With a dizzying array of website tools, services and add-ons available to service and develop practically every possible need or desire a site owner may have, it’s often thought a site has to be complex by default in order to allow for it to grow. The more tools in the “toolbox” the better, right? Ideally, no. Modern site content, marketing requirements, custom modules and increased pressure for team agility require something more like a utility belt versus a heavy toolbox.
Logically, your website utility belt should be light and useful. The more junk and unused tools attached to your site, the harder it is for your team to find what they need, and the more cumbersome it is to use efficiently.
Each and every tool and point of integration on your site should be something you need and understand how to use. If you don’t, then be sure to question your technology partner until you do. If initial training is required, be sure it is planned and completed prior to or in parallel with site launch activities. Your technical and digital strategy partners should provide you with full documentation and agreeable ongoing support expectations based on your preferences. Frequently this questioning can result in cost savings by identifying and addressing technical changes or realignments in conjunction with design initiatives that otherwise would have rested on a shaky foundation.
If something doesn’t make sense or seems redundant, question it. With so many great integration partners, API management options and general infrastructure offerings, you should be getting what you want and, more importantly, what you need. Being in such an informed position allows you to proactively budget and scale your digital assets and activities going forward, and puts you in the driver’s seat for selecting ongoing services and support.
As a rule, we frequently encourage clients to regularly re-evaluate what they are carrying around in their website’s “toolbox” both with or without my help. Sometimes that CMS is more trouble than it’s worth and way too complex, sometimes it isn’t properly integrated, tuned or robust enough. Sometimes it’s simply the wrong fit or resource. The Web is constantly moving and changing, and your website should be similarly adaptive. As time goes by and active site stakeholders change roles or teams expand, understanding how to periodically evaluate, remove or redistribute the tools that they use can be a direct key to making your digital assets meet key business requirements rather than becoming cumbersome obstacles.
Remember: you want your site to scale, not necessarily grow.
