Why I Hate Your Web App

I think everyone I know online has a great idea for a web application or website with some functionality behind it. We all believe that we have that one killer idea that if only we had the time to get it done would make us millionaires. Looking at some of the successful startups in the past, it's amazing how often one thinks that they could've created it just as easily.

• Tumblr
• Flickr
• Twitter
• Facebook

Does any of those look like sites you couldn't at least emulate the basic functionality of in no time at all? When a web service, web application or website makes it big, there are always those in the crowd that say they could create the site over a weekend because they don't understand the big deal behind it. Yet, if they attempt to duplicate the success of the thing they are implementing they fail miserably.

Maybe you are working on the next big thing right now and can't wait to put it in the hands of users. Maybe you have already put your hard work in the hands of the community and they just weren't as receptive as you had hoped they would be. Here are reasons that I hate what you created.

No Community

When a website is based around a community it sucks to go to it and there is no community to be found. I know how difficult it can be to create a community out of nothing, but it is even more difficult to keep my interests if a community doesn't exist. In a weird twist of fate, if you can somehow develop a community it will help overcome some of the other issues that you will see below.

Reddit is a great example of this. It never had the shiny design that other sites in its genre had, but it developed a strong community that made you forget the look of the site. You go to Reddit for the community, not to be impressed by the latest technology or design.

In contrast there is undrln which I personally use and love, but it gets harder and harder to go back to the site because the community is so small. I want to love the site and use it and get everyone in the world to join in on the fun, but if they don't then I am left alone and that defeats the purpose of me using it. Just goes to show communities don't build themselves. Get out there and market your stuff.

A major problem behind any person that comes up with an idea that involves lots of people using it is that they just assume that because they are excited about the idea that others will be equally excited. It doesn't work like that unfortunately, otherwise we would all be a part of every online community created. Focus on a small number of core people and build out from there. Trying to get everyone at once never works.

I Can Only Use Your Site When I'm On Your Site

Could you imagine how small Twitter would still be if there were no applications for it? The ability to use Twitter without actually having to go to Twitter is what makes it so appealing to me and others. Some websites are mean to be visited, like Gmail, while others like Twitter become valuable when they let their data roam free.

Some sites do well because they offer the best of both worlds. I don't need to visit Flickr to experience it or to use my photos, but if I want the benefit of the community I need to visit the site. Twitter on the other hand gives me absolutely no incentive to visit it. I'm sure that has worked out as a blessing and curse for them.

Facebook offers you limited ways to interact with the site outside of it, but most people don't mind going to it. If there really is no incentive to visit your site and the data doesn't need to be protected, then please give me a way to use the site without having to be there. It doesn't mean I will never go back to the site, but sometimes I just need to get something from the site and don't need to experience everything about the site at the moment.

What Is It You Do Again?

This is usually a problem because the people that code these websites are also the ones writing the copy. Not too long ago I read an article, Why Tumblr Is Kicking Posterous's Ass, and while I'm not going to go into why the site is using the wrong metrics, it did bring to light how they differ in explaining themselves.

posterous is the dead simple place to post everything. just email us.

posterous

The easiest way to blog.

tumblr

You might think that there isn't much different between the two, but to me the difference is huge. On Tumblr when I see the tagline, it lets me know exactly what the site was made for. If I want to blog easily I can go there and do it.

Posterous shares much of the same functionality as Tumblr and in some ways is superior, but what exactly does 'post everything' mean? Humans don't like everything because it isn't specific and although the site really does let you post everything it doesn't help explain itself better than Tumblr.

Your Competition Is Better

Let's face it, you think you created the next great thing, but you didn't even create something that is the best in its category. My sole email account used to be on Yahoo! Mail. Gmail came along and simply offered a better product. There was no reason for me to switch emails and you know how hard it can be for some people to let go of things they had forever, but Gmail was so far above and beyond Yahoo that I had no problem making the switch.

Initially I saw no reason to switch to Reddit from Digg, but eventually I found that Reddit simply offers a better user experience overall and I haven't turned back since. There were plenty of places to host your photos before Flickr came around, but Flickr simply offered more than the rest.

I know the 37signals mantra of less being more is favored amongst many, but sometimes you have to offer more. If you can't do that then you have to offer better and that better has to be much better. It can be a better community, better functionality or if all things are even, a better design.

Sweet, Another Registration Form

When the signup form is short and sweet I have no problem signing up. However, that doesn't mean I want to signup and have to remember another login/password combo. With Facebook Connect, Google Friend Connect and OpenID, I don't have to worry about logins anymore. More and more sites and services are implementing them and if you do as well you have a better chance of converting me. I'm not saying it is mandatory, but by giving me the option of using one of these services you have already taken away another step for me to access your stuff which is a very good thing.

Tumblr offers a simple signup form that doesn't intimidate users and invitingly gets them to fill it out. Ironically, posterous offers the option of using Facebook Connect, but you wouldn't know that from the homepage. Instead, I am being told that to use the site that I am already on, I need to go back to my email client and send the site something (...or everything). It's hard enough to get someone to your site, why not let them use it immediately when they are there?

I Forget About You

How many sites have you signed up with, used for a couple of minutes then completely forgot about? You know when sites report the number of users they have and you think to yourself that 90% of those users have to be people that registered and never returned to the site. If there is a way you can remind people to come back to your site or make it easier for them to keep track of what is going on then implement it. Nothing should be holding you back. We have enough things going on in our lives to try and remember about your hot new toy.

Maybe you offer RSS feeds for everything or email alerts or SMS alerts. In some way you can't trust us to remember to check back in with your site, we need you to hold our hands. Build us a virtual leash.

The Design Sucks

During our great discussion of what design was it was assumed that design was more than just the way something looks so don't get snooty with me when I say the design sucks. You aren't a designer, you are a programmer, but that is no reason to make things harder to use. Reddit is ugly as sin to me, but I love it because it is easy to use. Gmail? Definitely not the epitome of aesthetics, but it gets the job done in an easy fashion. Tumblr? Sexy and easy to use. When you can pull that feat off your chances are looking pretty good.

You have to remember that you have been working with your service since day 1 so you know how to navigate around it. Everything is second nature to you so you won't view the site as a new user would. Get people you know to try it out and see what they think. If you aren't too lazy, apply some A/B testing and by all means continue to iterate. That doesn't just apply to code, but also how people interact with your site. Drawar has been up less than three months and I have probably made over 100 changes to how the audience works with the site. The changes haven't been dramatic, but I continue to tweak till hopefully one day I get the right formula.

It's also good to be a bit superficial. Your odds of converting new users is greatly increased if the aesthetics of your service are top notch. Looks aren't everything, but there is no reason you should handicap yourself with something that doesn't look good.

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If you are in the process of creating a new web app then think about why people won't want to use your site. Think about why you don't use other services. It's not an exact science and there is still a large chance you will not reach the epic proportions that you always dreamed of, but at least you can better your odds. And really I don't hate your Web App, I just don't see a need to use it.