Exploring Indie Life: Creating a Public To-Do List/Roadmap

It is almost a month of working on Meshing. For the next month, I am doubling down and living and breathing mesh gradients. It is fun, but I need to make sure I am on the right track.

I want to know what users think about Meshing's current features and what they would like to see next. This feedback will help me prioritize my roadmap.

I went looking for a service that would let users comment on existing features and suggest new ones. That is when I found WishKit, a tool that makes in-app feature requests easy to manage!

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored or affiliated with WishKit. I am sharing my personal experience as an independent developer.

WishKit has a free plan which is great for indie projects just starting out. I decided to jump for the paid plan for a month to utilize it to the fullest. Here is my plan to shape Meshing's future:

1. Set up WishKit in Meshing
2. Encourage users to share their thoughts
3. Analyze the feedback
4. Let users upvote on the features
5. Create a prioritized roadmap

Setting up WishKit in Meshing

Setting up WishKit in Meshing was easier than I expected. I added WishKit to my project using SPM:

dependencies: [
  .package(url: "https://github.com/wishkit/wishkit-ios.git", branch: "main")
],
targets: [
  .target(
    name: "MeshingShared",
    dependencies: [
      .product(name: "WishKit", package: "wishkit-ios")
    ],
  )
]

Next, I got my API key from the WishKit dashboard:

Then, I initialise it in the app with the key:

@main
struct MeshingApp: App {
  @State private var hasCompletedOnboarding = false

  init () {
    WishKit.configure(with: "8D9NOC0C-6NO8-4NO8-9NO8-87NOC6FNOED6")
  }
}

The tricky part came when I decided where to put the WishKit button. I wanted it to be easy to find, especially during testing. After some thought, I added it to the main screen itself, just below Meshing AI, to scream for feedback and feature requests:

struct FeedbackButtonView: View {
  @State private var isSheetPresented = false

  var body: some View {
    Button(action: {
      isSheetPresented = true
    }) {
      Text("Feedback")
        .padding(2)
    }
    .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent)
    .sheet(isPresented: $isSheetPresented) {
      WishKit.FeedbackListView().withNavigation()
        .navigationBarTitleDisplayMode(.large)
    }
  }
}

WishKit offers some customization options but I wanted to ship it fast so I let it be.

Finally, I tested everything to make sure it worked smoothly. I created multiple feature requests and voted on it. Yes. I am my greatest supporter. It all went through well.

The whole process took about an hour. Not bad for adding a whole new way for users to give feedback!

Moving Forward

I have not got a feedback yet from users using this method but it anyway turned out be a win for me as I am using it as a public to-do list. It is creating a bit of pressure to solve them, and gamified it by getting more "Implemented" tags!

Here is the public roadmap:

By involving users in the development process, I hope to build a better app that meets their needs. A bit nervous to open up like this, but I think it will lead to a much sustainable product in the long run.

Happy shipping!