How to “get real” while developing your web application/website/anything.

GETTING STARTED
Keep your product simple and manageable so you can love working on it.

STAY LEAN
Keep your organization light, open, and able to wear many hats.

PRIORITIES
Focus on the vision and forget the details. Stay in the present.
Deal with future problems and issues in the future.

FEATURE SELECTION
Build half of what you want to have.
Say no to new features A LOT.

PROCESS
Brainstorm, sketch, mockup HTML screens, code.

THE ORGANIZATION
Make sure to celebrate the small victories.

STAFFING
Look for quick-learning generalists who are happy, reliable, and good writers.

INTERFACE DESIGN
Start with the interface of the core function first.
Context over consistent design.

CODE
Less code is best.
Let the programmer decide what tools to work with.

WORDS
Documents for websites are inefficient; create stories, sketches, and prototypes instead.
Give your site a personality and voice.

PRICING AND SIGNUP
Give away something for free.
Let users come and go easily and give them full access to their data.

PROMOTION
First put up a teaser and invite the mavens, then put up a promo site with a tour and highlight the monetization areas. Last, launch and communicate progress.

SUPPORT
Build a product that doesn’t require training. Do your own support and respond quickly!

POST-LAUNCH
Stay active on your site and stay aware of your competitors.

CONCLUSION
Success is about great execution so focus on your weakest links.