Stop Designing Your Web Application for Millions of Users When You Don’t Even Have 100
by darren horrocksIt’s easy to get carried away when you’re building a new web app. You’ve got big ideas, you picture millions of users flocking to your platform, and you start imagining the kind of infrastructure needed to handle all that traffic. So, you build for scale from day one—optimising databases, setting up powerful servers, and ensuring everything is robust enough for massive growth.
But hold on a second. If you don’t even have 100 users yet, designing your app for millions is a massive overreach. In fact, it’s probably holding you back more than helping. Here’s why you should focus on the here and now, and stop worrying about a future that may be a long way off.
You Don’t Actually Know What You Need Yet
When you’re just starting out, you’re making a lot of guesses. You think you know what your users will want and how they’ll use your app, but the reality might be completely different. If you design your app to handle millions of users before you’ve even got your first 100, you’re making decisions based on assumptions rather than real data.
Your priority should be to build something people want to use. Once you’ve got a solid user base, you’ll have a much better idea of what kind of scaling you’ll actually need. For now, focus on building a product that meets the needs of your first users.
Over-Engineering Wastes Precious Time
In the early days, time is your most valuable resource. Spending weeks—or even months—perfecting infrastructure that won’t be needed for a while is time you’re not spending on more important things, like building features, improving the user experience, and getting feedback.
You don’t need a super-scalable solution from day one. You need something that works well for the users you have right now. You can always optimise for scale later on, but right now your focus should be on delivering value quickly.
Scaling Early Means Unnecessary Costs
Designing your app for millions of users is not just time-consuming, it’s also expensive. Building infrastructure for scale means investing in servers, databases, and cloud services that you don’t really need yet. These costs can quickly add up, and they’re not likely to pay off anytime soon if your user base is still in the double digits.
Wouldn’t that money be better spent on marketing, product development, or customer acquisition? Scaling infrastructure can wait until your user numbers justify it.
Speed and Flexibility Are Key
At this stage, what you need most is the ability to iterate quickly. You’re still figuring out exactly what your users want, and you’ll probably need to make lots of changes along the way. If you’ve built a complex, scalable system, even small changes can become a headache.
Keep things simple so that when you get feedback from users, you can adjust quickly. Flexibility is crucial in the early stages, and over-engineering makes you less nimble.
Your Future Problems Will Be Different
Even if you hit the jackpot and end up with millions of users, the challenges you face at that point will be very different from the ones you’re imagining now. The way your app works today will likely evolve, and you won’t really know what those future challenges look like until you get there.
So why waste time trying to solve problems you haven’t even encountered yet? Focus on the problems you do have—like finding product-market fit and getting your first few users through the door.
Scaling When You Need To Is Easier Than You Think
The good news is that scaling isn’t as hard as it used to be. Cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure make it easier than ever to add resources when you need them. You don’t need to be ready for millions of users from the start because modern infrastructure can scale up when the time comes.
When you hit that growth spurt, you’ll have tools available to scale quickly. Until then, keep your setup simple and cost-effective.
User Experience Matters More Than Scale
No one’s going to care how scalable your app is if it’s not enjoyable to use. If your early users are running into bugs, confusing interfaces, or missing features, it won’t matter how many servers you’ve got ready to handle millions more.
Your top priority right now should be creating a product that people love. The smoother and more enjoyable their experience, the more likely they are to stick around—and tell others about it. Get the basics right first, and worry about scale later.
In Summary: Build for Now, Not for “Someday”
When you’re just starting out, it’s tempting to prepare for a massive influx of users. But designing for scale when you’re still trying to get your first 100 users is overkill. It wastes time, money, and energy that could be better spent on improving your product and growing your user base.
Right now, your focus should be on creating something people want, shipping quickly, and learning from your users. If millions of users come down the line, you’ll be ready for them—but you don’t need to be ready today.
Build for the present, and let the future take care of itself when it arrives.