Why I Use Feature Flags Even in Small SaaS Projects

When you’re a solo developer, it’s tempting to think you don’t need feature flags. After all — you’re the only one pushing code, right? You can just comment something out or create a quick “dev only” check. I used to think that too. But once I started shipping more SaaS products, I realized feature flags aren’t just for big teams. They’re a simple superpower — even in a one-person stack.

What Feature Flags Actually Do A feature flag is just a switch. It lets you enable or disable parts of your app without deploying new code. Example:

if (process.env.FEATURE_NEW_DASHBOARD === "true") {
  return <NewDashboard />
}
return <OldDashboard />

That’s it. Simple conditional logic. But that small switch opens up a lot of possibilities.

Test in Production (Safely) With feature flags, I can test features in real environments without breaking production. For example, I’ll enable a new dashboard layout only for my test user account. Everyone else still sees the stable version. If something goes wrong — I flip the flag off. No rollback, no redeploy.

Control Rollouts When launching new features, I roll them out gradually:

Start with my account
Then enable for beta users
Finally, flip the switch for everyone

That gradual rollout helps me catch bugs early, without affecting all users at once.

Hide Work in Progress Sometimes I like to build features directly in production but keep them hidden until they’re ready (I know it’s not the “right way”). Feature flags let me merge incomplete work safely — no risk of users stumbling into half-finished UIs. It also keeps my branches clean and deployment flow simple.

Simple Implementation You don’t need a fancy SaaS tool like LaunchDarkly for small projects. A few options I use:

Environment variables → easiest for simple on/off flags.
Database table → for per-user or per-tier rollouts.
JSON config file → for grouped or nested flags.

Example of a simple features.json:

{
  "newDashboard": true,
  "betaBilling": false
}
And a quick helper:
import features from "@/config/features.json"

export function isFeatureEnabled(key: keyof typeof features) {
  return features[key]
}

Why It Matters for Solo Devs Even though I work alone, feature flags give me:

Confidence — I can test risky code safely.
Speed — no need to branch, merge, or redeploy.
Flexibility — easy toggles for experiments or A/B tests.

They make my solo development workflow feel as smooth as a team with CI/CD staging.

Wrap-Up Feature flags aren’t about complexity — they’re about control. They let you:

Ship faster
Test safer
Roll back instantly

Even if you’re the only one writing code, you’ll never regret adding a few switches to your stack. It’s one of the smallest changes that delivers the biggest peace of mind.

Read the full article here: https://medium.com/@joseph.goins/why-i-use-feature-flags-even-in-small-saas-projects-9bdc025985f0