Designing Web Applications

Learning and science

design book

SHOW HN2012

Designing Web Applications

The worst thing is to have people not buy, but have no idea what kept them from making the purchase.

nathanbarry.com

#web application design#ux design book#web design course#interface design

105points
110comments
#205of 1,677 in 2012
Top 13%of 2012 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

14 positive, 27 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 29 critical, out of 74 comments about the project. Thread score -0.11.

Design: 3 for, 17 againstPricing: 4 for, 9 againstIdea: 3 for, 0 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Good design-for-beginners content and a convincing sales page

    From 3 comments
    • Different from, not different than. This is a grammar tic I got from Robert Heinlein, and I'm not even sure why it bugs me so much. That said, your selling page layout is…
      Vivtek on HN
    • bought the book. very well designed sales page that is convincing. Too bad the pricing seems abit wonky (50 dollar jumps is a bit weird IMO). Ah well, I prefer reading anyways :D
      chewxy on HN
    • It's really hard to find good web app design resources, and Nathan has really come out with great material. And great landing page by the way, there's a lot you can learn from…
      sgdesign on HN
  • Previous book by the author was useful

    From 1 comment
    • It's really hard to find good concise help in this area, if Nathan's previous book: http://nathanbarry.com/app-design-handbook/ is anything to go by, this should be excellent.…
      charlieirish on HN

Objections

  • The $200 package is too expensive for the value shown

    From 3 comments
    • My questions as someone learning web development and always searching for new (quality) resources: Who are you? And why should I pay you $200? > Previously I led the software…
      Irregardless on HN
    • The "complete package" gave me sticker shock, so much that I almost closed the page then and there. It was only out of curiosity as to why the $200 price tag was worthwhile that…
      t4nkd on HN
    • Couple of things: - Get rid of the MailChimp, Facebook logos etc. On scanning it's shady. - The whole site comes across as a bit of a skeezy sales letter. You're a designer,…
      jongold on HN
  • Logos of Facebook, FreshBooks and MailChimp imply endorsement

    From 3 comments
    • I edited your site to solve the issues and uploaded to imgur. (The matrix is from CrazyEgg, but take the idea). http://imgur.com/slYOb Here is my walkthrough of the site: 1.…
      Agustus on HN
    • Please remove the Facebook, Mailchimp etc logos. It really leaves a bad taste - it's a practice to show those on a landing when either the companies whose logo are featured, are…
      justjimmy on HN
    • Couple of things: - Get rid of the MailChimp, Facebook logos etc. On scanning it's shady. - The whole site comes across as a bit of a skeezy sales letter. You're a designer,…
      jongold on HN
  • Package comparison and pricing layout are hard to compare

    From 3 comments
    • I edited your site to solve the issues and uploaded to imgur. (The matrix is from CrazyEgg, but take the idea). http://imgur.com/slYOb Here is my walkthrough of the site: 1.…
      Agustus on HN
    • Couple of things: - Get rid of the MailChimp, Facebook logos etc. On scanning it's shady. - The whole site comes across as a bit of a skeezy sales letter. You're a designer,…
      jongold on HN
    • I think you should take another look at your package overview images. The package for $79 and the package for $199 look about the same from a glance. I see that the packages…
      brentm on HN

Requests

  • Add a clear buy button or call to action at the bottom

    From 2 comments
    • @nathanbarry Quick Question: Why there is no button or call-for-action after the last line? " So, are you ready to buy the book now?"
      narad on HN
    • Very bottom "So, are you ready to buy the book now?" But no link/button/call to action - I'd need to scroll back up and parse out which action to take from the visual stuff…
      mgkimsal on HN
  • Print edition of the book

    From 1 comment
    • Any chance you're going to have the book printed? I like reading on paper, still.
      cschmidt on HN
  • Show the book length and testimonials

    From 2 comments
    • Ummm... might be my mistake, but I can't spot any indication of how long your book is. I did quickly look through the sample and the book seems to be very useful, but I'd like…
      rdrey on HN
    • Nice site, pricey tag. I will wait for testimonials.
      TommyDANGerous on HN

Questions

  • Who is the author and why should readers trust him

    From 1 comment
    • My questions as someone learning web development and always searching for new (quality) resources: Who are you? And why should I pay you $200? > Previously I led the software…
      Irregardless on HN
  • Is the book useful for designers not building for hackers

    From 1 comment
    • Couple of things: - Get rid of the MailChimp, Facebook logos etc. On scanning it's shady. - The whole site comes across as a bit of a skeezy sales letter. You're a designer,…
      jongold on HN

Alternatives named

  • Don't Make Me Think

    From 1 comment
    • The "complete package" gave me sticker shock, so much that I almost closed the page then and there. It was only out of curiosity as to why the $200 price tag was worthwhile that…
      t4nkd on HN
  • Rocket Surgery Made Easy

    From 1 comment
    • The "complete package" gave me sticker shock, so much that I almost closed the page then and there. It was only out of curiosity as to why the $200 price tag was worthwhile that…
      t4nkd on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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