Recently, I’ve had multiple clients and Project Managers suggest some version of: “We should just hardcode this because we need it done by the end of the week.”

While understandable under deadline pressure, this idea reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of software development. Hardcoding is often assumed to be faster because it sounds simpler, but you might be surprised to learn that it isn’t.

The Level of Effort Illusion

The most common misconception I see regarding hardcoding is how it actually impacts the Level of Effort. There is a natural tendency to assume that building a flexible, data-driven solution takes longer than typing a static value into a file.

In practice, that’s rarely true.

For an experienced developer, fetching a dynamic value requires no more effort than hardcoding a static one. The “fast” version and the “right” version almost always take the same amount of time to implement. The difference in the code itself is often trivial—perhaps just a few lines structured differently. What does change dramatically is the long-term cost.

Hardcoding bakes assumptions directly into the codebase. This creates a permanent dependency: every future change requires a developer intervention, a code review, and another deployment. Conversely, flexible solutions—those driven by configuration or metadata—deliver the same immediate result while empowering non-developers to adapt the behavior later without engineering involvement.

When the “shortcut” takes the same amount of effort as the “scalable” solution, the shortcut isn’t actually saving time—it’s just creating technical debt.

A Simple Example

Let’s look at how this plays out in a real-world scenario, like adding a “Buy It Now” link to a specific product page.

The Hardcoded Way

In this example, a hardcoded product ID determines whether a hardcoded link should be displayed:

{% if product.id == 00001 %} 
  <a href="https://example.com/00001">Buy It Now</a> 
{% endif %}

The Result: Fast to write, but now the code “owns” the logic. To change the link or add a second product, you have to change the code again.

The Flexible Way (Using Metafields)

In this example, the presence of a single metafield value determines if the link should be displayed and where the link should direct:

{% assign external_url = product.metafields.external.product_url.value %} 
{% if external_url != blank %} 
  <a href="{{ external_url }}">Buy It Now</a> 
{% endif %}

The Result: Takes the same amount of time for a developer to write, but now the data owns the logic. The marketing team can add links to 500 products via the admin dashboard without ever calling a developer.

How does hardcoding happen?

You might be wondering—if scalable solutions take no extra effort, then why would anyone ever hardcode anything?

My answer: They shouldn’t.*

*Learn the rules well so you know how to break them properly.
—Dali Lama

Hardcoding typically emerges when technical decisions are made without sufficient context—often due to gaps in technical understanding, experience, or leadership. It’s most common when decision-makers lack the necessary background to evaluate implementation approaches, or when technical leaders aren’t consulted or empowered to advocate for better solutions.

The Bottom Line

The real determinant of speed isn’t whether something is hardcoded. It’s whether someone on the team has the experience to recognize when flexibility can be built in without additional effort. That is exactly the value senior engineers and consultants bring to the table.

Deadlines don’t justify shortcuts that create future drag. When the effort is the same today and the outcome is better tomorrow, the flexible solution isn’t overengineering—it’s just good engineering.

And yes, that’s why you pay us the big bucks.