Starting is easy. Ending is hard.
That’s true for most things, especially side projects. You build a tool, launch a blog, maybe ship a little SaaS app on the weekends. It gains some traction, earns a few fans. But then your core role expands. Your real job needs more of you. And suddenly, the side project feels like background noise—still live, still used, but unloved.
Now what?
Most people just ghost it. They let the domain expire. Ignore support emails. Maybe throw up a “sunset notice” after the fact.
But there’s a better way.
Exiting gracefully means treating the project—and its users—with respect, even if it never paid the rent.
Start with a clear message. Say you’re winding it down. Give a date. Explain why. Don’t make it dramatic, just be honest: priorities shifted, bandwidth shrank, and you’re focusing on work that scales.
Then point users somewhere. An archive, a GitHub dump, a competing tool—anything’s better than leaving them in the dark.
If there are customers, refund the unused time. If it’s open source, tag a maintainer. If it’s dead-simple static content, leave it up and label it clearly.
Why bother?
Because your side project might be a side note to you—but to someone else, it might’ve solved a real problem. How you exit it says as much about your professionalism as how you launched it.
And here’s the upside: clearing the deck feels good. When you close something properly, it frees up real mental bandwidth. It lets you re-invest in the work that actually moves the needle.
Every founder, every builder, needs that clarity eventually.
Start fast, sure. But finish right.
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