Intent:

Why do you want to build a world?  What purpose will this constructed world you develop serve?

The motivation for building your world can drive the decisions you make along the way.

Scope:

How much worldbuilding do you want/need?  Worldbuilding comes with inherent cost and benefit.  The more time you spend worldbuilding, the more developed and wondrous your world will be.  But that time could also be used working on whatever the world’s purpose is.  Spend too much time worldbuilding and your broader project may suffer.

Method 1:  Barebones

Build just as much world as you need but no more.

Benefit:  You spend less time worldbuilding and more time on your main focus.

Drawback:  Realism and immersion.  If your world has no more depth than what is obviously present, your audience will sense this.  History, culture, and characters will all end up shallower.

Method 2:  A Lifetime of Work

Benefit:  You’re world will be incredibly detailed and alive.

Drawback:  You may never get to your main focus that drove you to create the world in the first place.

Method 3:  Balanced

Benefit:  Your world will have depth and complexity while still allowing you to use it for your core intent.

Drawback:  It takes more time than the Barebones and has less detail than the Lifetime of Work.

Grow as you Go

In the Balanced approach, you can create a basic structure to get started and then gradually develop, enhance, and refine it over time to serve your ultimate purpose.