The Ten Commandments of Web and Product Development

Technology moves fast. Frameworks change, devices diversify, and user expectations rise year after year. Yet the difference between products that fade and those that endure rarely comes down to tools—it’s about principles. The best development teams adhere to timeless rules of reliability, compatibility, and forward-thinking architecture. They build systems that perform beautifully today while remaining adaptable tomorrow.

Too many organizations equate innovative with exclusive, chasing cutting-edge designs that work only on the newest devices or browsers. True innovation, however, is inclusive. It’s about being forward-looking without leaving anyone behind. Companies can be edgy, creative, and technically advanced while still serving the vast majority of users. Building for the majority doesn’t constrain imagination; it expands impact.

Ten Commandments of Web and Product Development

These ten commandments of web and product development capture that balance: timeless engineering discipline with room for innovation and flair.

Always Support The Majority of Users

A successful web product functions reliably for nearly everyone. Supporting 99% of users means ensuring accessibility across browsers, operating systems, and devices. Users should never feel excluded because of their choice of technology.

Success requires proactive testing. Use tools like BrowserStack or Playwright to verify that your interface works broadly. Release betas that expose features to varied environments early in the cycle. Supporting legacy browsers or devices isn’t glamorous, but it’s essential. True craftsmanship makes innovation accessible to all.

Always Utilize the Most Adopted Web Standards

Adherence to the most widely adopted standards ensures longevity and interoperability. Building with stable, supported standards—HTML5, CSS3, ECMAScript, and responsive frameworks—keeps your product compatible across browsers and platforms long after trends shift.

To succeed, validate markup regularly, follow accessibility guidelines, and avoid proprietary syntax or experimental APIs that could break as browsers evolve. The more universally accepted your foundation, the less time you’ll spend fighting incompatibilities later.

Always Reference Text and Strings Externally

Hardcoding text inside your application creates friction for both developers and content teams. Every visible word should exist outside your source code—in configuration files, databases, or localization systems. This allows copy updates, translations, and brand adjustments without requiring code changes or redeployment.

Implement encoding and externalize content from the start, even if your product initially supports a single language. Doing so simplifies future internationalization, empowers marketing teams, and ensures faster, safer iteration cycles.

Always Reference Dates and Times in a Universal Format

Inconsistent handling of time can cause widespread errors, especially in global systems. Storing all timestamps in a universal format, such as UTC or GMT, ensures consistency and simplifies synchronization across servers, APIs, and users.

Use modern time libraries that handle daylight savings and formatting gracefully. Display localized times for users, but store and process everything in UTC. This single, universal reference point keeps your data accurate and your users informed—no matter where they are.

Always Build an Integration Element into Every Feature

Every feature should be designed with integration in mind. Products that can easily connect to other systems—through APIs, webhooks, or data feeds—multiply their value and longevity.

The easiest way to ensure this is by implementing an API-to-UI infrastructure. This architecture separates your business logic from your presentation layer so that every UI action communicates through a defined API. This makes your application more flexible, allowing other platforms, mobile apps, or partners to interact with it seamlessly. Integration isn’t an add-on; it’s a design philosophy that turns isolated tools into connected ecosystems.

Always Build to Recognized Technical Standards

Following established technical standards ensures your product behaves predictably and securely across platforms. These standards—documented in RFCs and W3C specifications—govern everything from email headers to HTTP communication. Compliance isn’t optional; it’s the glue that allows digital systems to work together.

To ensure success, reference current RFCs when designing protocols or formats and validate your implementations. Standards adherence reduces support costs, prevents interoperability failures, and safeguards your product against future obsolescence.

Always Build Modularly

Monolithic applications hinder growth. A modular approach—where every component functions independently—keeps your product flexible, testable, and easy to scale. Adding new functionality should never require rewriting existing systems.

Apply modular design through microservices, component-based UI frameworks, or plugin architectures. Each module should be self-contained, with clear inputs and outputs. Modularity allows innovation without disruption, letting your teams move fast while maintaining stability.

If More Than One Part of the Application Does It, Centralize It

Redundant logic breeds inconsistency and errors. If multiple parts of your application perform the same task—such as validation, formatting, or data handling—they should reference a single source of truth.

Success depends on disciplined architecture. Maintain a centralized library or service layer for shared logic. Use code reviews to identify duplication early. Centralization creates harmony, ensuring every user experience reflects the same rules and behaviors across the entire application.

Pay for Interim Solutions to Focus on Core Requirements

Building everything in-house may feel empowering, but it can also drain your team’s focus. Smart developers invest in interim solutions—reliable third-party tools or services that fill gaps—so they can prioritize what truly differentiates their product. Once your core functionality is mature, you can revisit and internalize those capabilities.

For success, evaluate external tools pragmatically. Choose vendors that provide stable APIs, strong support, and transparent pricing. Abstract dependencies behind internal interfaces so you can replace them later without major refactoring. Paying for an interim solution is not weakness—it’s strategic focus. It allows your team to move faster while staying centered on building the features that make your product unique.

If Users Can Do It, You Support It

Every possible user action must either work correctly or be prevented gracefully. If a feature is available in the interface, it must function reliably. If it shouldn’t be allowed, the system must validate and restrict it. Robust validation is as much about user experience as it is about security.

Implement both client- and server-side validation to protect data integrity. Anticipate how users might test boundaries or misuse inputs, and design clear feedback mechanisms when they do. Users should never feel punished for mistakes—they should feel guided toward success.

Building for Everyone—Without Losing Your Edge

These commandments don’t limit creativity; they protect it. They create a framework of reliability that allows developers and designers to push boundaries safely. Companies can be bold, modern, and experimental without alienating users or sacrificing accessibility. In fact, the most innovative teams are those who know how to stay edgy while still supporting the vast majority of their visitors.

Adhering to these principles means your application will scale smoothly, integrate easily, and adapt effortlessly as new technologies arise. You’ll move faster because your foundation is solid. The pursuit of innovation shouldn’t mean discarding best practices—it should build upon them.

When your architecture supports everyone, your creativity can reach anyone. And that’s what great development has always been about: engineering that stands the test of time while inspiring the next generation of ideas.