Messenger for Desktop

What they Do Best

Desktop application for simplified access to Facebook Messenger.

Main Industry

Social Media

Platform

Facebook

Type of Product

Desktop/Web App

Target

B2C

Price Range

Free

Business Model

Subscription

Free Plan

Pricing Details

Free product

Revenue Estimates

$18,000

Monthly Website Traffic

5,940

Revenue Per Traffic

$0.25

Idea to Money

N/A

Founders

Employees

Year Started

2015

Dedication

It began as a side-project and once it got traction, it became a full-time small business.

Market Insights / Trends

facebook messenger

Industry Incumbent

Facebook Messenger ($116.61B/year)

How They Came Up With The Idea

Messenger for Desktop came to life when Facebook introduced their new web app messenger.com. The founder of Messenger for Desktop envisioned a standalone app that would enable users to access Messenger without having to open a browser. He went ahead and developed a prototype, which he later made open source and uploaded on GitHub. The app gained immense popularity, with hundreds of stars, indicating its usefulness not only to the founder, but to many other users as well.

How They Built The First Version

The founder used a framework called nw.js to create the first version of Messenger for Desktop. After creating the app, he made it open-source and published it on GitHub. Then, he added more features such as customizable themes, auto-updates, and support for all three major operating systems: Windows, Mac, and Linux. Once the app was complete, he posted it on Product Hunt, and software directories such as CHIP.de began to reach out to him.

Growth Channels

The majority of the traffic was generated through search engine optimization. The product was shared on various platforms, including Product Hunt, Hacker News, and several news websites. It gained a viral effect as users started re-uploading it on download portals and even made YouTube reviews simply because they liked it. 45% of the traffic was through Direct and Organic Search, while 40% was through Referral sources, mostly from download portals such as Softonic. The remaining 5% came from Social media.

Main Growth Channel

SEO

Online Directories

Tech Stack

- nw.js - PHP - JavaScript - Java

Tools

- GitHub - Product Hunt

Full Case Study

How I Developed A $1.5K/Month Facebook Messenger App For Desktop