Website projects

Why website projects fail

Why so many websites never go live in Senegal, and how to get them there step by step.

Translated from the French original. The screenshots show Odoo in French, as our Senegalese clients use it.

It is 2024, nearly 2025. I am still astonished by how many website projects never reach the finish line. I am still shocked to hear managers say: “the website hasn't gone live because it isn't finished”…

First problem: there is no such thing as a finished website! A website is never finished! The idea of a finished product has no place in agile thinking! We first have to face the challenges of our own digital culture in running digital projects. Let us try to understand why this abnormal phenomenon keeps recurring, and how we can put it right.

I. Running a website project: untapped potential

In French-speaking West Africa, the website is often seen as the miracle cure for digitising a business. That simplistic view hides a more complicated reality:

• The “website for everything” reflex often masks the absence of any overall digital strategy.
• Projects drag on, for want of a suitable method and clear objectives.
• Without a strategic intent, the result is a website that adds no real value.

To turn this round, it is crucial to:

• Shorten time to market by working iteratively.
• Set SMART objectives for every website project.
• Test assumptions quickly and adjust the strategy accordingly.

II. Agility: the watchword of any digital project

A website is never “finished”. That reality, often overlooked, is crucial to a digital project's success. To succeed you need to:

• Work in an agile way, allowing constant adjustment.
• Focus on user experience (UX) and ease of use.
• Favour a responsive, mobile-first design, essential in our context.
• Allow for the digital divide by optimising for slow connections.

III. Technology choices: effective simplicity

In our Senegalese context the choice of technology is crucial. Content management systems (CMS) are the logical answer, for several reasons:

• Easy to set up and to maintain.
• Lower costs than bespoke development.
• Flexible enough for the site to grow over time.

IV. Odoo: the best fit for Senegal

Among the options available, Odoo stands out as particularly well suited to our context:

• Full integration: Odoo goes beyond the website, with a complete suite of business management tools.
• Flexibility and tailoring: it adapts to the specific needs of Senegalese companies.
• Mobile first: essential in a country where the internet is reached mostly by smartphone.

V. A website that serves the company's goals

Finally, let us remember that a website is only worth anything if it serves the company's objectives:

• Odoo lets you move quickly from a simple website to a full ERP.
• Integration with the other Odoo applications gives a 360° view of the business.
• Being able to add features gradually allows digitisation in stages, suited to our realities.

Fellow citizens, it is time to change how we approach website projects. With a strategy that is thought through, agile and suited to our context, we can turn failure into success and carry Senegal towards a promising digital future. Let us take up the challenge together, and make our websites real levers of growth for our companies and our economy.