There’s a good chance you’re waiting for the next Wordle as you’re reading this. Don’t worry, because you’re not alone. After only having ninety players a month after its release in October last year, Wordle’s player base grew to a million players.
In case you’re out of the loop, Wordle is a word game where you have to enter the correct word with just six chances. All you have as hints are letters coded in yellow, green, and yellow boxes. Yellow boxes meant the letter is in the word but is not in the right place, while green boxes indicated it is in its proper position. Meanwhile, gray boxes hinted that the letter was not present in the word. If you need a more precise hint, then you’ll need to use a tool like 5LetterWords.org.
Yes, despite its simple-looking website and its straightforward mechanics, Wordle has over a million daily players waiting for the next word to guess. So, if you’re wondering how you can make a thriving product like Wordle, here are five important lessons you can learn from the success of Wordle.
1. Don’t Be Afraid to Create Something Out of Love
Did you know that Wordle’s creator, Josh Wardle, developed Wordle out of love? If you weren’t aware, Wordle is actually Wardle’s present to his partner. Wordle was developed as an uncomplicated game the couple could enjoy in the middle of the pandemic.
After finding out that other family members and friends also loved Wordle, Wardle decided to release it worldwide for free. In a nutshell, Wordle was born out of love and is free to play, allowing millions of players to enjoy the game as much as Wardle’s partner did.
2. Focus on a Specific Audience When Developing Your Product
As previously mentioned, Wardle initially developed Wordle as a present for his partner. If you think about it, Wardle’s focus on a single audience could be another reason why Wordle garnered huge global success. By focusing on a specific target audience, you can make better, clearer decisions for your product.
Besides, there’s a chance you might be too afraid that you won’t please everyone with your creation. But the thing is, you don’t have to please everyone. In fact, you might even turn off more prospective users in the process of trying to please everyone.
3. Make Your Players Crave More from Your Creation
Other games or content can be finished in a day by “speed-running” them. Of course, doing that would require all your attention and time. But with Wordle, that doesn’t happen to be the case. After all, you can play a single word per day with this word game.
Such a feature is also what likely made Wordle well-liked by many users. Its one-word-per-day guess leaves players craving more from the game. Overall, the hype doesn’t immediately die down with Wordle. In this widely-played word game, players will have to patiently wait, leaving them excited every day for the word they’re bound to guess.
4. Make Sure to Listen to Your Users
Wordle initially didn’t have that famous shareable grid that allowed users to flex their 3/6 Wordle Guess. Apparently, Wardle only incorporated the share after getting inspiration from a Twitter user and Wordle player based in New Zealand. According to Wardle, he saw the said player using emoji blocks to tweet their results online without spoiling the word for the day.
Wardle realized how great this idea was. So, he immediately incorporated the shareable grid, and you could say the rest is history. With that said, be sure to listen to your player base. After all, they might help you come up with great ideas that will make your creation become the next big thing!
5. Find Ways to Get Users to Talk About Your Product
As previously mentioned, Wardle’s addition of the shareable grid results allowed the game’s popularity to skyrocket. Thanks to this feature, many people got curious about these yellow, green, and gray boxes being shared online. But it wasn’t only this feature that made Wordle achieve its success.
Aside from its feature that lets users quickly share their results, Wordle’s one-word-per-day limit also contributed to its success. After all, users get to share the same joys and frustrations over the same word daily. Due to their shared experiences, Wordle players have formed an online community where they get to talk about their experiences to fellow Wordle enthusiasts.
Wrapping Up
Of course, not all these important lessons could be applied to the product you’re currently making. But given how a game like Wordle has peaked despite its simplicity, it’s still worth noting these lessons in your development process. Who knows, by applying these valuable lessons, your creation might reach Wordle-like fame. Best of luck!
