Reasonable design and interactivity have become the norm with no-code tools, templates and frameworks taking a lot of pressure of those who may have struggled with design if starting from scratch.
This proliferation also increases the standards of users who expect a more polished feel of a product (even if it's simple and barely works with a dumpster fire backend). Notable mention of Craigslist though which is only able to buck the trend due to lock-in. People using your product is the biggest signal that you are on to something but if potential users bounce because of your lacking UI/UX you may be less likely to pursue the development of your product.
Of course this isn't everyone and some of us are more than happy to put up with a less-polished UI in favor of the product itself (I'm looking at you *nix users). 'Show HN' states 'A Show HN needn't be complicated or look slick. The community is comfortable with work that's at an early stage.' and I feel that may be a portion of the users here but chances are higher that even those of us who are willing to use early stage products would prefer cleaner UIs.
Personally though - as someone who likes to launch products - it can be quite disheartening. On one hand I don't want to spend too much time on design however I fear that if I don't it will hinder me. My approach is to apply the 80:20 rule. Educate myself a little in design and use pre-made stuff as much as I can.