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It's very hard to tell when design or functionality makes or breaks a site. I think we shouldn't be asking that question at all. The whole thing is completely s
by billpatrianakos 15y ago
It's very hard to tell when design or functionality makes or breaks a site. I think we shouldn't be asking that question at all. The whole thing is completely situational.
For Craigslist the function is most important and credit should go to the back end guys. Something like Twitter would give it to the front end guys. I'm leaving scaling out of the equation for now and assuming all sites will perform the same under any load.
A site that is ugly doesn't get used. People always judge a book by its cover especially these days. But if the pretty site doesn't work then you're also screwed. I really hate this debate over who is more important: front or back end. You need both. Period.
I also hate the whole "design is easy" / "no, programming is easy" argument. Neither one is easy. They're different animals. The way you approach the front end and back end are totally different. I'm a generalist but lean toward design. I'm in awe of the back end guys but then some are in awe of me. We have totally different goals in mind when working. The back end guys are concerned with functionality. Security, scaling. The front end is all about beauty, load times, SEO, user experience. At one point in our work we do end up in the middle. That middle is when we're both thinking about the the front end is interacting with the back end and how will we code everything so that A) we can easily connect the two and B) we can efficiently extend the front end to accommodate new back end features and vice versa.
I understand the article wasn't exactly pitting programmers against designers but there's always that subtext and people always start thinking about it. It's a shame that the designers haven't gotten as much credit until recently but at the same time, even as a designer, I must give huge props to the back end guys as I understand the pains they go through.
But can we put the whole front vs. back debate to rest already? You just can't have one without the other. Period.
- krashidov 15y ago"A site that is ugly doesn't get used. People always judge a book by its cover especially these days." Are you implying Craigslist is not an ugly site? not trying to be sarcastic, genuine question.
- billpatrianakos 15y agoNo, I'm speaking for how people who aren't educated in design see things. I personally think its kind of ugly but at the same time I can't say the user experience is bad at all. I can find what I want and filter it pretty easily, the pages load quick as anything, and I generally am able to just get what I want done on Craigslist. That said, I don't use all that often so maybe I'm not the best person to judge the UX of Craigslist. I was just trying to see things the way people like my mother or someone would.
- rhizome 15y agoA site that is ugly doesn't get used. This, right after talking about Craigslist, a site that enjoys a monthly cycle of "Craigslist sucks, it's so ugly!" ranters who are reliably and continually proven to be clueless.
- mtgentry 15y agoCraigslist won because it was first to market. If anything, their particular case might prove that having deep network effects are more important than good design. It drives me crazy that Craig won't allow image previews for apartment listings. It's a poor design decision. But since they own that space of mind, it's extremely difficult for someone else to come along and dethrone them with a better product.
- rhizome 15y agoWe're not talking about Craigslist success, the OP asserted that an ugly site "doesn't get used."
- imjk 15y agoAs mtgentry replied, Craigslist had a huge advantage in being first to market. But now as Craigslist is being supplanted by more niche focused sites, you better believe that good design will be an integral part of those new sites. Refer to http://thegongshow.tumblr.com/post/345941486/the-spawn-of-craigslist-like-most-vcs-that-focus http://thegongshow.tumblr.com/post/345941486/the-spawn-of-cr...
- billpatrianakos 15y agoYeah. I knew someone would call me out for saying the thing about ugly sites right after mentioning Craigslist but I think my point still stands. The only reason I felt I could safely say that was because of your point exactly, imjk. Thanks for saying it better than I could.
- rhizome 15y ago
- gerrit 15y agoDesign is not just about how it looks (some would call that styling). Design will be able to help determine what to build and how it should work too.