5 MVP (minimum viable product) website design methods

As all websites are unique, it's impossible to establish a one-size-fits-all MVP ( minimum viable product) website design process. On the contrary, there are a ton of possibilities available to you, methods of elaboration you can use to take the approach best suited to your business and your website. Think of these methods as musical instruments at your disposal and, as conductor, you can choose from them to compose your symphony.

In this article, we'll introduce you to 5 instruments, 5 methods to consider for your approach: the "kick-off" method, the "refresh" method, the "launch/develop" method, the "savvy investor" method and the "80/20" method.

The "kick-off" method.

You'll be developing a brand new website with this method, but speeding up the process by using existing resources. These can include web page themes or templates, image banks, modules and content already created by your team, such as sales, marketing or printed resources.

These available resources may come from elements that you, or your agency have organized in an internal repository and/or elements that you plan to acquire at the time of the redesign in MVP mode. Using existing resources, where appropriate, will save you a great deal of time. Instead of starting each page or module from scratch, you can begin with these basics, aiming to achieve 70% of your goal from the resources you've identified. Once assembled, these elements will constitute your base to be adapted and customized so as to finalize your site in MVP mode.

It's important to remember that even if you use these elements to speed up your process, it's perfectly normal to come back to the various contents and pages to customize them further following the initial launch.

The website design "refresh" method.

As the name suggests, with this method you'll refresh your current site by transforming it into a first MVP version. This method may also suit you if you've launched a new website in the last three to six months, or if your current website is in the process of being improved. Just because you're starting with your existing site as a base doesn't mean there isn't a lot of work to do.

To start with, you need to make sure you have a thorough understanding of your users and their usage. It may be tempting to skip this strategic analysis stage and go straight to continuous improvement, but you shouldn't. Those who skip this stage are likely to find small, incremental improvements in performance without pinpointing underlying problems that could have been identified in the strategic analysis stage. Once the strategic analysis stage is complete, carry out a full audit of the existing website to see where there are misalignments or gaps between your strategy and it. Remember to include architecture, content of priority sections and pages, functionality and design.

Once the audit is complete, hold a workshop with the team to decide on the most effective ways of improving the current site, updating and refreshing it. The items you'll pick out can be added to and prioritized in the wish list you created during the preliminary strategic analysis.

The "launch/develop" method.

In this method, segment your MVP into several phases to be launched and developed over time. The first phase of website design always remains the same: redesigning the header, footer, tree structure, visual design, user experience and technology choices.

In subsequent phases, you relaunch priority pages or sections in batches. For example, in phase 2, you might redesign the five services pages. Phase 3 could be devoted to redesigning the pages in the resources section, and so on. For larger or more complex websites, each phase could consist of a complete redesign of each site section. Phase 2 could be devoted to the member portal. Phase 3 might involve redesigning certain sub-sites. Phase 4, your careers section. Phase five, your multimedia section, etc.

The important thing for your team is to clearly identify the number of phases to be completed before the site goes live. For some MVP sites, completing the very first phase is enough to launch the new site, while for others, phases 1 and 2 must be completed before even publishing the new website in MVP mode. In both cases, once the site is online, all the phases identified will be completed in the performance phase following launch. In an optimal timeframe, all these subsequent phases will be completed and you'll be able to focus your redesign efforts on other marketing purposes.

The website design "80/20" method.

In this method, everything starts with the list of elements retained during the strategic analysis audit. You take the process to the next step: the 80/20 analysis of this list by asking yourself, "What are the 20% of items on this list that will have 80% of the impact on the company's objectives and 80% of the added value for the visitor?"

Once identified, you review each of the impact and value-creating elements, asking yourself this second question for each one: "Is this element essential to the MVP launch of the website, or is it rather a good element to develop eventually?"

Push all the "good elements to develop eventually" back together to the level of a "post MVP launch" list. You'll have a chance to re-evaluate and prioritize them within three months of this online release.

The remaining portion: the "post MVP release" list.

The remaining portion: the elements of impact for the company and value creation for your visitors will therefore be prioritized for developing your site in MVP mode.

The "informed investor" method.

We're all inclined to invest cautiously when it comes to money, without the same caution when it comes to investing our time. This web design method ensures that your team invests its time in the elements that will create the most value, removing time spent on elements with less impact in favor of value-added elements.

As with all other methods, we start with a strategic analysis and audit to define objectives and to understand how each section and page audited can bring you closer to the goals set. When auditing existing pages, review all the key performance indicators that contribute to achieving your objectives. Number of monthly organic visitors, referring sites, internal links, "does this page relate to a priority thematic group?"... Then take your sitemap to categorize each page's level of impact into three categories: low, medium and high, according to their ability to contribute to achieving your goals.

In the strategic analysis, you compiled a list of the elements missing from the current site. Try as best you can to isolate the medium and high impact elements objectively. Some of these could be derived from user experience tests or satisfaction surveys presented to visitors.

These three levels of impact impose three development processes. Being more important, high impact pages deserve special attention. Revision sprints, brainstorming, wireframes and visual mock-ups, content optimization are on the program. 10 to 15 hours per page will be devoted to them. Medium-impact pages remain important, too, of course, but need to be rethought more quickly. You might consider reworking them right in the Content Manager, using existing modules and templates. 5 to 7 hours should be enough for each of them. Low-impact pages should not be time-consuming. You could choose to migrate these without reviewing them in detail, adapting them to the rest of the site in MVP mode. On average, your team should spend 10 to 20 minutes per page at most.

These 5 methods of redesigning or designing a website in MVP mode can really simplify, smooth and enhance your team's creative and strategic approach. Although they can't all work in every scenario, you can use them as inspiration to create your own working method. We also recommend that you consult the 50 questions to ask yourself before redesigning a website to better equip yourself to face these challenges.