It’s almost inevitable: You’re sitting around the table with your team, planning out your project, when some well-meaning soul announces “We need to make sure that we’re following best practices with (fill in the blank).

Heads nod vigorously. “Of course!” Oh, absolutely!” “We don’t want to re-invent the wheel, now, do we?”

Adhering to whatever your industry considers to be best practices is the default position for many organizations, and for good reason: There’s no sense in repeating avoidable mistakes for which smart people have already invented a remedy.

Play it Safe, or Take the Plunge?

But how often do you stop and ask yourself exactly why you’re following best practices in a given situation? Before you simply apply a paint-by-numbers solution, take a moment to answer the following questions:

• Do the unique variables in my situation map closely to an existing best practice solution?
• Am I just trying to cover my ass?
• Is there an opportunity to invent a unique approach that can translate into a competitive advantage?
• Is the goal of the project to maintain a position, or to advance to a better one?
• Can I defend a non-BP solution rationally, with facts, figures, and educated predictions?

What it boils down to, is you need figure out whether or not the tried-and-true approach aligns well with your overall business objectives, or whether those objectives are better met by embracing a certain level of innovation and risk. If your goal is to set youself apart from your competition in some way, then you really have no choice: Pick your spots wisely, but be prepared to buck convention. Do it well, and it’ll be someone else’s turn to debate whether or not to adopt the best practice that you invented.

Image: “Sheep on the Road,” by adulau on Flickr

A recent discussion I had with a client about planning his new site reminded me of a story I’d heard some time ago.

The client was marveling at the fact that the more dimensions such as design direction, engagement methods, social media tactics, etc. that we took into account, the less certain he became as to his positioning within the online space and in the market in general. Before our discussion, he thought he knew exactly where he stood. Now, after beginning to get an understanding of critical factors he hadn’t necessarily considered before, he wasn’t so sure. The problem was that he knew where he wanted to go, but determining the exact direction for how to get there was difficult because he didn’t know exactly where he was starting from.

The story this situation reminded me of had to do with the differences in how sailors would determine their position using old-school dead reckoning techniques. They’d note the position of the sun, moon, and stars, measure with their sextants, sniff the wind, check the clock, and so on. Then, armed with the data they’d collected, they’d mark their estimated position on their navigational chart.

Although the tools and techniques used were generally the same (at a given point in history), what differed was the certainty with which crew members would mark the ship’s position:

The least experienced crew members would mark a dot exactly where the data told them it should be.

Sailors with a bit of experience would draw a small circle around the area instead of a dot.

And so on. The more experienced the crew member, the larger the circle, all the way up to the captain, who made the largest circle of all.

The reason for this was that experience taught that the methods of the day were imprecise, and that factoring in a degree of uncertainty from the start produced better outcomes than betting everything based on inaccurate information. What separated the top officers from the rest was their ability to manage the uncertainty. The good officers would set off in the general direction indicated by their initial assessment, knowing fully well that they would need to periodically reassess and adjust along the way in order to reach their destination.

Just as with the ancient sailors in the story, there are always factors in a web design project that are unclear at the start. The mix of factors depends on your unique situation, but regardless, you have a decision to make: You can succumb to “analysis paralysis,” allowing the uncertainty to delay or even cancel progress, or you can begin developing based on what you do know, and build out the details based on later assessments.

By taking action and at least getting something in place, you’ll have something real and measurable upon which you can make highly informed adjustments. Accepting the fact of uncertainty frees you to get in the game now, make improvements along the way, and ultimately build a stronger and more effective website.

Challenges and Requirements

Building a website for a non-profit like the Charlotte Art League (CAL) presents a different set of challenges than the ones you typically find in the  for-profit world. Volunteer-based staff, low or no budget, and outdated technology require patience and diplomatic skills to successfully bring a web project from dream to reality. An additional factor that requires a different mindset is that the central goal of the organization may not necessarily be simply to sell more widgets.

In the Art League’s case, a number of different committees and initiatives exist that require attention. Obviously, member artists want to sell more art, but activities like community outreach, art education, and studio rentals are all fundamental to the mission as well. The website has to simultaneously address the needs each of these various stakeholders, while remaining true to the organization’s overall mission of enriching the community through the arts.

WordPress to the Rescue

The new site is built in WordPress, using a custom theme I developed for this project. We opted to use WordPress not only because of its power, search engine friendliness, and design flexibility, but also to take advantage of its capabilities as a multi-author content management system — it’s definitely not just for blogs anymore! WordPress’s CMS capabilities were especially attractive because updating the old CAL site was an inefficient, time consuming process. While content could be sourced by any number of sources within CAL, content destined for the website had to be first sent to the web administrator, who then made updates manually. This system created a workflow bottleneck that resulted in an irregular posting schedule, with the site frequently being months out of date.

With the WordPress CMS, authors are now able to log in under their own unique usernames and edit their own content. The level of access can be controlled, so that non-technical users don’t accidentally modify files that affect the site’s operation. Basic word processing functions are provided using a familiar interface, and WordPress saves the revision history of documents — no one has to fear losing or ruining their data.

Keeping It Fresh

Another advantage of WordPress is that the post management functionality that powers WordPress blogs could be adapted to manage CAL’s home page, keeping it constantly up to date with content featuring current events at the gallery. We decided to keep commenting turned on. Even though the site isn’t technically a blog, hosting some stimulating discussion about art is a great way to build community and ongoing engagement with the organization. And thanks to a little bit of PHP tweaking and some help from plugins, the current “post” that constitutes the home page features the “Happening Now at CAL” banner. Archived versions of the post won’t display the banner, adding a subtle cue to distinguish between current and past events.

The Way Forward

Now that the initial phase of the release is complete, work has already begun on the next round of enhancements, including an online gallery offering works for sale as well as individual pages for member artists to display and sell their work.

DISCLOSURE: Since completing the work on the Charlotte Art League (CAL) redesign, I have been offered and accepted a spot on CAL’s Board of Directors, completing the term of a board member who had resigned.