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Re:Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? by basmango on Saturday November 27, 2021 @02:46AM (#29358378)
The UI is definitely not responsive and the website looks ugly.
Re:Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? by quartesixte on Saturday November 27, 2021 @04:29AM (#29358878)
That “ugliness” is beautiful because imo McMaster’s interface facilitates turning unknown unknowns into known knowns.

Having all the options and important specs laid out on one giant page lets you discover blind spots in your thinking. Need an tube adapter for a fluid systems? Open up that page and as your scrolling through, discover that you forgot to think about the pitch of threading when you find the size and psi rating adapter you were looking for comes in several thread pitch options. Not sure which? Open up the handy explainer at the top of the page that explains to you the different options available and what they mean.

McMaster is primarily a B2B tool whose goal is to facilitate their users finding what they need, buying it, and building in a manner that is fast, convenient, and informative.

McMaster is a masterclass in UX and understanding what is really important to their business model, and resisting the urge to switch to trendy, sleek designs simply because it looks prettier.

Re:Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? by jazzyjackson on Saturday November 27, 2021 @05:32AM (#29359111)
“content is beautiful” - old japanese proverb
Re:Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? by alpaca128 on Saturday November 27, 2021 @03:20AM (#29358530)
The UI is very obviously responsive, usable and fast.
Re:Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? by jazzyjackson on Saturday November 27, 2021 @03:24AM (#29358554)
i think they mean responsive as in it doesnt rearrange everything to fit on a screen 500px wide
Re:Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? by alpaca128 on Saturday November 27, 2021 @03:49AM (#29358700)
I know what responsive means. I went from maximized window to narrower than many websites can handle and it adapts flawlessly. No idea how anyone could call this not responsive.
Re:Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? by spoils19 on Saturday November 27, 2021 @04:17AM (#29358822)
...the site is not responsive at all to fit to a mobile device?
Re:Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? by muzani on Saturday November 27, 2021 @07:36AM (#29359703)
There's two definitions of responsive, both of which are used in this thread.

1. It responds to your actions. Click stuff and it does that and does it quickly.

2. It gives you a different response based on which device you are using. You log on with a mobile device, it gives you a screen suited to mobile.

It doesn't do the latter. I'm on a phone. It might resize screens on a desktop, but doesn't do it for a phone.