How long does it usually take to upgrade your product before releasing it on Product Hunt?
After our first launch on Product Hunt, our team spent a little over a month upgrading the product. There were major changes to the UI and several new features added, so the process took time from discussions and redesigning the interface to testing, fixing bugs, and updating AI prompts.
We’re also a very small team, so everyone had to push themselves to give 200%. Time and resources are limited, and at the same time, we also had to work on securing funding for the next six months to keep the team running and continue developing the app.
It’s an intense period - everyone is focused, under pressure, and doing their best to release the best product we can. Even though we work remotely and only meet through screens, we constantly encourage each other, reflect together, and keep reminding ourselves of the bigger goal ahead.
We hope teams going through a similar journey can stay motivated and keep moving forward while building their products.
How long does it usually take you to upgrade your product after launch? And what are the biggest challenges you face during this phase?
Replies
I usually need about a month to push meaningful upgrades. For me, user feedback drives everything. The hardest part is prioritizing what to fix first. Every issue feels important but I have to stay focused on what creates the most impact.
Murror
@joseph_collins2 If resources and time are limited, we must prioritize what is most important.
We launched yesterday and we're already inundated with feature requests lol. I guess the challenge is balancing the existing planned roadmap (based on feedback from beta users) with new feedback from our latest influx of users
minimalist phone: creating folders
I think this is very individual.
If the relaunch is meant to be a major upgrade (which is one of the key conditions for a proper relaunch), it will require more time.
For example, we relaunched with a major upgrade that included a shift from Android to iOS. That process took us approximately six months.
It also depends on the size of your team. If the work is distributed among external collaborators or freelancers, you can expect the timeline to be even longer.
Murror
@busmark_w_nika That's exactly what you said, Nika.
In my experience, I spend around 4-6 weeks improving the product after launch. I focus heavily on UI fixes and small feature upgrades. My biggest struggle is limited time. I always feel there's more to improve than the hours available.
Murror
@uttam_kumar31 I understand you. It's important that we still set a timeline and list the things we need to update.
Solo founder here! I built my app with AI (no coding background), so my cycle is faster - usually 1-2 weeks for updates. Biggest challenge is doing everything alone: dev, marketing, support. But seeing users love the product makes it worth it! Good luck with your relaunch!
Murror
@virtualviki You are so cool! Can do everything by yourself. But if you're doing so many things at once, how can you ensure product quality?
@monatruong_murror I run the code through multiple AI models and ask each one for a deep audit - security issues, edge cases, performance, code structure. Then I fix all the issues they find. Different AIs catch different things, so using several gives me pretty solid coverage. Plus I test everything manually before release. It's not perfect, but it works surprisingly well! 😊
Great question. I'm actually in this exact phase right now — preparing my data tool for a PH launch. For me the biggest challenge isn't the product itself, but all the launch assets: screenshots that actually tell the story, writing a tagline that fits in 60 characters, and figuring out when good enough IS good enough. I keep wanting to add "one more feature" instead of shipping. The honest answer is probably: your product will never feel 100% ready, but the feedback you get from launching is worth more than another month of polishing in isolation.
Murror
@daniil_bulgakov We can never know what constitutes a perfect product, so we really have to launch it, get feedback, and continue to improve it.
In my experience, upgrades after launch aren’t just technical. They’re emotional.
You’re reacting to feedback, rethinking assumptions, and trying not to overcorrect. That phase can easily take a full quarter if the changes are meaningful.
Murror
@shreya_chaurasia19 As you said, if we receive a lot of feedback about significant changes, then product improvement will also take longer. But it also makes us doubt and question the product more, and the fear is that we'll be racing against time.
Having to focus on the upgrade while also securing funding is no easy feat. Congrats on being able to juggle both!
We will be making small incremental upgrades weekly as we anticipate small bugs that we will need to address right away. Because we have so many variables which we can't fully cover during the beta phase, the challenge will be to prioritize the feedback quickly and implement the improvements.
Around 3-6 weeks usually.
Hardest part is filtering feedback and not changing everything at once.