Hoopla!

I wrote out a lengthy essay before I realized this is a rather straightforward endeavor. The how to’s of launching a (successful) website are simple and few. I’ll make this short. In fact, I’ll make it a list.

How to Launch a Website:

• Make something that has value to a certain, specific group of people
• Release it as soon as you have the minimal amount of functionality required for it to work.
• provide your users with an easy way to contact you
• Listen very closely to what your users tell you (and respond!)
• Surprise your users with your candor
• Surprise your users with innovative new changes shortly after launch
• Never (NEVER) allow data that your user has added to the site to become lost or irrelevant.

That last one especially. You can have all the bugs in the world and the users will understand – unless you make them fill out the same form twice. That’s unforgivable.