4 ms·

Interesting, why do you think would that be? Difficult to reuse code/infra from the mvp for the final product? Or is it that the mvp is hard to define and ends

Interesting, why do you think would that be? Difficult to reuse code/infra from the mvp for the final product? Or is it that the mvp is hard to define and ends up being the product? None of the above? Interested to hear the thoughts behind the comment

withinboredom 5y ago
MVPs used to look like the rest of the web. Now people expect a “design” in a product. The web looks much different than it did even 10 years ago, but browser defaults haven’t changed much in 30 years.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  I don't think people expect it so much as that the designs that put form over function are pushed so hard that it seems as though people expect it because there aren't any function-over-form alternatives. Fair chance that if you bucked that trend that you'd end up with happy users and a higher retention for the longer term even if in the shorter term your conversion rates may be a bit lower. Similar to how the quality tools rarely look as snazzy as the wanna-be's, and are sold to a more professional audience at a higher price but lower volume. They also typically need much less advertising and marketing, they are sold by reputation and word of mouth.
  - ldjkfkdsjnv 5y ago
    Maybe, but I will admit that I trust a SaaS product more that has a better design with slick front end components. When I see a rudimentary but functional product, I shy away
    - fighterpilot 5y ago
      Would you still shy away if the product was uniquely solving an important problem for you? I am in the same boat as you but I think as though I would only shy away if the product was marginally useful to me and I probably would have stopped using them eventually anyways
    - handrous 5y ago
      It's peacock feathers. You demonstrate company/product health by burning cash keeping your design "modern", even if a simpler but less-expensive-looking design would have been better for UX.
      - ldjkfkdsjnv 5y ago
        This is true, but as a signal it still does work. If the front end is flashy, they definitely put some money and resources into it, which means they have those to begin with
      - hughhopkins 5y ago
        This is a good point and ties into the whole funding trap. I imagine some founders find it difficult to show a shitty looking MVP when you have investors looking
  - switch007 5y ago
    I think people have got more superficial. Especially if there is any kind of social aspect to an app/product - because of peer judgement Look at the kind of cakes people under 40 have. It’s those Instagram ones which are 50cm tall and have bars of chocolate sticking out. The cake taste does not matter, only how it looks on Instagram. Edit: I ack that people have always cared how things look
    - iamstupidsimple 5y ago
      > Look at the kind of cakes people under 40 have. It’s those Instagram ones which are 50cm tall and have bars of chocolate sticking out. Simply not true, this is a caricature that you're seeing because only the vapid or exceptional stuff goes to Instagram.
      - TeMPOraL 5y ago
        It's apparently true if you s/cake/wedding cake/ (and s/Instagram/wedding photos/), though. I remember the shock I felt when I first learned that in the US, the cake-cutting ceremony features a fake, plastic cake (in order to support shapes and sizes otherwise prohibitively hard to make with food), and guests get served a different cake, shaped for mass baking and cut in the back.
        jaywalk 5y ago
        I'm not saying the fake plastic cake doesn't happen in the US; I'm sure it does. But it's nowhere near as common as you seem to believe it is. I've never been to a wedding with a cake like that.

withinboredom 5y ago

MVPs used to look like the rest of the web. Now people expect a “design” in a product. The web looks much different than it did even 10 years ago, but browser defaults haven’t changed much in 30 years.

jacquesm 5y ago
I don't think people expect it so much as that the designs that put form over function are pushed so hard that it seems as though people expect it because there aren't any function-over-form alternatives. Fair chance that if you bucked that trend that you'd end up with happy users and a higher retention for the longer term even if in the shorter term your conversion rates may be a bit lower. Similar to how the quality tools rarely look as snazzy as the wanna-be's, and are sold to a more professional audience at a higher price but lower volume. They also typically need much less advertising and marketing, they are sold by reputation and word of mouth.
- ldjkfkdsjnv 5y ago
  Maybe, but I will admit that I trust a SaaS product more that has a better design with slick front end components. When I see a rudimentary but functional product, I shy away
  - fighterpilot 5y ago
    Would you still shy away if the product was uniquely solving an important problem for you? I am in the same boat as you but I think as though I would only shy away if the product was marginally useful to me and I probably would have stopped using them eventually anyways
  - handrous 5y ago
    It's peacock feathers. You demonstrate company/product health by burning cash keeping your design "modern", even if a simpler but less-expensive-looking design would have been better for UX.
    - ldjkfkdsjnv 5y ago
      This is true, but as a signal it still does work. If the front end is flashy, they definitely put some money and resources into it, which means they have those to begin with
    - hughhopkins 5y ago
      This is a good point and ties into the whole funding trap. I imagine some founders find it difficult to show a shitty looking MVP when you have investors looking
- switch007 5y ago
  I think people have got more superficial. Especially if there is any kind of social aspect to an app/product - because of peer judgement Look at the kind of cakes people under 40 have. It’s those Instagram ones which are 50cm tall and have bars of chocolate sticking out. The cake taste does not matter, only how it looks on Instagram. Edit: I ack that people have always cared how things look
  - iamstupidsimple 5y ago
    > Look at the kind of cakes people under 40 have. It’s those Instagram ones which are 50cm tall and have bars of chocolate sticking out. Simply not true, this is a caricature that you're seeing because only the vapid or exceptional stuff goes to Instagram.
    - TeMPOraL 5y ago
      It's apparently true if you s/cake/wedding cake/ (and s/Instagram/wedding photos/), though. I remember the shock I felt when I first learned that in the US, the cake-cutting ceremony features a fake, plastic cake (in order to support shapes and sizes otherwise prohibitively hard to make with food), and guests get served a different cake, shaped for mass baking and cut in the back.
      - jaywalk 5y ago
        I'm not saying the fake plastic cake doesn't happen in the US; I'm sure it does. But it's nowhere near as common as you seem to believe it is. I've never been to a wedding with a cake like that.