To Launch or not to Launch? That is the Question

Your website will never, ever be perfect. You will (and should) always want to change or add something. And so we hear the question time and time again. "To launch or not to launch"

A number of our clients reach the point where they view the website as "only 80% complete", and while this "80%" will vary with perspective and understanding of the web, this is almost always the point where we push for launch.

In the majority of cases the website will be perfectly acceptable to launch from a user's perspective. This final 20% often includes fine tuning of content, or changes that can be rolled out over time that users are not aware of in the first place. Many choose to roll out over time for this very reason.

Regular introduction of content post-launch gives users a reason to come back and enhances search engine optimisation - crucial for website traffic (plus it's less inundating than posting all in one go!). This is particularly important for new websites that have not yet been indexed. The addition of features over time also allows functionality to be added in line with business growth and return on investment from website revenues.

As long as the website has reached a certain level of quality (usability is on point and the website works as intended), put the creative (beauty) aside and start working on the brains. Remember- websites are fluid- the website you launch today will most definitely not be the same website you have in 6 months time.

For example, when floralevent initially launched, the website was nowhere near as large as it is today. They launched with a core selection of best-selling products, and used the recurring revenue to fund future developments. Today the website has a wide range of products, and the most recent developments now allow them to communicate more effectively with customers through a range of Marketing Modules, including News, Newsletter and Help/FAQs.

Anything you don't know by 80% the user will tell you within the first few weeks of launching. Use the opportunity to increase engagement and enlist their assistance- "after all of your feedback we decided to launch an online store- we hope you like it- let us know what you think!".

Regardless of how many times you check and recheck, there will always be one typo, or one stakeholder who wants to move something one millimeter to the left and postponing launch on this basis just pushes out time frames and creates out-of-scope work. Most readers skim website content rather than reading from cover to cover (or rather, page to page), so it's better to get your website up and running, and keep the pressure on for continuous improvement rather than postpone launch to re-edit and fine-tune. In the grand scheme of things the impact of correcting one typo opposed to the opportunity cost of leaving the website un-launched for one more week really isn't comparable.