It worked yesterday
There’s a particular type of message that tends to arrive without warning:
“It worked yesterday. Today it doesn’t.”
No redesign.
No major rebuild.
No deliberate change.
Just something subtle that no longer behaves the way it used to.
That quiet shift – where previously stable functionality begins to misbehave – is what we call website regression.
Regression is not always a mistake
Regression sounds dramatic, as if something was built incorrectly from the start. But in reality, it often has nothing to do with poor craftsmanship.
Websites do not exist in isolation. They operate inside an evolving ecosystem:
- content management systems receive updates
- plugins and modules change
- hosting environments upgrade
- server configurations evolve
- browsers interpret code differently over time
- security policies tighten
And sometimes, even without touching the site itself, the surrounding environment changes enough to expose a weakness that never mattered before.
It is not sabotage.
It is not negligence.
It is the consequence of shifting standards.
Changing regulations: a business analogy
Imagine running a business that complies fully with existing regulations. Every form, every process, every contract is correct. Then legislation changes.
Suddenly, a document that passed review for years no longer satisfies the updated requirements. Not because it was wrong – but because the framework around it has evolved.
That is what regression looks like online.
The website was valid under yesterday’s “rules”.
Today, the rules have moved.
What developers control – and what they don’t
During development, a lot can be done properly:
- use stable architecture
- rely on trusted extensions
- follow established coding standards
- test across common browsers
- configure secure sending methods and hosting environments
That foundation matters.
However, no developer controls:
- future browser updates
- how JavaScript engines evolve
- changes in PHP or other runtime environments
- new CMS core policies
- security rule adjustments on hosting platforms
- shifts in third-party API behaviour
A browser update alone can interpret the same piece of code slightly differently.
A hosting provider can deprecate a configuration.
A CMS update can tighten validation rules.
None of that requires the original developer to make a mistake. It only requires the digital landscape to move forward.
The quiet nature of regression
The difficulty with regression is that it rarely breaks loudly.
It is not always a blank screen or a visible error. Sometimes it is:
- a form that submits but no longer validates properly
- a layout element that shifts unexpectedly
- a script that runs inconsistently in one browser
- a feature that “mostly works”
These are not catastrophic failures. They are subtle misalignments.
And subtle misalignments are harder to notice – until they affect users.
A website is not a static product
One of the most important truths I repeat is this:
A website is not a printed brochure.
It is not a fixed structure frozen in time.
It behaves more like an organisation operating under evolving rules. When the external framework changes, adaptation becomes part of maintenance.
Not because the original work was flawed.
But because digital standards never stop moving.
The uncomfortable phone call
There is a moment that many designers recognise. Months after launch, the phone rings:
“Something’s broken. What happened?”
Often, nothing happened inside the project itself. What happened is that the ecosystem shifted.
But from a business perspective, the distinction does not always matter. The outcome is the same: something needs attention.
That is why awareness is more important than blame.
Closing thought
When a document in an office is suddenly stamped “rejected”, it is rarely because the paper changed overnight. More often, the criteria did.
Online, the same principle applies.
Website regression is not a sign that something was poorly built. It is often a reminder that the rules of the digital world have evolved – and systems must evolve with them.
Because on the internet, stability is not a one-time achievement.
It is an ongoing alignment with a framework that never stands still.