When we think simple, do we mean basic? Do we assume a simple service can only perform the basic requirements of what needs to be done, which becomes inferior to others with additional features?

When building services such as Interlinked and SMS Gateway, the need to keep it simple was the biggest challenge we faced. We knew building a complicated site was not the answer. Our previous sites had been heading down the road of more features and an ever expanding scope of requirements, which just became unmanageable.

Imagine trying to be an SMS expert, email expert, data analyst expert and data security expert, all whilst trying to offer a better service! We realised this was a mistake and a path we could not sustain, so took a change of direction and started removing features.

Immediately we saw the benefits. Before, developing meant cramming as much in as time would permit. Now we could take our time and get carefully selected parts right. We spent longer planning each page, removing steps and features, questioning what needs to go in and what we could leave aside.

The interesting part of this process, we discovered, was deciding what to do with parts we did not need. As developers, a major focus is dealing with conflicts: an absolute must have element for one person is another's unneeded and irrelevant distraction. To get it right, we need to satisfy those requirements as best as we can.

We found having more time available from a shorter list of features led to better linking of features. Using a variety of techniques, we could hide stuff away, marginalise their impact on the page or just move them to a different section entirely. This actually meant we could do a better job for users on our site.

Did this make the site basic? No. We aimed for 80% of our users being able to use 100% of the site. By contrast, in the previous feature driven site we would be lucky if 80% used 20% of the site. From the feedback we’ve got, people like being able to understand the entire site, not just a small part. Now that they use all of the fewer number of features, they actually end up doing a whole lot more!