Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

avohq.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 171 posts

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#111

Post by adrianthedev »

MattyMc wrote: post #90

adrianthedev: THANK YOU for implementing a one-time fee. It actually make using this realistic for us. Quick question: Do you have support for front-end frameworks (i.e. React)? I did try to crawl the docs to find out. We have a Rails monolith, but we're unique in that we have a highly interactive educational app with a boat load of javascript. Our mantra has been: use React only if we absolutely have to. I realize w…

Thanks for the kind words!

Avo is built using Hotwire (Turbo and StimulusJS) so no fancy framework (React, vue, svelte) under the hood. We love Stimulus and goes very well with Rails development.

That beign said, Avo supports adding your own custom content (erb templates) and your own asset pipeline (webpacker, sprockets, or something else), so in theory you could inject React or Vue sprinkles here and there.

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#112

Post by adrianthedev »

chourobin wrote: post #71

congrats on launching, what's the landscape now and who are your competitors? it could be nice if you had a comparison page as a way to sell it further.

I'd say that the classic direct competition are Active Admin, Administrate, rails admin. They are the OG admin panel builders in the Rails world. They focus a lot on building just classic CRUD admin panels.

I focused on making Avo a whole app development platform. It's not that hidden place where just a few team members go to update some records, but the actual UI that you give to your users.

I'll make sure to create an "alternatives" page with competitors.

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#113

Post by nirvdrum »

danenania wrote: post #75
adrianthedev wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried that and the question that popped up was "what if I don't pay anymore? will I not be able to use it then?". It kind of turned people away, and that's why I change the copy. If an app has a longer lifetime than a year, and I hope it does, then you'd have to resume the subscription to get the updates (bugs and security). It's the way the perpetual-fallback license works. There are plenty of products (table plus…

I think it’s a mistake to optimize for people whose focus is what happens if they stop paying you. They’re unlikely to pay in the first place and are more likely to be difficult customers even if they do. Customers who get value out of your product will want to pay and keep paying and be sure they’re not going to miss important updates if they forget to renew in a year. These are the customers to focus on imo. People…

This is the approach JetBrains takes with their IDE suite and it's the best of both worlds in my opinion. It takes most of the risk out of the decision-making process. To date I've kept my subscription active, but I probably wouldn't have signed up if I didn't have a fallback option.

Maybe this is an esoteric case, but I have a project from a previously operating business (TechStars Boston 2010). Every now and then I think I'd like to take a nice stroll down memory lane. And then I remember I have one component that was an annual SaaS that I no longer have an expensive license for, so the thing won't boot. And I don't have the wherewithal to invest the time to replace it. It's extremely unlikely I'll ever adopt something similar in future projects, personal or otherwise.

I get "continuing value" from all sorts of things I'd never want a subscription for. If you're confident in your product's ability to innovate and continue to add value, you shouldn't worry about attrition. Providing a fallback option makes it clear to me that you have that confidence and that makes a huge difference during a purchase decision.

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#114

Post by adrianthedev »

schappim wrote: post #110
adrianthedev wrote: post #2

Hey HN, I'm Adrian, an indie developer and creator of Avo. For more than ten years, I built countless admin panels and back-offices for all types of apps. After a while, you start to notice patterns and extract functionality away to make the job easier. I took those patterns and applied them to Avo. Now, in just an hour, a developer can build production-ready applications that with traditional coding techniques take…

Could you please compare and contrast Avo with Jumpstart Rails (Pro)?

Yes, sure.

They are tools that work together nicely. I use both on our infrastructure websites (https://avohq.io). Jumpstart is an amazing starter app that gives you accounts, billing, notifications, and others, and with Avo you can take over and build your admin panel/back-office fast!

I've spoken with Chris Oliver and started work on adding Avo to Jumpstart and to have it as an alternative to rails_admin.

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#115

Post by adrianthedev »

turriblegrapes wrote: post #96

How would you compare or contrast this with motor_admin https://github.com/motor-admin/motor-admin-rails

I haven't used motor admin extensively so I couldn't speak about it's features very precise. It seems to me that motor admin is like a giving a power tool to your end-users. It's empowering the citizen-developer. They can make their own admin panel. You might end up with a good product, but it also can go the other way and build something not that good.

With Avo, you, the developer, draw the lines on what the user can and can't do. This way you make sure you give them the best experience.

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#117

Post by adrianthedev »

danenania wrote: post #95
adrianthedev wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well... Avo's pricing is exacty like Jumpstart's (except the $750 for unlimited). So pay $250, get Avo (or Jumpstart) with a year of updates. When you stop paying, you keep what you have until that point and no more updates. Isn't that the same? Am I missing something? Also, you do make a point regarding agencies "sign a client up for a bunch of services". I'll try and experiment with that. Thanks for the nudge!

Right, that’s exactly my point! Jumpstart has basically the same pricing/licensing but doesn’t frame it in a confusing way. At first glance, it’s just a yearly subscription per project. Simple and standard. Everyone understands it. If I’m concerned about what happens if I stop paying for jumpstart, I can find that information, but it’s not emphasized at the top like it is on your pricing page. And the yearly subscrip…

Ok. Got it! It's mostly about the phrasing. Pushed changes now.

"It’s better for the customer and for jumpstart." It's true.

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#118

Post by adrianthedev »

danbee wrote: post #116

This looks very similar to Administrate by thoughtbot https://github.com/thoughtbot/administrate

Yes, they do intersect in some areas as you can build CRUD UIs with both. Avo takes it further to give it a nicely designed UI, all the "missing" features like extending the interface, adding custom content, supporting all associations thoroughly and more.

I think of it like the next iteration of these kinds of tools.

Have you built something using administrate?

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#119

Post by danenania »

nirvdrum wrote: post #113
danenania wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s a mistake to optimize for people whose focus is what happens if they stop paying you. They’re unlikely to pay in the first place and are more likely to be difficult customers even if they do. Customers who get value out of your product will want to pay and keep paying and be sure they’re not going to miss important updates if they forget to renew in a year. These are the customers to focus on imo. People…

This is the approach JetBrains takes with their IDE suite and it's the best of both worlds in my opinion. It takes most of the risk out of the decision-making process. To date I've kept my subscription active, but I probably wouldn't have signed up if I didn't have a fallback option. Maybe this is an esoteric case, but I have a project from a previously operating business (TechStars Boston 2010). Every now and then I…

Just to be clear, I’m not arguing that he should remove the fallback option, just that a subscription should be the default. I agree the fallback is a good thing that reduces lock-in/shutdown risk. But that benefit can still be offered alongside a yearly subscription.

Re: Show HN: Avo – Build Ruby on Rails apps faster

#120

Post by excid3 »

adrianthedev wrote: post #114
schappim wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you please compare and contrast Avo with Jumpstart Rails (Pro)?

Yes, sure. They are tools that work together nicely. I use both on our infrastructure websites ( https://avohq.io ). Jumpstart is an amazing starter app that gives you accounts, billing, notifications, and others, and with Avo you can take over and build your admin panel/back-office fast! I've spoken with Chris Oliver and started work on adding Avo to Jumpstart and to have it as an alternative to rails_admin.

Yeah, Avo is a great alternative to the free admin we ship with (Administrate). And Jumpstart Pro customers get 20% off their first year of Avo. Thanks for sharing that discount Adrian!
Post reply on HN