🚀 From Demo to Deployment: The Missing 20% of AI App Building

You've vibe-coded an incredible AI demo in Cursor or Replit. It looks slick. It works. Maybe it even blew people away on Twitter. But… it's not live. It's not usable. It's not deployed.

Welcome to the "missing 20%" — the unsexy but critical last stretch between prototype and product.

At LaunchDev, we help AI builders cross that line. Here's what's usually missing — and how to fix it.

1. Authentication and Access Control

Most demos are single-user or hardcoded. But to launch, you need real auth.

✅ Add email/password, Google, or magic link login
✅ Secure user data in separate sessions
✅ Gate advanced features to prevent abuse

Tools: Clerk, Supabase Auth, Firebase, NextAuth.js

2. Database Setup and Persistence

You can't ship without saving user data — consistently.

✅ Normalize your data model
✅ Set up PostgreSQL, Supabase, or Firestore
✅ Handle CRUD flows (Create, Read, Update, Delete)

Gotchas: Schema changes can break your vibe-coded logic. Add versioning if possible.

3. Deployment and Hosting

That Replit project or localhost isn't a product.

✅ Choose a stack: Vercel, Railway, Fly.io, Render
✅ Add environment variables for secrets and API keys
✅ Use CI/CD (like GitHub Actions) for smoother updates

4. Performance and Rate Limiting

Your AI app is likely calling OpenAI, Groq, or Claude (oops, Bolt now 😉). Without limits, you're one viral tweet away from a shutdown.

✅ Add request limits per user or session
✅ Queue or debounce expensive calls
✅ Monitor API usage and cost spikes

Tools: Upstash for rate limits, Sentry for alerts, Stripe for monetization

5. Polish: UI/UX, Loading States, Errors

This is what separates toy from tool.

✅ Add real loading states (no spinning forever)
✅ Graceful error handling ("Try again" > "Server error")
✅ Responsive layout for desktop/mobile

Polish doesn't take long. But it instantly elevates trust.

6. Launch Checklist

👋 LaunchDev Can Help

At LaunchDev, we work with vibe coders and AI builders who want to ship real products — not just show cool demos.

We bring the 20% you're missing:

Full-stack glue code
Production setup
Deployment strategy
Peace of mind

👉 Ready to go from prototype to launch? Let's talk.

From Demo to Deployment: The Missing 20% of AI App Building