Ask HN: Is open sourcing my side project a good way to get traction?

[iwaffles]

So I've been building something and thinking that open sourcing it might be a good way to get more traction. I've followed the progress of Ghost and Wordpress and they both are doing well. There are also a few other tools that I use which have become open sourced recently.

Personally, I'm more inclined to be interested in an open source project than a closed sourced one, even if I pay for it to be hosted elsewhere.

I'm curious if anyone here has had experiences with this. Has anyone noticed if open sourcing projects helped gain traction?

[ecesena]

I think if you want traction, then you should focus on marketing your project first, and make it very easy to try it out and say "wow".

Open source can be a strategy in your marketing plan, but just having code on github won't get you users. If you can share more about the project, maybe the community can give you more ideas on the marketing strategies.

A Show HN is a good start and, for example, you don't even link your project in your hn profile.

[dstik]

Agree with ecesena's advice above.

While there are lots of benefits to open-sourcing your project, there are also additional considerations to note. Generally, in order to create a successful open source project, you'll be adding a ton of additional work to your plate and greatly increase the scope of your side project. This is a non-exhaustive list, but off the top of my mind.. You'll want to add documentation your code/flows, set some general rules around contributions (code style, pull-request formatting, etc), be responsive to developers who jump in to help and have questions. Also, try to make your README as detailed, instructive, and organized as possible. Couldn't hurt to share some call outs for areas where you're looking for the most help as well.

Some other general advice: show why/how your project is a better solution to a given problem than other options in the market. It might also help to identify potential customers and help them integrate your project - see if they'd be willing to contribute and/or sponsor some development.

Good luck!