My side project hit 1000 users and now I'm scared to touch it

I mean, I built this little tool for myself to track freelance invoices, just a simple web app. I threw it online maybe 6 months ago thinking a few friends might use it. I checked the stats last week and it's at 1,042 active users. It's not making money, it's just running on a cheap server. But now I'm stuck. The code is messy, and I want to add new features, but I'm terrified an update will break it for all those people who actually depend on it. Part of me wants to just leave it alone since it works, but another part knows it needs better security and maybe a paid plan to cover costs. Has anyone else had a hobby project suddenly get real users and had to decide between leaving it be or trying to grow it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_margaret11d ago

That feeling when your side project works a little too well, right? Been there with a recipe site that somehow got popular. The code was held together with digital duct tape. Honestly, making a backup and then trying small fixes on a copy might help the fear. Maybe start with the security stuff since that's important, and leave the big new features for later.

the_charlie11d agoTop Commenter

Totally feel that digital duct tape life lol. My first real project had login code so bad I'm surprised it didn't get hacked. Backing up and just poking at a copy is the only way to start, otherwise you're too scared to touch anything. Fixing one tiny security hole feels way less scary than planning a whole new feature.