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How to build the best of breed web apps

80 points| kinlan | 14 years ago |html5rocks.com

15 comments

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[+] gazrogers|14 years ago|reply
I'm not sure I want to take advice on design from a site which thinks that flipping paper pages is a suitable metaphor for a browser. It's clever but, in my opinion, it's a poor interface.

Wasn't there a link on here recently about poor skeuomorphic interfaces?

[+] cynwoody|14 years ago|reply
Thanks for teaching me a new word.

My initial hurdle was figuring out how to turn the page. Clicked in a bunch of different places to no avail. Fiddled with the little dots. Finally discovered the arrow keys work. Duh!

What followed was reasonable, but hardly remarkable, advice.

However, an ordinary blog post or a PDF would have worked much better than that cute but stupid skeuomorphism.

[+] grannyg00se|14 years ago|reply
This is pretty bad. I tried with CSS turned off and it was still unusable. Trying to deal with this makes me want to go to craigslist for some counter style. Balance out the excessives.
[+] tnuc|14 years ago|reply
Oh the irony.

If only the web app about web apps was usable.

[+] ddrager|14 years ago|reply
Yikes - I would like to read this but I can't even save it to Instapaper for my reading time on my mobile device. Irony...
[+] tomkr|14 years ago|reply
I agree with the sentiment, the interface seems to be aimed at looking nice more than being usable, which would make it so much easier to use as a reference. But if you follow the check-list in the "book", it is not actually a web app itself. It's aimed at someone reading its content, not really using it as an application. So I guess they kind of found a loophole for themselves.

I do think it's really pretty though.

[+] hengli|14 years ago|reply
Gah, I want to read the contents of this book but the design is so terrible.
[+] ThomPete|14 years ago|reply
A good read with good tips and well designed (aesthtically)

Don't listen to the haters. This is good stuff with valuable content.

[+] Natsu|14 years ago|reply
I would have read more of it, but I got too annoyed trying to get the pages to flip properly. It doesn't help that they interfere with my mouse gestures plugin...
[+] jrvarela56|14 years ago|reply
what is this? i just see some wood panel and two circles
[+] robomartin|14 years ago|reply
My question would be about SEO. Don't you run the risk of making a site that looks like a single (or just a few) pages regardless of how deep your content might be?
[+] Alind|14 years ago|reply
Actually, regardless the design of this site, contents are good though
[+] rufugee|14 years ago|reply
It's about 1000% better than anything I've ever done, it's free, and the content is good. Seems like the guy is trying to help people build better web apps...that is a noble intent IMHO. Why not offer constructive criticism instead of all this negativity?