When is it time to come out of “Beta”?
I’ve stumbled across this scenario on a few websites I frequent, most prominent of these being Google Calendar. Google Calendar has been in Beta for at least a year and that seems odd to me. Google obviously does not need any press regarding it’s growth from Beta to a full-launch, but your site might.
We are working on a few projects which will be in Beta, but we have never been a fan of labeling things as such. Yes it gives you a crutch to stand on when something breaks, but you can easily explain to your users that you are just getting started and bugs are bound to appear. Beta is a fun way of getting some light press and that is perfectly fine, but work your way out of Beta and get a second round of press when you are in full-launch. You may as well make a point of moving out of Beta since you made the point of starting in Beta!
Speaking of using “Beta” to your advantage: instead of throwing the word “Beta” in your logo, use Beta Codes or a Beta Login to show a limited group of people what you have going on. This gives people a sense of value when they have a code and are one of the privileged who can access your website. This also serves as a kick in the butt to open your website to the masses and move out of Beta when you are ready.
July 7th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I agree that the beta designation is often used when it’s not needed (especially when it was trendy to do so), but when software really IS in beta, the label does serve as a good way to warn users that things are still being ironed out. It’s become a sort of standard that users know to look for.
When I first launched WriteMaps, it was a public beta. At first, the site didn’t have much to let people know that it was in beta, though I did have version details on lesser-travelled pages. It wasn’t long before a user wrote in with a bug and complained that I hadn’t properly notified him that the service was in beta (he also requested that I add a qualifier to the logo). The bug itself wasn’t critical, but I assume he would have used the site a little more cautiously had he known. I think he made a good point.
Private betas have their place, but public beta testing can be really helpful too. Despite what you can simulate in testing, it seems that sometimes a public, traffic-heavy beta round is the best way to work the kinks out of an app. Plus it lets people in on the magic a little early; even when an app isn’t ready for prime time.
To your point though: when WriteMaps moved beyond its beta version, I was happy to get rid of the label! :)