Our Thinking

Insights

Long-form thinking for ecommerce operators. We share what we've learned from years of building websites that actually work.

Featured

The Hidden Cost of Website Complexity

Every feature you add has a price. Not just in development time, but in cognitive load, maintenance burden, and strategic drift.

December 2024

All Articles

Why Most Ecommerce Redesigns Don't Fix the Real Problem

When growth slows, the instinct is to redesign. But visual changes rarely address the underlying issues of alignment and clarity.

December 2024

Why Your Best Customers Aren't Your Loudest Ones

The customers who complain, request features, and demand attention often aren't the ones driving your business forward.

December 2024

Your Website Isn't Broken. Your Message Might Be.

Before optimizing flows or updating layouts, ask whether your site clearly communicates the transformation you offer.

December 2024

Traffic Is a Vanity Metric (Usually)

More visitors feels like progress. But traffic without intent is just noise—and optimizing for it can actively hurt your business.

December 2024

What Your Bounce Rate Is Actually Telling You

A high bounce rate isn't automatically bad. A low one isn't automatically good. Understanding the context matters more than the number.

November 2024

Ecommerce Design as a System, Not a Project

The difference between websites that sustain growth and those that need constant fixing often comes down to systems thinking.

November 2024

Stop Optimizing, Start Understanding

Optimization assumes you know what's broken. Understanding reveals whether you're even fixing the right thing.

November 2024

What Growing Brands Get Wrong About Conversion Optimization

CRO tactics can improve numbers in the short term. But sustainable conversion comes from understanding, not tricks.

November 2024

The Problem with Best Practices

Best practices are solutions to someone else's problems. Blindly adopting them ignores the context that made them work.

November 2024

When More Features Make Ecommerce Worse

Adding capabilities often adds friction. The best ecommerce experiences know what to leave out.

November 2024

Building Trust Before the Transaction

Trust isn't a checkout feature. It's built through every interaction leading up to the moment someone decides to buy.

November 2024

Why Speed Isn't Just a Technical Metric

Page load time matters, but perceived speed is about more than milliseconds. It's about how the experience feels.

November 2024

When Data Leads You Astray

Data-driven decisions are only as good as the data—and your interpretation of it. Blind faith in numbers can take you somewhere you don't want to go.

October 2024

How to Design for the Customer's Desired Outcome

Your customers aren't buying products. They're buying transformation. Design should reflect that journey.

October 2024

The Case for Strategic Patience

Quick wins are appealing. But the most valuable improvements often take time—and rushing undermines their potential.

October 2024

What Your Competitors Can't Tell You

Competitive analysis has its place. But the answers to your most important questions won't come from watching what others do.

October 2024

The Alignment Problem Nobody Talks About

Your website has stakeholders with different goals, different priorities, different definitions of success. That misalignment might be your biggest problem.

October 2024