How Configurability Is Killing Your Product
It is easy to think that giving users a bunch of options will make your product better. If they can tailor it to their needs, they'll love it, right? Unfortunately, this approach often leads to the opposite outcome: instead of falling in love with your product, users get frustrated by how complicated it feels.
When people use your product, they’re not just looking for a collection of features — they’re looking for your vision of the solution. They’re looking for your perspective.
Build Opinionated Software
Don't be afraid to make bold decisions. It’s better to have a product that some people love than one that most people don’t care about.
Let’s take a page from the original Wiki design. Ward Cunningham and his team deliberately stripped away features that had been considered essential to document collaboration. They removed attribution for each change, eliminated timestamps, and created a shared, ego-less platform. That decision, which went against the grain, was a game-changer. It fostered community, it made collaboration seamless, and it laid the foundation for Wikipedia’s massive success. They had a vision, stuck to it, and it worked.
Instead of giving users endless choices, guide them. Show them the best way to use it, based on what you know will work. If your product stands for something, it will resonate with people who align with your approach. And if it doesn’t? That’s okay too—those people aren’t your audience.
If you try to chase everyone’s approval, you’ll end up with a product that pleases no one. Instead, create something that speaks directly to the people who get it, who share your vision, and who want to be on board. Those users will become loyal advocates, while those who don’t fit will move on—and that’s how it should be.
The Power of Saying No
Saying no to certain features, ideas, or audiences can be your greatest strength. It allows you to focus on what matters and build something that is easy to use, powerful, and purposeful.
The idea isn’t to be rigid just for the sake of it, but to have a clear direction. When you build your product with a focused vision, you eliminate unnecessary complexity. You stop leaving decisions up to users and instead offer them something that works right out of the box.
Opinionated software isn’t about being stubborn—it’s about having a vision and sticking to it. It’s about guiding your users instead of dumping a pile of options in their laps and saying, “Figure it out.” So, take a stance. Build for a niche. Let your product speak for itself—and don’t be afraid to say no.
