Why Your Vibe-Coded App Has Zero Users (And How to Fix It)

Building the app was the easy part. You described what you wanted, the AI generated it, you iterated on the design, and now it works. You deployed it somewhere, shared the link with a few friends, and then... nothing.

This is the most common outcome for vibe-coded apps. Not failure — silence. The app doesn't crash. It doesn't get bad reviews. It just sits there, fully functional, with zero users.

The problem isn't the app. It's everything that comes after building it.

Why building feels like progress (but isn't)

Vibe coding creates a dangerous illusion: because building is fast, it feels like you're almost done. You spent a weekend building something that would have taken a team months. Surely launching is the easy part?

It isn't. Building and launching are completely different skills. AI tools handle the first one. Nobody handles the second one for you.

Most vibe coders keep building after their app works. They add features, polish the UI, refactor code, add a dark mode. Every prompt feels productive. But none of it creates users.

The uncomfortable truth is that an ugly app with 100 users is more valuable than a polished app with none.

The distribution problem

Your app has no built-in distribution. Unlike a tweet or a video, a web app doesn't spread on its own. Nobody stumbles across it. Nobody recommends it to a friend unless they've actually used it and found it valuable.

Distribution has to be built deliberately. Here's what that looks like for a vibe-coded app.

Step 1: Make the app findable

Before you promote anything, your app needs a front door that search engines and humans can discover.

A landing page that explains the value. Not a login screen. Not a dashboard. A page that tells a stranger what your app does, who it's for, and why they should care. This page should load fast, work on mobile, and have a clear call to action.

Basic SEO. A title tag, meta description, and Open Graph image for every page. A sitemap. Google Search Console set up and verified. This takes an hour and pays off for months.

Analytics. You need to know if people are visiting and what they're doing. Install PostHog, Plausible, or even just Google Analytics. Without data, you're guessing.

If your app was built with Lovable, Bolt, or v0, there's a good chance it deployed without any of this. The AI generates the app, not the marketing. Our production checklist covers the launch readiness steps most AI tools skip.

Step 2: Find your first 10 users manually

Don't try to scale before you have proof that anyone cares. Your first 10 users should come from direct, manual outreach.

Talk to people who have the problem your app solves. Not friends. Not family. People who are actively looking for a solution. Find them on Reddit, in Discord servers, in Twitter threads, on Indie Hackers. Read what they're complaining about and show them what you built.

The message should be specific. Not "check out my app" but "I saw you're struggling with X — I built something that does Y, would you try it and tell me what you think?" People respond to specificity. Generic pitches get ignored.

Ask for feedback, not signups. The goal with your first 10 users isn't growth. It's learning. Do they understand what the app does? Do they use the features you expected? Do they come back? What's confusing?

Step 3: Pick one channel and go deep

The biggest mistake is trying to be everywhere. You post on Twitter, Reddit, Product Hunt, Indie Hackers, LinkedIn, and Hacker News in the same week. You get a handful of visits from each and no traction from any.

Pick one channel where your target users already spend time:

Reddit works if your app solves a specific problem that has an active subreddit. Don't post "I built this." Answer questions, be genuinely helpful, and mention your app when it's relevant. Build karma before you promote.

Twitter/X works if you can build in public. Share what you're building, what you learned, what broke. The vibe coding community on Twitter is active and supportive. Document the journey, not just the product.

Product Hunt works for a single day of concentrated traffic. It's not a growth strategy, it's a launch event. Save it for when your app is polished and you've built some initial audience. For a full walkthrough, see our Product Hunt launch guide.

Indie Hackers works if you're building a business, not just a project. Share revenue, decisions, and lessons learned. The community values transparency over polish.

SEO/content works if you're willing to invest 2–3 months before seeing results. Write articles that solve the same problem your app solves. The articles bring people in; the app converts them.

Step 4: Launch properly

Most vibe-coded apps don't launch. They just... appear. The founder deploys, shares the link in a Slack channel, and hopes for the best. That's not a launch.

A launch is a coordinated event:

Pick a date. Having a deadline forces you to stop building and start shipping.
Prepare assets. Screenshots, a demo video (even a 30-second Loom), a clear description of what it does and who it's for.
Build a waitlist or audience first. Even 50 email addresses give you a launch day audience. A landing page with an email signup takes minutes to build.
Launch on one platform with full effort. Product Hunt, Hacker News, or a relevant subreddit. Not all three on the same day.
Follow up. The launch isn't over on day one. Respond to every comment. Email every signup. Ask for feedback. The first week after launch matters more than launch day.

Step 5: Measure and iterate

After your first 50–100 users, you'll have enough data to make real decisions:

Where are people dropping off? If they visit the landing page but don't sign up, the messaging is wrong. If they sign up but don't use the app, the onboarding is broken.
What features do people actually use? You probably built 10 features. Two of them drive 80% of the value. Find those two and make them better.
Are people coming back? Retention matters more than acquisition. If nobody uses the app twice, more marketing won't help.

The features that actually drive users

Before you go back to vibe coding more features, make sure these basics are in place:

A fast, clear landing page. This is your most important page. It should load in under 2 seconds, explain what the app does in one sentence, and have one clear call to action.

Onboarding that shows value fast. New users should see the core value of your app within 60 seconds of signing up. If it takes 10 minutes of setup before they see why the app exists, most will leave.

Email capture. Even a simple "enter your email for updates" gives you a direct channel to users. You can't build a business on app visits alone.

Social proof. Even one testimonial, one screenshot of someone using the app, or one "X users signed up this week" counter. People need evidence that other humans trust what you built.

Common mistakes

Premature optimisation. Don't spend weeks on performance tuning, advanced caching, or load testing when you have 3 users. Fix security issues first — here's the checklist — then focus on getting people in the door.

Building instead of talking. Every hour spent prompting your AI tool is an hour not spent talking to potential users. After launch, the ratio should flip: 30% building, 70% distribution.

Ignoring the unsexy work. SEO, email, content, community engagement — none of this is as fun as building features. But it's what creates users. The app is the product. The marketing is the business.

Waiting until it's perfect. Your app will never be perfect. Launch when it solves one problem well enough that someone would miss it if it disappeared.

Getting help

If your app works but isn't ready for real users — security gaps, no error handling, no monitoring — fix that first. No amount of marketing helps if the app crashes when users show up.

Score your app against our production readiness checklist to see where you stand. If you need help closing the gaps, tell us about your project and we'll send a scoped proposal within 48 hours.