Why did we succeed with our website when we wanted to throw everything out?

By Shad Loos 🔹 Alex and I collaborated on Cove.eco to tell the story of what this community is about. It was challenging, and we truly had to struggle to get it right.

Our journey began with Webflow, shifted to Elementor on WordPress, and ultimately concluded with Editor X by Wix. During the months of these transitions, I considered building Cove from scratch and running our own web server, but the required overhead was too much; we needed a professional website immediately.

Each transition between these tools was valuable but difficult, as it is hard to leave behind the work invested. Our website needed something more due to our stagnation and frustration.

We learned these key steps when we started gaining traction on our creative journey for the Cove Community:

Daily Meetings To get moving, we met as often as possible for collaboration and work. There needed to be more than just touching base every other day to create a satisfactory website together.

Pair Development The concept of “Pair Programming” from computer science is where two programmers develop side by side. We applied this concept in our website building process, where one person provided feedback while another implemented the suggestions, bringing new designs to the website.

Starting with a Template We chose a template that appealed to us and modified it as new ideas emerged.

Initial Drafting I created an initial website draft using the new template in Miro, a whiteboarding software. I rearranged the old website content in Miro, adjusting the layout and removing unnecessary parts.

Seeking Inspiration We referred to other websites for inspiration, ensuring not to copy them but to draw ideas from them.

Documenting Changes We noted the desired changes in our meeting notes in Notion, using screenshots for clarification. It was like using a ticketing system but with less overhead.

Switching Tools We tried several types of website-making software until we found the right fit. Learning to move on from tools that weren't working was crucial, although difficult.

Cross-Device Compatibility Ensuring the website looked good across laptop, phone, and tablet devices was essential. We checked updates by refreshing multiple screens simultaneously. Making sure the formatting, sizes, and display were correct was tedious but necessary.

Once the website began to look real and appear in front of us, there was a moment where we looked at each other and knew we had it!

What we do, programs us. That’s what makes it important to understand what we do.

Thank you for reading and visiting Cove.eco,

Shad