Ship smaller projects

One of the biggest mistakes I see is organisations taking on huge website projects that take forever to launch.

There are a few problems when projects drag on for too long:

• You’re not getting real feedback. You only know how well something works once it’s in front of real users. Until then, you’re making educated guesses.
• Momentum stalls. Big projects need energy. If they drag, team morale drops and the project risks stalling.
• Decisions go out of date. We’ve seen redesigns that take 24 months or more. By the time they launch, strategies have changed and earlier decisions no longer make sense.
• Scope creep sets in. The longer a project runs, the more tempting it is to keep adding “just one more thing.”

To counter this, we recommend a phased launch plan. In the product world this is called an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). The idea is simple: agree on what’s absolutely critical, make that as good as it can be, and ship it.

Then move to phase two: add features, content, or refinements and ship that. While you’re working on the next phase, the first one is already live, generating feedback and value.

The same principle applies post-launch. Small, incremental changes every few weeks are far more effective than huge overhauls every 6–12 months.

Break projects into smaller chunks and get them out the door faster. Your website will be stronger for it.