So often in life we're faced with a problem that has several possible solutions. We then have to analyze our potential paths and determine which one achieves most of the desired outcomes. In some rare cases you get to find one solution that solves everything and reignites your faith in God and all of humanity. Unfortunately this doesn't exist in the web world.
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When creating, redoing, or just refreshing your website, there will be hundreds of minor problems/choices that you'll have to address along the way. Everything from functionality to design will need to be sorted out. This makes the task extremely daunting and can slow a web project down to a slow crawl in no time. So often everyone obsesses with finding the "perfect" solution: "There must be a way to get everything right the first time." Well, from my experience, when it comes to websites, there is no way to get everything right on the first try.
This can be frustrating for the more "detail-oriented" among us, while in actuality embracing the concept that "it won't be right the first time" is much better for the overall health of your website. Accepting that you are going to make your best guess up front allows for infinitely more freedom with the creation of the website. It allows you to try some things that you might otherwise have skipped; those "crazy" ideas that push the risk/reward line. In addition to the potential of something wonderful happening, you can launch sooner with a product that is better than what you have today. As the famous quote goes, "Don't let best get in the way of better."
The other, more important reason that stressing over every detail at once is a waste of your time is that no matter what you come up with, you're wrong. How you think your users want to interact with you is more than likely not how they actually want to interact with you. The wonderful thing about digital marketing is that it is built upon the "guess and check" method. When you start a Pay-Per-Click campaign you cast your net wide, find out what works, and narrow it from there. When you start a social media campaign you try all kinds of different types of posts and a wide range of content. After a while you see what your audience responds to and you work that more into your content calendar.
Well, this is how your website works. You'll find that, no matter how "perfect" it is, there will still be unexpected problems and adjustments. You'll find that your customers use your website in ways you never could have imagined. You'll notice that some customers don't use search bars and some ONLY use search bars. You'll find that some customers like to wander through your website and like clicking through your navigation because it puts the content into context. Contrarily there will be those that want to find their content as quick as possible.
The moral of the story is that fretting over each and every web decision is about as useful as a wedding cake at a bowling alley. Put your best guess out there and let your customers tell you what works. If you're stuck between a few ideas then try them all. Use A/B testing combined with Google Analytics to tell you which format worked the best and change your site accordingly. Figuring out which font to use for your links shouldn't wake you up at night. There is no such thing as the perfect solution.
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