I’ve put together a quick, non-inclusive list of five questions to ask myself when adding a feature to a web community.

Are you sure that this is needed? “Need” is questionable in sooo many cases, and frequently a matter of taste or desire – and fatal attraction is sometimes what results from an unleashed desire to have any fun, new and hot gizmo. Does the question sound too sexual? Perhaps the “need” is what needs to be discussed, negotiated or balanced before “doing it” to users.

Once it’s installed and published, who’s going to maintain/moderate/supervise? Just like electronic toys, you gotta know who’s going to teach who how to use it, take care of it and -Moms know this- control it …because if you don’t lay down the rules of the game at the beginning, users can get lost, confused or out of control. I’ve been in several unmoderated online forums, for example, to see how a lack of moderation results in insults, confusion or those messy pop-up error messages.

Is the feature free or for-profit? If there is a commercial element to a feature, then testing both the backend functionality as well as the user feedback is vital for acceptance – and eventual revenue. Easier said than done – particularly if you are integrating third-party dependencies such as PayPal, Skype or Disqus.

Does it require a tutorial? Many extensions, including e-commerce shops, come with little documentation yet are complex. Just having a “working” extension isn’t enough; it may be as simple as adding a FAQ page, sensible & clear 2-line description, video tutorial or quick 1-2-3 how-to page. Any one of these can really help users to play or use the new functionality.

Are we there yet? I’ve found myslef struggling and obsessed with “getting things right” when more often I would have been better served by accepting my own ignorance (I’m no codehack) and/or misunderstanding (client expectations) and/or timetable (all of us involved in a project). Time & talent limits are actually very useful – you need to know when “done” is done, and simply move on. This doesn’t mean leaving things unfinished, but rather looking for another way to serve the user with a similar feature …and that’s what this is all about, right?

Perhaps you have your own questions that you ask yourself, but these help me keep my sanity perspective!

The most obvious: no traffic. If your site is not generating “sufficient” traffic by “core” users in your target audience – all terms that are subjective and that have been defined at the outset of your project – then you either need to work to generate traffic & use, or to stop investing your time, money & sweat.

Another not-so-obvious reason, and one that even I resist admitting: some has built a better mousetrap. Yes, it’s possible that a similar site exists, and if you cannot compete or cannot develop a unique selling propositin that distinguishes your site from others, then admit defeat and move on.

The web and technology render many sites, domains, business models and pricing obsolete. Although it’s essential to constantly update, redesign and/or evolve your site, it may be untenable or just plain exhausting to maintain competitive.

In the case of rozzo.org, it’s been a case of all three: only a dozen family members registered, no one (me included) desired to create and maintain an online genealogy, online services are free and really good (!), and although I considered re-inventing the site for anyone with the family surname (quite a bit bigger, international, multi-lingual responsibility), in the end I decided to pull the plug on this project. The domain expires next January.

I think it’s good to do a post-mortem: try to comprehend the causes that do and don’t make your site work, take the lessons that you’ve learned, and move on.