4 tips for effectively improving your site
by Jamie Kiley

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Ok, the title of this article doesn't quite reflect the real topic of the article. Actually, we're going to focus mostly on something called "scope creep."

But hang in there--scope creep directly relates to the issue of how to effectively manage improvements to your site. If you're the kind of site owner who is continually revising, expanding, and improving your website, this is definitely a term to learn.

So, what is scope creep?

To put it simply, it's what happens when the scope or focus of your site changes over time as you make improvements and as you gain new understanding of what your site really needs to encompass. The scope of the site expands, or "creeps."

It works like this: Suppose you have a site devoted to widgets, and you're focused on providing reviews of various different widgets. Eventually, you decide you're not taking full advantage of your potential, and you decide you'd like to actually SELL widgets.

That's scope creep.

Of course, scope creep isn't always that drastic. For example, once you get your online store up and running to sell widgets, you might decide you want to run a promotion offering free shipping. At that point, you have to add an announcement somewhere on your site about free shipping.

That example is on a smaller scale, but it's still scope creep. It changes the focus of your message to your visitors, and it requires a change in the content on your site.

Scope creep is inevitable, in one sense. Websites will always be changing. And if you're a good site owner, you'll recognize the need to continually tweak and revise your site. That's a good thing--your site should be flexible enough to respond to new needs that arise.

However, there are a few problems with scope creep.

First of all, it can often happen as a result of poor planning. Site owners often decide to create a website without really thinking through the structure of the site and the information that needs to be presented.

Unfortunately, it's hard to effectively make improvements to a site that wasn't well-planned in the first place. Without a solid foundation to build on, later updates and additions can't be smoothly integrated into the structure. This sort of scope creep just creates disorder and chaos.

Here's an example of disorderly scope creep: Suppose you want to offer free shipping on all widget orders over $30. However, your shopping cart system doesn't give you the flexibility to charge shipping to some people and not to others. So you add a notice stating that even though the order total displayed on a customer's order shows shipping charges, you'll manually adjust the total for orders over $30, and the customer will get free shipping after all.

But unfortunately, most visitors are confused by this and can't figure out whether or not they'll actually get free shipping. The consequence? They don't buy.

Another problem with scope creep is that it's very easy to slip into a garage sale mentality. You get so excited about adding new things and pitching new offers to visitors that your site loses its focus and turns into a hodge-podge of offers.

In these examples, scope creep actually fails to address the needs that originally drove the changes. In spite of good intentions, the changes only make the site clumsy and confusing to visitors.

So how do you allow your site to respond to newly-discovered needs without letting the scope creep out of control? Here are 4 tips:

1. Plan ahead as much as possible.

Try to be forward-thinking and anticipate needs that your site might face in the future. Whenever possible, plan your site to allow for future flexibility.

If you're working with a web designer, communicate with your designer about possible future additions and changes. This way, your designer can work to create a site that will give the fluidity you need.

2. Be intentional.

There are times when you can't plan ahead, and something comes up that wasn't anticipated. In those cases, be as intentional as possible. Know what you're changing and why. Always relate every change and addition back to your central goal and purpose. This way, you'll know how the new changes or additions should fit into your existing site structure. This sort of intentionality will help you keep your site cohesive, organized and focused.

3. Don't let scope creep distract you from your primary goal.

If an addition you're contemplating doesn't directly relate to your primary goal, it's probably not a good idea to add it.

4. Don't let usability suffer.

If the updates and additions you make to your site aren't well-integrated into the existing structure of the site, the usefulness and usability of your site will deteriorate. This will lead to confusion on the part of visitors, which should be avoided at all costs. (Remember the example of free shipping not being smoothly integrated into the shopping cart?) If you want to add new functionality to your site, you must figure out how to integrate it effectively--without making the visitor's experience suffer.

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