Our Philosophy

• Start small and keep it simple

  It's easy to get swept away with big plans for a big site. But on the web, smaller is usually better. "Keep it simple," advises Omar Wasow. "Start small, learn from your mistakes, and grow incrementally. It's really easy to spend a lot of money on something that's massively useless. So try to have real clarity about what it is you're trying to do, and do those few things well."

• Always make a plan

  It's important in just about any endeavor, and it's crucial for web sites. "Take the time to plan," advises Lance McDaniel. "Spend twice as much time as you think you need to figure out what you're trying to accomplish as a business. Because all the problems that you don't solve up-front will add time during the build, and make it twice as expensive."

• Build a site for the user, not you

  "Honestly, my advice would be something like 'Get over yourself,'" said Cate Corcoran. "This is not about you. You need to think about your user and their goals." Similarly, you need to make sure you're building a site that someone needs. "Don't invent the gadget and then try to find a market for it," says Randi Shade, founder of CharityGift. "Find an unmet need, and develop a solution to meet that need."

• Test the site

  No matter how many sites you've built, you can't know how a given site will be used until you see someone try. "Have your mom test it," recommends Derek Powazek. "My mom is my best beta tester. The smarter she gets about the web, the worse of a tester she is."