I was building Crowdwide, a social media platform I started working on on 9 Sept 2026 (the day I created the GitHub repo).
That was the day when it was at 0, and now, after 1 month and 10 days, it has lots of features and 11 users!!
But I noticed that users are there, but they barely come back.
So I decided to focus on getting users now.
so what new did i change to achieve this in crowdwide?
there was no common social media feature left to implement at this point!!
so now i just thought that i should call the users back by notifications.
i implemented these:
After 24 hours away: a community question they can answer. It picks an open question that matches their interests and has few replies. If none exists, it sends Today's Question.
After 3 days: the most active discussion matching their interests, plus a line on what's new this week (new posts, members, communities).
After 7 days: a last "what you missed" note with replies, likes, and new followers on their posts, plus top posts. It says it's the last reminder.
Channels: each goes by email, by push if they have push notifications turned on, and as a notification waiting in the app. If there's nothing worth saying, nothing is sent.
and these were for when the user isn't coming back, but if the user comes back, what will he do??
like no task??
so i came up with that... that i should give him some task, like answering any question. not a maths or physics question lol.
i mean a funny, short, concise question.
and u will be able to answer other people's questions too!!
also, the Privacy page now mentions the reminders.
thinking of adding more things now... maybe today you'll see something like streaks and badges... that's under development right now!!
reddit...
also, to get ideas for getting more users, i was checking out other similar platforms that match Crowdwide's category.
like reddit!!
and idk why this happens only to me.
i was on reddit, opened a page on r/startupideaindia, and saw a post from a user saying that he was a tea seller who wanted to get more buyers but wasn't very professional.
he wanted a B2B setup, but he didn't have enough funding and was self-funded, so he was asking for advice and tips.
i commented below with something like:
create hype or try something unique.
like, with tea, provide unique-looking cups or teabags that look normal but show a beautiful picture when dipped in tea.
also, if you're targeting indian people, give them something special on festivals.
like diwali special cups.
india is a price-sensitive market. make them feel like they paid less and got more!!
and they just removed my content, ngl. it was written by me 1000%.
WHYYYY???
so i decided to never implement any useless algorithm on Crowdwide like reddit, which does this.
and while posting the comment, they said i had to wait 3 minutes. i waited 3 mins, then posted it and...
they just removed it for no reason!!
but i also wanted to know how these bots work.
should i implement something like this on Crowdwide??
but fine!!
i don't need bots on Crowdwide.
less users but real users!!
Links:
🌐 Live website: https://www.crowdwide.run.place/
💻 GitHub repository: https://github.com/DeveloperPuneet/Crowdwide
Top comments (16)
Day 17 is where the real product work begins, brother! 🐯🚀
Acquisition gets the glory, but retention is where the empire is actually built. If you are focusing on bringing users back, it means you care about the long-term value, not just vanity metrics.
Keep pushing, Puneet. Let me know if you need any fresh angles or quotes for the next Off Radar issue. We help each other win!
Thank you so much, brother! 🙌 Absolutely agree that retention is where the real growth happens. Really appreciate the support!
Also, bro, could you please approve my application form in the Mod Panel for community monetization? I built a system in Crowdwide where mods and admins can’t approve or moderate their own posts, and that’s why I can’t approve my own application either lol. 😭
On it, brother! 🐯🔧
I am heading to the Mod Panel right now to approve that monetization application. And honestly, the fact that you built a system where mods can't approve their own posts is brilliant. That is exactly the kind of anti-abuse, conflict-of-interest logic that keeps communities healthy and trustworthy.
Application approved! Let's keep building and bringing those users back. We help each other win! 🙌
Brooo, thank you so much! 🐯 Really appreciate you taking the time to approve it! Glad you like the anti-abuse system too We're all learning and building together. Let's keep pushing and make our projects successful!
Anytime, brother! 🐯🤝
That is exactly what it's all about. We learn, we build, and we win together. Your anti-abuse logic proves you are thinking like a true platform owner, and that’s going to pay off huge for Crowdwide.
Keep pushing on Day 17 and beyond. I’m rooting for you, and I’ll be right here cheering you on (and featuring those wins in Off Radar!).
Let's make it happen! 🚀
Thanks again, brother! 🤝 And thanks for putting Crowdwide in the queue for the Off Radar newsletter. Really appreciate you giving it a chance to be featured! Let's keep building, learning, and growing together. 🐯🔥
Day 17 and already working on bringing people back instead of building feature number fifty. That puts you ahead of most of us, honestly. The rule I liked most is sending nothing when there is nothing worth saying. Most apps would rather spam than stay quiet, and then people mute them forever. One question though. Of your 11 users, how many have come back even once without any notification? That number is small but it is the real one. Everything else is just reminding people who already left.
Thanks, Ali! 🙌 That's a really good point.
Out of 12 users, around 7–9 come back in a typical week, mostly through notifications. Around 3–4 users come back without any notification, which is roughly 25–33% of all users. I'm trying to understand how to increase that organic return rate.
I've finished building the core features of Crowdwide, and now I'm focusing on smaller improvements like performance, user-retention emails, badges, and other engagement improvements.
One thing I'm considering is introducing a wider variety of content so users have more things to explore and more opportunities to interact with each other.
Do you have any specific ideas I could implement to improve organic retention? I'd love to hear your thoughts on what might actually make users want to open Crowdwide on their own, without needing a notification.
11 users in 40 days, building alone, is a real start. The 24h, 3-day and 7-day reminders with "send nothing if there's nothing worth saying" is smart, most apps skip that rule and get muted. One thought before streaks and badges: message a few of the 11 and ask why they stopped coming back. I'm collecting tester feedback on my own side project this week and it's already changed what I'm building next.
Thanks for the suggestion! 🙌 Actually, around 7–9 of those 11 users come back every week. I've also collected their feedback, and they suggested adding more variety of content and bringing in more users so there's more to explore and more opportunities to interact. That's what I'm focusing on next.
I'd love to hear your perspective, too! Have you come across any out-of-the-box ideas for improving user retention and engagement? Also, what specific approach are you using for your own side project to get users and keep them engaged? Would be great to learn from your experience!
Day 17 and shipping the bring-them-back reminders is the right move at 11 users. Free offer while you are in growth mode: run your live site through the quick check at shipmark.co. The one thing we would look at first is your signup path, tested signed out in a private window, since every reminder you just built points a returning or new visitor straight at that door. Takes about a minute, and the worst finding shows up first.
Thanks for the suggestion! 🙌 I ran Crowdwide through Shipmark, and it gave me a score of 100 with no issues found in the checks it ran. I'll still test the signup flow manually to make sure everything works smoothly for new users, especially in a private window. Appreciate the recommendation!
Day 17 wow!!
Haha we’ve already unlocked Day 17, but I guess the journey is moving faster than the episode count! 😂 Thanks for following along!
Good luck!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thank youuu!! 🔥 Let’s see where this journey goes 😂