Good is Good Enough - A Website Launch Strategy

Having recently launched our own new web site I was reminded of what can often be hard to explain to clients and that is, "Good is Good Enough". This post is for anyone thinking of launching a new website (or web app) or is currently working on one.

Here are a few things to remember:

1. MAKE MONEY SOONER

New websites (or web apps) are like startups, the longer it takes to get open, the longer you go without cash flow. Getting your site up is like opening your doors for business. Sure you may not have the logos on the napkins or the custom gift bags, but not many will notice and few will care. By opening your doors you have taken the first step in the process of making money and not just spending it.

There is also a rule of thumb that the longer you work on a website (or web app) the more potentially unnecessary features will be added and will bloat the overall cost. Let users tell you what they like and want.

""Perfect" is the enemy of "good enough.“ When your product or service is ”good enough,“ get it out because cash flows when you start shipping. Besides perfection doesn't necessarily come with time--more unwanted features do. By shipping, you'll also learn what your customers truly want you to fix. It's definitely a tradeoff: your reputation versus cash flow, so you can't ship pure crap. But you can't wait for perfection either. (Nota bene: life science companies, please ignore this recommendation.)" Source: Guy Kawasaki

Redesigns are really no different either. Clients that come to us for website redesigns have the same typical problems: the site has become dated, no longer functions to meet their needs, or doesn't convey the right message. The longer your outdated site is up the greater number of visitors are getting the wrong message about your company or service.

2. LET YOUR USERS TELL YOU

Alright everyone, it's ok, lets say it together.

"My work is not perfect!"

We have all been there, looking at a web design mockup after hours of work thinking "its so clear, I am a genius!" only to see it fail horribly with users during a usability test. Yeah, you can talk to friends and your mom, but are they really the right user?

Getting real feedback from real users will have a huge impact in the overall success and costs associated with a web project. There are many different ways of getting feedback with varying costs associated with them. What we have done with our new site is to launch the site while focusing on 3-5 core features and waiting on the longer wish list of desired functionality. Build a strong foundation and only what is essential in the begging has been a common message from 37signals.

"With Basecamp, we started with just the messages section. We knew that was the heart of the app so we ignored milestones, to-do lists, and other items for the time being. That let us base future decisions on real world usage instead of hunches." Source: Getting Real

For example, on our new site we focused on the portfolio pages. Our friends at unmatchedstyle put together the video review of our soft launch new site and had some feedback on the homepage, but felt the portfolio pages worked well.

3. MAKE IT FLEXIBLE

All websites (or web apps) should be optimizing and maturing once they are live. One of the best things about the website is that you can monitor and optimize to continually improve by using tools like Google Analytics and Google Web Optimizer. Whether your goal is to get better conversions for donations or sell more, these tools help you monitor your results so you are better able to adapt.

Websites built using web standards allow for great flexibility to make changes because the website is separated into CONTENT, STYLE, and ACTIONS so you are able to change one without affecting the other more quickly and at a lower cost.

So remember, launch sooner, listen to your users (or visitors), collect feedback, and use web standards to give you greater flexibility to make changes.