If you remember last month’s blog, I introduced Tab, Surge + Fresca. I’m happy to say, Surge and Fresca have found their forever homes. Sweet Tab would love to find his too…pic below! Of course, even with two of my own dogs + Tab, the house seems pretty empty, but so is the washing machine + I’m certainly glad of that! There was so much laundry from five total dogs.
Launching the pups into their new homes after a few weeks at Camp Brutus, got me thinking about launching websites. There are similarities + differences, but, ultimately, so much is the same.
I always remind my website clients that they can launch an unperfect website. So much work gets put into the back end – from design choices, content writing + image selection to coding + testing. All of those hours culminate on launch day. Of course everyone wants the site to be perfect with quick loading times, flawless images, thousands of words of optimized copy. BUT, that’s just not attainable. It’s the old ‘better good + done than perfect + never finished’ adage.
I’ve seen launches delayed while clients chase perfection. And it cost them new leads who weren’t aware of new services that were directly tied to a launch. Instead of being ok with a site that looks + works great but might need more testimonials, they waited. And while waiting, more website work was uncovered, which delayed the launch even more. Instead of making changes to a staging site after the public got to see the hard work the team had put into WordPress.
Launching puppies is much the same. I worked hard with them during their weeks with us – potty training, simple commands + social skills. We played, we cuddled + we all learned. When it was time for them to go to their forever home, they weren’t “perfect” in their new skills. Nor should they have been, they’re still puppies after all! They’ll need continual encouragement, love + more training. Just like a new website will need security checks (*ahem* this is something provided to all my hosting clients), content revisions + updates.
Another similarity between sites + puppies is that so many folks try to do way too much on launch day. Soft launching a site can be another way to get over the hurdle of wanting perfection. But it can also mean great things for your business when folks feel like they’re getting a sneak peek. Managing traffic to your site, making sure your automations work in various conditions + controlling the influx of inquiries to your inbox alone is worth keeping things calmer on launch day.
Surge’s new mom texted me at lunch the day after she got him + asked if he napped as often as she was noticing. Aside from saying absolutely, I reminded her that his entire life just changed. I can’t say for sure, but he likely didn’t remember much before arriving in Minnesota at our house. He was now without his siblings, somewhere new, with someone new. But how amazing was it that he felt comfortable enough with her to sleep? I knew she was a good fit for him.
I’d say the pride of launching pups is pretty equal to launching a website. I’ve done the background work of coding + laundry + training + building + now the world gets to enjoy a fresh new website + some cute tail wags. What a win-win.