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Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?

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Re: Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?

#32

Post by thebiglebrewski »

micah_chatt wrote: post #29
thebiglebrewski wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this is pretty common for F500 serving companies, but I had no idea that's what you did from looking at your landing page.

F500 is where the money is at, so that is where the marketing is at (currently). Also, selling (no-code) development software to F500 business units requires explanation, which is a hard problem.

For sure! I just always think it's kind of funny when I'm just like, "whaaaaat do you do?" from looking at a landing page. I get why it's like that though.

Re: Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?

#33

Post by mabbo »

> I never finish things because I get discouraged of how bad it looks in the beginning

So let it look bad. Let it look terrible frankly. You can make something that works look good later more easily than you can make something that looks good work.

I also recommend React and Redux. I am a terrible UI person, but playing around with React and it's declarative model has made my brain suddenly understand how to work with UIs.

Re: Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?

#35

Post by spraak »

I was in the same position. I made a resolve to learn enough to get by (so far) and have done so using the Next.js framework. It uses React but gives you soooo much 'out of the box'. It also makes doing CSS really easy.

The other part is that I learned by copying. I found an app I liked and wanted to make my own version of, and then component by component I copied it, often using the browser inspector to understand how the CSS worked.

Re: Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?

#36

Post by 3pt14159 »

I'm going to take a different angle:

Don't build a GUI if you don't have the skills to build a GUI. You won't be able to compete on features in the long run, and you certainly won't be able to compete on design in the short run. And certainly not without devoting 100% of your time towards it.

Instead realize that there are three primary types of interfaces that are in wide use today: GUI, API, and CLI.

If you're a backend dev the last two are much easier for you to build. So instead of building a GUI, build and API. Hire a designer to design you a basic 1 page marketing site. Keep it simple. Put up API docs on http://readme.io/ or something like that. Then iterate on features. Once you solve someones problem well enough find a second person. Iterate until finding leads is your primary problem, not closing them. At that point switch to marketing fulltime.

Re: Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?

#37

Post by adamqureshi »

Does not matter how bad it looks. What matters is you launch and get feedback / make money ASAP ( validate) Strong / successful designs allow a user to complete a task as FAST as possible. Also your app is not your business. You need to build a business THEN an app comes after. Your first goal is to validate your s business idea ( simple lading page with form / email capture) with some info about the benefits of your idea. ( freezes time, makes something more simple, less complicated ) get feedback on it, not ego stroke. You can do it. Just start with looking up strong examples THEN use pencil / paper to wireframe a BASIC UI or just copy a great app ( SO MANY OUT THERE) Perfection is an illusion. Build. Launch. Test. Feedback. Converge. Get useful feedback on why your app / business idea is NOT gonna work and for heavens sake don't take it personal ( when in feedback someone says "that shit is SO stupid) prove'em wrong with data ( i got 1k sign ups) Good Lucky!

Re: Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?

#38

Post by jorgeleo »

If your ideas REALLY solve an expensive problem, then the UI, what the heck, not even stability, matters.

There are 2 types of ideas where this is true:

* I can make a lot of money using your software that it would be near impossible to make otherwise.

* I can save a lot of money using your software that it would be near impossible to save otherwise.

Any other idea is just a bias guess that needs to be market tested, were UI/UX may or may not be of any importance.

If you are really sold on the Importance Of UI (tm). Read this book: Design for Hackers (https://www.amazon.com/Design-Hackers-Reverse-Engineering-Be...). It will not make you a designer, but it will make your UIs not fugly.

And finally, please consider on coding the software thinking it has no UI, or that the current UI is only one of many ways to use your software. It will help you to structure it so you can fix the UI later when it is actually profitable.

Re: Ask HN: What to do as a back-end dev and with many app ideas but can't do UX?

#39

Post by wslh »

I would partner or pay someone else to take care of the UX/UI. In most cases you can clearly divide tasks and the UI/UX guy implements the user interface using dummy web services and following a storyboard while you develop the other components. At the end there is an integration phase for these two parts.
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