In the past couple month I’ve made significant progress on multiple websites (including this one) simply by getting them live then putting in a couple hours here and there. These are the same websites that I’ve been avoiding working for years on because launching them perfect is such a daunting task.
If you’re building a new website, the best approach is to get something, anything up, then refine it over time. Here’s 5 quick reasons why:
- Momentum: It’s a lot easier to do work that makes an impact on something that’s live and growing than it is to chip away at a monumental task that seems far from completion. Plus, having it live gives incentive – there’s accountability because people can see it.
- A Rough Draft is Better than No Homework – Sometimes you get an A on what you considered your rough draft. Just because you have bigger ideas doesn’t mean people won’t appreciate your work in progress.
- Age Gracefully- There are benefits to having an aged website in Google. Being around for along time is preferable, even if it’s just a site with a couple pages – it will make it much easier for your site to take off once it’s complete.
- Data – Even data that says your website sucks is valuable – at the very least you can test and measure the improvement of your grand ideas. Plus, you’ll have a better idea for next time how much the updates you thought were essential really made a difference.
- Opportunity for Free Wins – I’m speaking from experience here – sometimes the site you never got around to finishing takes off, leaving you pleasantly surprised when you check in a year later…
Has this approach worked for you too? Let me know in the comments.
