4 ms·

Best Websites for Entrepreneurs and Startups

91 points by idesigni 10y ago

charlieegan3 10y ago
Duplicate of: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14089343 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14089343
- idesigni 10y ago
  Oh, what's the procedure in the case of duplicate submissions? Should I remove and upvote previous or...?
  - skilled 10y ago
    The procedure is that you check before you submit.
  - charlieegan3 10y ago
    There's a search box at the bottom of the page to check before posting duplicate links. These two URLs are the same though so it's odd they weren't automatically linked. Perhaps one was edited after being submitted - I'm not sure.
    - idesigni 10y ago
      Ah thanks very much!
colmvp 10y ago
Two of the listed websites refer to a design blog and site of the day website. As a designer, the problem I've always had with those categories is a lack of data backing up claims of good design and usability. It still feels like industry writeups are based on anecdata, personal experience presented as fact. Yes, there are some mostly accepted guidelines, such as don't choose a font that's highly distracting, don't go overboard with colors, make things that are important easily accessible to the user... though even those can be broken in certain cases. But when we extrapolate good practices simply based on what other companies do, we can be susceptible to make assumptions that are true... until they are not. For example, hiding navigation in the hidden left menu (via the hamburger icon) is completely fine because its practiced by most Android apps and Facebook/Spotify... until Facebook/Spotify redesigns their iOS apps to navigate main sections from the bottom, and Google releases their 2016 Material Design style guide that explicitly provides specs for a bottom navigation. Then, for websites that get showcased by dint of high ratings from design judges, it seems like it's largely based on what's visually stunning, leaning heavily towards one-off marketing sites than considering whether or not it was ultimately successful in terms of impacting the users. I've certainly seen my fair share of things that seemed to look and feel good, only to perform quite badly in a real world environment. That's not to say that inspiration and aesthetics have no merit, but instead that design is a complex discipline that includes many considerations of the experience from a user, and that only focusing on the visual reinforces the unfortunate stereotype that designers only care about what looks pretty.
- idesigni 10y ago
  That's actually a very interesting point of view that I hadn't considered - that people blindly adhering to 'accepted' design guidelines might be stifling unique design approaches or perpetuating mistaken assumptions. Given that, are there any sites that would be better recommended for startups/entrepreneurs who are inexperienced in web design as this article seems to be aiming at? Or is the whole point that people shouldn't rely on conventional design wisdom?
sailfast 10y ago
Listing their own Business Toolbox at the bottom is a pretty great submarine marketing strategy. Plus, now I've visited the University of Aberdeen's Business School site. Well done. Not a bad list, overall for people completely outside the market but I somewhat wonder about their approach. Are they looking for tools, or for techniques? Both? (Shopify / Automattic presence indicates maybe both?) No mention of companies I would consider similar enablers / bloggers about starting up and no mention of VC-type discussions about starting up.
- idesigni 10y ago
  That's something I've noticed becoming increasingly common in list articles of this kind actually - probably because it's pretty effective as you say. The approach seems to encompass any mix of things that could be of use to people setting up either a business or a website. Which companies in particular did you have in mind? There's actually a distinct lack of explicitly finance or investment related sites, now that you mention it - the tools and techniques are almost universally related to digital/online business practice.

91 points by idesigni 10y ago

charlieegan3 10y ago

Duplicate of: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14089343 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14089343

idesigni 10y ago
Oh, what's the procedure in the case of duplicate submissions? Should I remove and upvote previous or...?
- skilled 10y ago
  The procedure is that you check before you submit.
- charlieegan3 10y ago
  There's a search box at the bottom of the page to check before posting duplicate links. These two URLs are the same though so it's odd they weren't automatically linked. Perhaps one was edited after being submitted - I'm not sure.
  - idesigni 10y ago
    Ah thanks very much!

colmvp 10y ago

Two of the listed websites refer to a design blog and site of the day website. As a designer, the problem I've always had with those categories is a lack of data backing up claims of good design and usability. It still feels like industry writeups are based on anecdata, personal experience presented as fact. Yes, there are some mostly accepted guidelines, such as don't choose a font that's highly distracting, don't go overboard with colors, make things that are important easily accessible to the user... though even those can be broken in certain cases. But when we extrapolate good practices simply based on what other companies do, we can be susceptible to make assumptions that are true... until they are not. For example, hiding navigation in the hidden left menu (via the hamburger icon) is completely fine because its practiced by most Android apps and Facebook/Spotify... until Facebook/Spotify redesigns their iOS apps to navigate main sections from the bottom, and Google releases their 2016 Material Design style guide that explicitly provides specs for a bottom navigation. Then, for websites that get showcased by dint of high ratings from design judges, it seems like it's largely based on what's visually stunning, leaning heavily towards one-off marketing sites than considering whether or not it was ultimately successful in terms of impacting the users. I've certainly seen my fair share of things that seemed to look and feel good, only to perform quite badly in a real world environment. That's not to say that inspiration and aesthetics have no merit, but instead that design is a complex discipline that includes many considerations of the experience from a user, and that only focusing on the visual reinforces the unfortunate stereotype that designers only care about what looks pretty.

idesigni 10y ago
That's actually a very interesting point of view that I hadn't considered - that people blindly adhering to 'accepted' design guidelines might be stifling unique design approaches or perpetuating mistaken assumptions. Given that, are there any sites that would be better recommended for startups/entrepreneurs who are inexperienced in web design as this article seems to be aiming at? Or is the whole point that people shouldn't rely on conventional design wisdom?

sailfast 10y ago

Listing their own Business Toolbox at the bottom is a pretty great submarine marketing strategy. Plus, now I've visited the University of Aberdeen's Business School site. Well done. Not a bad list, overall for people completely outside the market but I somewhat wonder about their approach. Are they looking for tools, or for techniques? Both? (Shopify / Automattic presence indicates maybe both?) No mention of companies I would consider similar enablers / bloggers about starting up and no mention of VC-type discussions about starting up.

idesigni 10y ago
That's something I've noticed becoming increasingly common in list articles of this kind actually - probably because it's pretty effective as you say. The approach seems to encompass any mix of things that could be of use to people setting up either a business or a website. Which companies in particular did you have in mind? There's actually a distinct lack of explicitly finance or investment related sites, now that you mention it - the tools and techniques are almost universally related to digital/online business practice.