The idea for our latest application, called Linkpatch, came nearly 2 years ago. The important decisions we made over the course of that time are what I would like to discuss today, in hopes of describing our process of creating web apps, and explaining why we think this app will be extremely valuable for website developers, managers and owners.
The Process
We created the basic functions of the application in about a week, and started using it internally as soon as we could. We did the same thing when building Feed My Inbox. As a company that can't justify extensive planning, usability testing and so forth upfront, this was by far the best approach for us.
By installing Linkpatch on client websites and working through errors on our own, we were able to fix any bugs, think of useful features and update the app accordingly. That's definitely a huge luxury of developing an app that's for people just like us. As big believers in Getting Real, the first version of Linkpatch is the most basic iteration we could widdle down. We have a long list of other features that would be useful for tracking website errors, but it's more important to launch as soon as possible and get an idea of what you (the customers) think. Better yet, if no one finds the app as useful as we do, our investment in features so far has been minimal.
Why did it take 2 years?
Another thing we don't do much is plan for the future. That way, we can change course on a moment's notice. Almost a year ago, we decided to build Feed My Inbox instead of focusing on Linkpatch. Thanks to the wild success of that application, it's taken a lot for us to find time outside of client work to finish this project. I would not ever recommend spending 2 years on a web app before it sees the light of day, but we've only spent an actual 3-4 months actively working on it. Since we were using it internally the whole time and it met our immediate needs, we were able to put it on the burner until we could really make it the priority.
Webmasters need better
The one reason we developed Linkpatch is because link checkers and site crawlers don't cut it. They absolutely don't, and there is one glaring reason why: they don't account for external sites linking to you.
It's always a good move to run your site through a program that checks for broken links. The internal link structure of your site is important to verify. However, internal broken links are a very small piece of the puzzle! How about all the other sites you don't own that might have mis-typed or out-of-date links to your site? The only way to catch external links to your site that are broken is to monitor them on a regular basis.
Aside from webserver logs (messy), monitoring traffic to your error pages is the only way to catch those issues and submit a fix quickly. Webmasters and analytics junkies alike can all see how fewer broken links can lead to a better user experience. If someone gets a 404 (page not found) error on your site, by having Linkpatch installed, you have what you need to keep it from happening again ... no matter where the broken link is.
Filling a small void
I recognize that the void Linkpatch fills is a small one, for a relatively small (but growing) group of people. It will take longer for us to market this app and help people understand why it is so important. But if you want to provide great service to your clients, cover all your bases and be well above the status quo as a webmaster, you will pay attention to broken links on a regular basis. I hope you have tried it and gotten a free 5-site account with our introductory promotion. If so, please don't hesitate to let us know what you think, and how we can make it better.
