MVP to Production Migration: How to Turn a Demo into a Dependable App
An MVP proves value; production earns trust. If you built fast with vibe‑coding and AI app generation, you likely have something real that people can try. Now you need stability, clear errors, simple monitoring, and a calm release process. The goal is not perfection—it’s a dependable app you can improve every week.
What changes from MVP to production
People try the app without your help. They encounter empty states you never saw, use older devices, and take paths you didn’t test. They need guidance when something fails and confidence when it succeeds. Production is about smoothing those edges.
A step‑by‑step migration plan
1) Confirm core journeys on the live site: sign‑up, sign‑in, and a simple save 2) Add friendly error pages and specific field‑level messages 3) Log failures in one place you can check after release 4) Align environment settings so dev and production behave the same way 5) Add two or three integration tests for the journeys you rely on 6) Document the deploy steps so anyone can release calmly
What to keep light
Avoid heavy processes. Production readiness doesn’t mean long cycles. Keep releases small and frequent. Fix only what users felt this week, then ship again.
Prompts that harden a generated app
- “Show a clear empty state on the dashboard with a next step.”
- “After save, show success and stay on the same page.”
- “On error, keep values in the form and show messages under fields.”
When you need help
If your MVP breaks under real usage—unstable sign‑in, deploy surprises, or missing data—bring in someone who has steadied these transitions. Spin by fryga can run a focused pass that closes the last gaps and leaves you with a repeatable release routine.
Production migration is about trust. Keep the scope small, protect the basics, and your product will feel ready without sacrificing speed.
Founder FAQs
Do we need tests before launch? A few, yes. Protect the journeys you would be embarrassed to break—sign‑up, sign‑in, and save. Add more later.
Should we change the stack now? Not if users already reach value. Stabilize first. Reassess when measurements show limits you can’t work around.
How much monitoring is enough? Start with errors and basic performance. Add depth as usage grows.
Case study: steadying a promising MVP
An AI‑generated feedback tool impressed in demos but stumbled after sign‑up. The team added a welcome checklist, helpful errors on the first form, and two integration tests. They aligned environment settings on Vercel and Supabase. Within a week, completion improved and releases felt calm.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Shipping a polished landing page without a working first success
- Testing only as an admin and missing regular user paths
- Skipping friendly errors because the demo “looked fine”
A simple communication plan
Tell early users what improved this week and ask for one piece of feedback. Close the loop when you fix it. This builds trust and turns users into partners as you grow from MVP to production.