Everyone Loves “Simple”
Until it’s time to build it.
Ask any founder, designer, or product manager:
What’s your product goal?”
They’ll tell you:
“Simplicity.”
But here’s the thing:
Simple” isn’t a design decision.
It’s a hundred hard decisions in disguise.
The Illusion of Simplicity
When you see a product that feels simple, it’s tempting to think:
They must’ve built this fast.
Nope.
What you’re looking at is probably the 10th version, stripped down through:
User feedback
Feature cuts
Internal debates
Product mistakes
Endless rewrites
Simple is the end result of ruthless editing.
Not the starting point.
Our First Version Was… Ugly
We tried to be clean.
We thought we were lean.
But when we tested the early version of eazysites, people said things like:
“Where do I even start?”
“What’s this button for?”
“I thought this was supposed to be easy.”
That’s when we realized:
We were building from our brain, not our user’s.
So we stopped.
Sat with real people.
Watched them use it.
Felt the frustration with them.
And every time they got stuck, we asked:
“What would be one tap easier than this?”
The 3-Part Simplicity Test
Here’s the filter we now use for every decision:
1. Can this be removed?
If yes, it’s probably clutter.
2. Can this be automated?
If yes, do the work once, so users don’t have to.
3. Can a 6th grader understand this?
If not, it’s too clever.
That’s our entire playbook.
We write it on the whiteboard.
We build with it daily.
And it keeps us honest.
Simplicity Is Expensive
It costs you your ego.
Your pet features.
Your “but what if we added…” ideas.
But here’s what you gain:
Products people can actually use
Sites that launch in hours, not weeks
Customers who stick, because you didn’t make them think
Simple” isn’t sexy on a roadmap.
But it’s what turns first-time users into long-term fans.
What We’re Doing Now
This week, we’re:
Killing 4 features we liked, but users didn’t need
Streamlining the first-click user flow
Writing help copy before users get confused
All of it feels painful in the short-term.
But that’s how you build something that lasts.
Your Takeaway
If you’re building a product, website, or service:
Fight for simple.
Not “minimal.”
Not “barebones.”
Simple = clear, fast, frictionless.
It’s the hardest thing to build.
Which is exactly why it’s worth doing.