The Pitfalls of Site Re-Launching Alone

Web Development April 06, 2008

Last week I launched a revamp of my site, OneUpMe.com which I spent most of the previous weekend re-coding.

I don't have a team of developers and designers to make sure everything goes according to plan, and as such I've noticed a few things over the last week as the site debuted that should be noted:

For one, when launching a redesign of a site, it's imperative to include all the same features that a previous version had (or at least include a note somewhere saying what you removed and why). Sometimes you don't realize which features are popular and which aren't until you forget to include one and get negative feedback.

For another, having someone always around to respond to bugs and other minor tweaks is necessary. In the rush of trying to get a new version out the door, it's easy to forget things here and there. Now normally, on a larger team of people, there would be extensive testing before a launch - but when you're one person working alone, you can't always spot the bugs yourself. Best thing to do is launch it with a note saying you're still working and be extremely quick to respond to feedback.

Sometimes it amazes me how much code is involved in making the simplest of features. It's not so much the base functionality - it's the whole user experience that requires a lot of code. For example, AJAX-y forms with email notification and an administration panel on login to manage what was submitted are all UX features of one main feature. It would be easy to add something into the database - but building the interaction components around it is really what takes the most time. Of course, once you finish that, you'll find that it makes a big difference as you use the feature later on.

Additionally, because as a sole developer there's no team to bounce ideas off of, it can be dangerous to assume anything on your own. The best way to counteract this is to ask friends and users of your existing site. Be receptive to negative feedback - if you admit uncertainty to begin with, it shouldn't be a problem.

I'm certainly looking forward to working with a group of people on product launches in the future and no longer having to be the sole provider.

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