Agreed. I think content plays a much more significant role than aesthetics in what makes a site "great". I mean, look at the site we're on now. HN's aesthetics are clearly outdated and "unsleek" by all modern comparisons. But the site facilitates bringing the relevant content to its users well, like Stripe's website. That's the differentiating thing Stripe does well -- its visual design is not the difference maker.
HN is the exception not the rule, it's half full of devs with irrational hatred towards javascript frameworks and half full of devs with irrational devotion towards javascript frameworks. The two groups have found a tenuous peace by agreeing to direct their hatred towards designers.
As a designer, I use one of the many alternative HN clients made for my people.
I don’t think we hate designers. I think they are great.
The best designers are those who are absolute maniacs at trying to figure out the essentials, ensuring every little thing has a purpose, design that helps the user get their job done. It’s fast, it’s simple, it’s readable and delightful.
I think what I as a dev loathe is bloated design, animations without a purpose, megabytes of crap that slow things down. Those social sharing buttons no one clicks.
I have a job to do, I have little patience, don’t make me feel like an idiot. Just get the job done.
I think I phrased my comment wrong. I didn't mean to imply that what you actually see on the screen and how content is presented to you are unimportant. I meant aesthetically pleasing elements (like nice colors and brilliant animations) are less important components to "great" design than actually feeding content to users in the most intuitive way possible. Great designers are still very much needed to achieve the latter in my opinion.
I'm not a hater of designers :)
Reader: WHY SHOULDN'T I CLOSE THE PAGE RIGHT NOW? YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS!
Page, in big letters: "The new standard in online payments"
Reader: That sounds potentially relevant to me. You have... a few more seconds. Make haste!
Page: "Stripe is the best software platform for running an internet business. We handle billions of dollars every year for forward-thinking businesses around the world."
Reader: Good, good. I want to accept online payments, and it's comforting to know that this place does non-trivial transaction volume. Rejoice, for I'm now willing to read an entire paragraph without closing the tab. Go!
Page: "Stripe builds the most powerful and flexible tools for internet commerce. Whether you’re creating a subscription service, an on-demand marketplace, an e-commerce store, or a crowdfunding platform, Stripe’s meticulously designed APIs and unmatched functionality help you create the best possible product for your users. Millions of the world’s most innovative technology companies are scaling faster and more efficiently by building their businesses on Stripe."
Reader: Your value proposition has become sufficiently compelling that I'm now willing to scroll down. My worry, though, is that the API is going to involve faxing COBOL to a batch-mode IBM S/360 or something.
Page: "[...] you can get up and running with Stripe in just a couple of minutes." And here's some really clean runnable example code! Press here to try it!
Reader: Ooh, nice! Okay, I'm sold. How do I get started?
Page: We put another "Start Now!" button at the bottom in the hope that you'd be thinking that.
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Most landing pages that I see have decent-looking visual design, but fall flat because they weren't written with a skeptical and impatient stranger in mind. The really good ones like Stripe are the exceptions, and when I read articles like this I'm not sure if people realize why they're so much better.