The Greatest Secret in Web Design

Published on Dec 1, 2008 (updated Oct 20, 2024), filed under design, development (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)

This and many other posts are also available as a pretty, well-behaved ebook: On Web Development.

Alright I cheated, this isn’t a secret. Or an open secret. Or whatever. It’s that web design is a process. Good web design is an ongoing endeavor.

Let’s have a look at two stunning graphs.

Three websites over time, not maintained, not getting better. — Figure: Three websites, unmaintained.

Three websites over time, maintained, getting even better. — Figure: Three websites, maintained continuously.

What’s the lesson? Even if you worked with the greatest designers and developers and aimed for high quality from the start, your website will become stale if you don’t regularly maintain and add value to it. However, even if you screwed up at the beginning, you can make a horrible site okay or even good if you keep maintaining and adding value.

Don’t get fooled by the evil people: Web design is a process, and continuous improvement is key for success. That adds to the cost of running a website, but it’s how our business works.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager for small and large enterprises, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)