the indie dev community. While the pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, it also created new opportunities for indie developers to thrive. By embracing remote work, leveraging open-source tools, and focusing on building valuable products, we can create a sustainable and fulfilling career as indie developers.

The world has changed, and the future of work is here. I'm excited to see what the future holds for the indie dev community. Frankly, I think we are perfectly positioned to build the tools and services that will shape the future.

So, that's my brutally honest 2020 indie dev retrospective. What about you? What were your biggest challenges and successes during that year? What tools and strategies helped you thrive? I'm genuinely curious to hear your stories. Share your insights on your blog, Twitter, or wherever you connect with the dev community. Maybe even tell me about a cool tool you've built that helped you through 2020. Sharing our experiences is how we all learn and grow together!