Show HN: I redesigned my landing page to be as unprofessional as possible(straw.page)
straw.page
Show HN: I redesigned my landing page to be as unprofessional as possible
https://straw.page?ref=hn
150 comments
It's a huge update each time! This is completely different to the last and I posted this to show the new landing page...
99% of the discussion is focused on the landing page
99% of the discussion is focused on the landing page
That argument might hold some water if you hadn't been blatantly abusing the submission system and violating the site guidelines.
From https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html: "If a story has not had significant attention in the last year or so, a small number of reposts is ok." Emphasis added.
From both https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html and https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html: "Please don't delete and repost. Deletion is for things that shouldn't have been submitted in the first place."
From https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html: "Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff occasionally, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity."
From https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html: "If a story has not had significant attention in the last year or so, a small number of reposts is ok." Emphasis added.
From both https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html and https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html: "Please don't delete and repost. Deletion is for things that shouldn't have been submitted in the first place."
From https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html: "Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff occasionally, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity."
For the delete and repost, I did not read that guideline so I apologise for that.
However, the discussion itself is something new to Hacker News - is there a way to have it back up please? 99% of the comments are about this form of web design vs professionalism
However, the discussion itself is something new to Hacker News - is there a way to have it back up please? 99% of the comments are about this form of web design vs professionalism
That argument might hold water if you hadn't been using HN exclusively to promote your own stuff. That's not what HN is supposed to be for, as the guidelines make clear.
If you care about interesting discussions, the way to show that is to contribute stories that are just interesting without having any promotional angle. If you do that, then it's great to share your own stuff occasionally as part of the mix. That's the way to be a good community contributor.
I don't mean to be mean, but it feels pretty important to reiterate the values of the site.
If you care about interesting discussions, the way to show that is to contribute stories that are just interesting without having any promotional angle. If you do that, then it's great to share your own stuff occasionally as part of the mix. That's the way to be a good community contributor.
I don't mean to be mean, but it feels pretty important to reiterate the values of the site.
It doesn't seem fair to enforce it on this post in particular.
The discussion is primarily focused on unprofessionalism in design.
Why can you not put this post back up? I understand the other posts being argued as purely self promotion, but this is a completely new discussion where the majority of the talking points are outside the product
The discussion is primarily focused on unprofessionalism in design.
Why can you not put this post back up? I understand the other posts being argued as purely self promotion, but this is a completely new discussion where the majority of the talking points are outside the product
You only made the front page with this post because you abused the deletion system badly, along with using a baity title. I was willing to let the latter pass when I first saw it, because it was also fun, but when I saw that you'd posted your site and then deleted it over 30 times—that's outrageous. The community expects us not to allow such manipulation.
Lots of people make fun websites and post them here without resorting to such tricks. I don't think it would be fair to those users to let you get away with breaking the rules this badly.
I don't think this is so hard to understand? You're totally welcome in this community if you want to be a good community member along with everyone else. Above all, that means using it for curiosity, not just as a promotional channel.
Lots of people make fun websites and post them here without resorting to such tricks. I don't think it would be fair to those users to let you get away with breaking the rules this badly.
I don't think this is so hard to understand? You're totally welcome in this community if you want to be a good community member along with everyone else. Above all, that means using it for curiosity, not just as a promotional channel.
See also: https://lingscars.com/
Yes, it's a real car leasing company. Desktop version is best but mobile is still great.
Yes, it's a real car leasing company. Desktop version is best but mobile is still great.
That assaults you with a mix of garish colors and animations, but sections of sanity break through now and there.
The site for Yvette's Bridal Formal, sadly now gone but archived [1], lacks the animations, but doubles down on the color assault and doesn't interrupt it with any sanity for arguably more effective inflection of mental damage upon the viewer.
[1] https://yvettesbridalformal.p1r8.net/
The site for Yvette's Bridal Formal, sadly now gone but archived [1], lacks the animations, but doubles down on the color assault and doesn't interrupt it with any sanity for arguably more effective inflection of mental damage upon the viewer.
[1] https://yvettesbridalformal.p1r8.net/
This must be the global optimum for car site freshness, super amazing.
https://m.lingscars.com/ghc
"god hates cars"
You can't make this shit up. I hope they can keep this up forever.
https://m.lingscars.com/ghc
"god hates cars"
You can't make this shit up. I hope they can keep this up forever.
The copywriting is very fresh and to the point:
“ You can take the Hyundai Tucson abroad to any normal destination (usually excluding dodgy places like Albania, etc), but you should apply for a VE103 form from the finance company before you go, which proves to the damn foreign police that you have permission to use the car.”
> Note to Americans: the £ is like the $, except bigger
This is just perfect. I love this website so much. If I lived in the UK I would seriously consider buying from this website. So I guess this advertising works for me.
This is just perfect. I love this website so much. If I lived in the UK I would seriously consider buying from this website. So I guess this advertising works for me.
It's a multimillion pound business- she's been around for ages.
View source, it's worth it.
I'm kind of sad they minified their CSS and some of their JS. Sure minification saves some bytes, but I really wonder how much we really save assuming the server uses compression. I love being able to see how different sites work and minification makes that a lot harder.
After such an amazing page I am somewhat disappointed with the real thing...
https://www.google.com/maps/place/LINGsCARS/@54.9613364,-1.6...
https://www.google.com/maps/place/LINGsCARS/@54.9613364,-1.6...
Another fun one: http://www.canliscrabshack.com/
Part of what makes this fun is that Canlis is a high end dining restaurant and generally uses a very modern/professional aesthetic in their branding: https://canlis.com/
Part of what makes this fun is that Canlis is a high end dining restaurant and generally uses a very modern/professional aesthetic in their branding: https://canlis.com/
There's something very appealing to me about people who name their companies after themselves. Ling's cars, Prusa Research, Linus Media Group. Maybe I'm only remembering the good examples, but when you put yourself out there, it seems like there is a strong incentive to not fuck up your reputation.
The 19th century feel it lends may also be a part of it, and is also not accidental: the naming scheme originates from the times before the modern corporation, where no isolation from liability meant a failed business could easily leave the founder on the street (but loans were also much less accessible). Not much to lose further, then, is there?
> There's something very appealing to me about people who name their companies after themselves. Ling's cars, Prusa Research, Linus Media Group. Maybe I'm only remembering the good examples, but when you put yourself out there, it seems like there is a strong incentive to not fuck up your reputation.
So it would seem, but companies can and do survive their founders, and at that point they are no different than any other. Not to mention that founders can be motivated by reputation in an idiosyncratic manner.
So it would seem, but companies can and do survive their founders, and at that point they are no different than any other. Not to mention that founders can be motivated by reputation in an idiosyncratic manner.
Dell is another big one I can think of.
I've leased a car from Ling's, don't be fooled by the website. Their back office systems are fantastic and optimise the paperwork process perfectly.
Great customer service too - she runs an excellent business.
She was on UK dragon's den too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc1ktZRZ5ZM
Great customer service too - she runs an excellent business.
She was on UK dragon's den too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc1ktZRZ5ZM
We take it up a notch...
http://www.subgenius.com/newdevivals.html
"Become an Ordained Minister" http://www.subgenius.com/index.htm
http://www.subgenius.com/newdevivals.html
"Become an Ordained Minister" http://www.subgenius.com/index.htm
One I found that's similar is http://9front.org/. I scratched my head in disbelief because I was looking for an operating system, and the website looked like I arrived at a kooky conteo place.
Pretty effective. A great validation that single-page approach to landers actually works really well.
"Made in the People's Republic of China (Ling, not the website... which was handcrafted by Ling, in the UK)" :)
My god, it's full of gifs.
archived https://archive.md/xL2iF
A/B tests led down the uncharted path.
That's quite something
This is a work of art.
it's gross, i love it
I was expecting a cookie consent form...
and then a prompt to subscribe to your email newsletter...
and then a modal box offering 15% off
UX is probably in the top half of commercial sites
and then a prompt to subscribe to your email newsletter...
and then a modal box offering 15% off
UX is probably in the top half of commercial sites
It also renders fine (and quickly) with no Javascript. I'm going to guess it's probably also friendly on the data. It's (mostly) legible, despite the color scheme. There's no autoplaying video or audio that assaults my senses.
I think we could use more design like this on the web, but, you know, with interesting stuff to read.
I think we could use more design like this on the web, but, you know, with interesting stuff to read.
And a notifications permission from your browser or directly from the Operating System
Followed by the same for location access
And then finding out I have to consider turning off ad block to consider consuming the content
And then turning it off and refreshing the page just to find it was paywalled all along, just under the fold!
Followed by the same for location access
And then finding out I have to consider turning off ad block to consider consuming the content
And then turning it off and refreshing the page just to find it was paywalled all along, just under the fold!
Actually those things are all super "professional", they just shouldn't be...
Yeah this has nothing on:
"Hey 50.000 people are looking to book this exact room at this exact moment".
So unannoying, this site, that it's not even funny.
"Hey 50.000 people are looking to book this exact room at this exact moment".
So unannoying, this site, that it's not even funny.
Don't forget scroll-jacking and loading in 5MB of framework files
bringing me back to when the internet was beautiful.
install to your home screen, install the app
"unprofessional" is the wrong word. It's simply punk/brutalist.
You can find a similar aesthetic in many art spaces:
https://rhizome.org/events/
https://indigo.ooo/en/
https://2019.indigo.ooo/en/
https://2017.indigo.ooo/en/
You can find a similar aesthetic in many art spaces:
https://rhizome.org/events/
https://indigo.ooo/en/
https://2019.indigo.ooo/en/
https://2017.indigo.ooo/en/
Punk is explicitly unprofessional.
> "The punk ethos is primarily made up of beliefs such as non-conformity, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, a do-it-yourself ethic, anti-consumerist, anti-corporate greed, direct action and not "selling out"."
That punk is treated as a serious artistic subject does not conflict with that. There's lots of other unprofessional subjects and motifs in art spaces, e.g., nudity.
> "The punk ethos is primarily made up of beliefs such as non-conformity, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, a do-it-yourself ethic, anti-consumerist, anti-corporate greed, direct action and not "selling out"."
That punk is treated as a serious artistic subject does not conflict with that. There's lots of other unprofessional subjects and motifs in art spaces, e.g., nudity.
> Punk is explicitly unprofessional.
punk is dead,
It's just another cheap product for the consumer's head.
Bubblegum rock on plastic transistors,
Schoolboy sedition backed by big time promoters.
Cbs promoted the clash,
But it ain't for revolution, it's just for cash.
Punk became a fashion just like hippy used to be
And it ain't got a thing to do with you or me.
- Crass
Anything is professional these days as long as you can sell things with it.
punk is dead,
It's just another cheap product for the consumer's head.
Bubblegum rock on plastic transistors,
Schoolboy sedition backed by big time promoters.
Cbs promoted the clash,
But it ain't for revolution, it's just for cash.
Punk became a fashion just like hippy used to be
And it ain't got a thing to do with you or me.
- Crass
Anything is professional these days as long as you can sell things with it.
professional unprofessional. we can surely agree to disagree. the web site is well made. nothing unprofessional about it.
Unprofessional is not a synonym for bad. It does not mean poorly made.
"Unprofessional" only makes sense in the context of some particular profession. Many English dictionary definitions even explicitly mention something like "the expectations of a particular profession." I'm pretty sure there still are professional standards for doing graphic design work for a punk art organization. And you wouldn’t say that a plumber is coveralls is dressing unprofessionally. The word “unprofessional” doesn’t just mean “anything that’s different than a stock photo of a banker.”
In this case, the context is software development, and we are discussing advertising/marketing/landing material on the sales website. The OP website dramatically departs from the expectations of this profession. The OP is not selling art.
Did I state it was bad? or did I imply it was poorly made? I think it is a very well thought out, and well implemented website. Professionality and quality used in same context is mutually exclusive.
You've misunderstood me. I'm saying your previous comment implied that someone else must think the website is poorly made when they call it unprofessional.
> "The punk ethos is primarily made up of beliefs such as non-conformity, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, a do-it-yourself ethic, anti-consumerist, anti-corporate greed, direct action and not "selling out"."
Substitute "Punk" for e.g. "Group" and read that sentence again.
Substitute "Punk" for e.g. "Group" and read that sentence again.
And?? With the substitution reads like someone describing a punk/anarchy group.
I think he means something like this: (monty Python)
https://youtu.be/KHbzSif78qQ?t=35
https://youtu.be/KHbzSif78qQ?t=35
They maybe anti of many things but still have aesthetics..
Quite a few examples of this aesthetic can be found on Brutalist Websites[0]. (Be forewarned, the Brutalist Websites site itself is brutal in a different way: it tries to load hundreds of high-res screenshots all at once.)
[0] https://brutalistwebsites.com/
[0] https://brutalistwebsites.com/
https://dreamcult.xyz/
I like this one
I like this one
Reminds me of a quote from Bill Murray's character in The French Dispatch: "Just Try To Make It Sound Like You Wrote It That Way On Purpose."
This aesthetic brings back memories. I remember it was a look about 10 years ago with blogs like Hipster Runoff using it.
https://neocities.org is a fun one.
Appealing to a small minority that is not your target group. Hence unprofessional.
I agree with sentiment, it"s slightly sophiscated and good haha!
Brutalist? What does it have to do with concrete?
usepath.com (YC S19) kinda has this feel too, I think I get it.
[deleted]
Hey guys, straw.page is a drag and drop website builder that works on mobile.
I just redesigned the landing page, in preparation for a huge update coming next week (blogging!)
Twitter for updates:
https://twitter.com/okozzie_/status/1467951581408727047
I just redesigned the landing page, in preparation for a huge update coming next week (blogging!)
Twitter for updates:
https://twitter.com/okozzie_/status/1467951581408727047
Some time ago this was showcased on hn too: https://build.mmm.page/
It too is a dnd website builder that prone fun and brutalist design and whole tld also is .page. Are these two projects related ?
can you make me a landing page? :-)
Got to admit a "502 Bad Gateway" is not the most professional thing ever ;)
The same. I think it is technically correct and I initially thought that 502 error is intentional.
Haha! It's back up now :)
Down again! Very unprofessional. Well done
No it's not
It's back up haha. It's been down twice so far, but only 1 minute downtime for each
And down again
You are missing the "Under Construction" and flame gifs. To me, those defined the early era. Those were truly the mark of unprofessionalism.
Also the guest book and the Web ring.
and the guestbook has to trigger at least 5 XSS alertboxes for it to be the authentic experience.
and the visitor counter.
and the visitor counter.
And some stuff should be blinking.
Also, you must choose between a spinning logo or a flaming logo.
And the background should be a tiled animated GIF. Gotta keep it subtle.
I'm put in mind of an early client of mine that absolutely refused to take any of my advice concerning design:
https://web.archive.org/web/20011127214330/http://www.lvwedd...
Also, you must choose between a spinning logo or a flaming logo.
And the background should be a tiled animated GIF. Gotta keep it subtle.
I'm put in mind of an early client of mine that absolutely refused to take any of my advice concerning design:
https://web.archive.org/web/20011127214330/http://www.lvwedd...
God, this thread is a blast from the past. I love it!
Please do not forget the circling text or clock around the cursor.
Please do not forget the circling text or clock around the cursor.
"This page has been visited 999999 times"
An ex-coworker of mine had a hobby of building visually distressing sites like this. Here are the few I remember:
http://fastcashmoneyplus.biz/
https://ronamerch.co/
https://friendworld.social/
http://fakebullshit.news/
http://fastcashmoneyplus.biz/
https://ronamerch.co/
https://friendworld.social/
http://fakebullshit.news/
I enjoyed the integration between ronamerch and fastcashmoneyplus.
What makes it professional is that it's designed, with the intent to look oldschool/unprofessional. You've likely used a process and tools you were already familiar with.
Vernacular/unprofessional web design is search engine driven these days – using what's in reach. Basically searching for "create a website" and using one of the guides and tools popping up in the search results.
Vernacular/unprofessional web design is search engine driven these days – using what's in reach. Basically searching for "create a website" and using one of the guides and tools popping up in the search results.
I think we need to bring back cursor-tracking googley-eyes. No doubt it would increase average time on page.
I'm really disappointed that there's no midi of the X-Files theme playing the background.
For everything I built that never leaves my home network, I always use the HTML `marquee` tag somewhere, simply because I think it's funny and it's bizarrely still supported.
For everything I built that never leaves my home network, I always use the HTML `marquee` tag somewhere, simply because I think it's funny and it's bizarrely still supported.
The scrolling 'clouds' got me right away. Awesome.
I love this! A large appeal of this kind of thing is unlocking possibilities outside of the Generic Website box, so making that dead obvious to people is a very straightforward demonstration of value.
I love it. Honestly, it could be less professional.
I like your website for the same reason I use HipsterDB for all my database needs: https://github.com/robmerrell/hipsterdb
From their Github README.md:
"hipsterDB is a key/value store that only returns data as long as it isn't mainstream. The more often that you access a key the more mainstream it becomes. After data has gone mainstream you will have to wait for it to go out of style before using it again."
From their Github README.md:
"hipsterDB is a key/value store that only returns data as long as it isn't mainstream. The more often that you access a key the more mainstream it becomes. After data has gone mainstream you will have to wait for it to go out of style before using it again."
"Straw.Page lets you create unique websites straight from your phone.
A drag and drop website builder that works on mobile."
It clearly tells me what the product does unlike many landing pages these days. I often have to read docs to understand what a product does because someone decided to put too much effort to make it look unique.
It clearly tells me what the product does unlike many landing pages these days. I often have to read docs to understand what a product does because someone decided to put too much effort to make it look unique.
Okay, so, like. For the record. BUILDING and CLOUD are genius. I'm not even upset at what you've done with that. I wish more sites took themselves so blatantly as this one.
EDIT: omfg SUN
EDIT: omfg SUN
Haha, thank you! :)
> 420 page views
> 5 somaliland
Guessing the stats are fabricated
Guessing the stats are fabricated
Just to be clear, those aren't stats for my site (or any site) haha.
Premium users get analytics on their website - that was just supposed to highlight the analytics feature. I'll try to make it more clear that they aren't real stats (it's a demonstration of the feature)
Premium users get analytics on their website - that was just supposed to highlight the analytics feature. I'll try to make it more clear that they aren't real stats (it's a demonstration of the feature)
I wish the whole internet looked like this again, along with very little or no Javascript. Thanks for the best looking site I've seen today, aside from Ling's cars[0], which is also awesome.
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29465025
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29465025
I remember building sites like this using my feature phone way back when I was a kid, likely around 2006-2008. At the time I didn't have any other options to access the internet, so I used what I have. Used all of my allowance to buy some credits for a prepaid cell plan and spent most of my time on WAP site builders.
I love the textual replacement for the dull/predictable vector graphics header/footer.
[deleted]
Love it, gives me https://www.pitviper.com/ vibes. I think I'm going to go for this aesthetic for my bike club's website.
It's currently returning 502 Bad Gateway, so the title is very fitting.
This also reminds me of http://durgasoft.com/ which is, as far as I can tell, an actual offer for programming courses.
How unprofessional is it? Can you guarantee that i will lose customers if i use it? How many will i lose? How am i supposed to trust this service, it's so doesnt look very professional
I really love this! Any plans to make it a bit easier to use on desktop? I'd love to build my personal website on this, just like GeoCities back in the day.
i love it
you're hired :P
on a serious note, imo knowing exactly how to subvert a design or pattern shows not just mastery of the topic, but also flexiblity and when _not_ to use the thing
you're hired :P
on a serious note, imo knowing exactly how to subvert a design or pattern shows not just mastery of the topic, but also flexiblity and when _not_ to use the thing
I'd advise putting something in front of your web services so you can handle the excess load HN is throwing at you.
however, I saw what you had and it was great style.
however, I saw what you had and it was great style.
What's the conversion rate on that baby?
Oh man, this is so awesome. Great job!
Ironically this page is experiencing HN's hug of death and 502ing - so still working as expected?
Yeah, but it's unprofessional in just the right ways, which signals sophistication lol.
Well, I would agree on that.
I get a white page , a horizontal line and this content:
502 Bad Gateway nginx/1.14.0 (Ubuntu)
I get a white page , a horizontal line and this content:
502 Bad Gateway nginx/1.14.0 (Ubuntu)
Your Clouds are not rendered in Comic Sans. Completely unreadable.
Needs more "Under Construction" Man with shovel sign
It ain't unprofessional until there's blinking text.
Ah, so that's what a "Human" looks like.
Missing the "under construction" picture
You need the classic geocities trailing mouse text
Needs a guestbook at the bottom of the page
Needs animated gif of bill gates growing horns
502: Bad Gateway
checks out
checks out
Cruelty Squad as a Service
missing vital features... like I can still read the text in Firefox
Not in Asia. They do love colors.
You should switch more font sizes and mix in bold and italic
You should switch more font sizes and mix in bold and italic
hell yeah brother!
Wow, that is horrible. The only thing missing is a _blink_ tag.
needs more BLINK and bonzi buddy
Beyond that, you have posted it dozens of additional times and then deleted it. That's abusive. It's also against the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
Note this guideline as well: "Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff occasionally, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity." You've been breaking that one badly too.