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⭐️ Start with features, not apps

Quick one: Ever thought we've been designing apps all wrong? Yup, that's right. We're like those people who build the roof before the walls.

Here's the deal: start with a feature, not a layout. Why worry about a top nav or sidebar when you don’t even know what you’re building yet?

Imagine this: building a flight booking app. Do you really need a flashy homepage right off the bat, or just a badass search function that gets the job done? Exactly.

Never forget this multi-billion dollar feature:

Google

Or this one. Can it get any simpler?

ChatGPT

So, next project, cut to the chase. Build the feature first, slap on the app design later. Maybe we'll end up with less caffeine-fueled midnight coding sessions. 😅

Cheers to simpler and saner app design!

Check webcrumbs.org to find our when we launch.

Top comments (25)

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grantges profile image
Bert Grantges

I would go higher - focus on the outcome you want to achieve for your audience, that will inform what requirements (or features) you actually need.

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mfp22 profile image
Mike Pearson

I would go higher - focus on the 2nd law of thermodynamics, that will inform what entropy channels (or requirements) are inevitable in the grand scheme of things.

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alxwnth profile image
Alex

It’s not features that propelled these two examples but offering a solution to problems. For google it can be summarized as finding information you need. For ChatGPT it’s not so obvious since it can solve a whole bunch of problems, but I’d say that the core one is how to interact with an LLM in a simple way (in this case through a chat bot).

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opensourcee profile image
OpenSource

Agree!! "Features that solve problems", not any feature, like a button or something.

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techtobe101 profile image
Tech Tobé

Ah, so good! I wish I could repost thisss! I truly believe my community could benefit from reading this ⭐

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sdevr profile image
SDevr

this could be my this week's goal. build a feature first app. :)

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ashishyadaav profile image
Ashish

I have tried to his and it has worked everytime as a designer once features are established it's better to Design it with form & functionalities, nice Post:)

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wunmicrown profile image
pamilerin

Good perspective..

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tabs150 profile image
Thabiso Pheko

I am currently building a lot of YAGNI features

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opensourcee profile image
OpenSource

Thank you a lot for the reference, by the way. It's here for everyone:

Wikipedia YAGNI

Martin Fowler YAGNI

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opensourcee profile image
OpenSource

I had to search it:

"You aren't gonna need it" (YAGNI) is a principle which arose from extreme programming (XP) that states a programmer should not add functionality until deemed necessary.

Yeah, resist adding it!!

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opensourcee profile image
OpenSource

Curious... Is it because someone put them on the sprint? Sometimes it's outside our control indeed... but I hope they'll listen you!

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offirmo profile image
Offirmo

I'm also building a lot of YAGNI but

  • it's for personal projects
  • I accepted that I'll never finish my projects, it's a hobby that's giving me pleasure, that's ok
  • hmm YAGNI is the best for relaxing ;)
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rixcrafts profile image
Richard Garcia

Good perspective..

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asachanfbd profile image
Abhishek Sachan • Edited

It depends on the approach, if you want to just test your idea you start with a flashy homepage and don't start building features.

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arbythecoder profile image
Arbythecoder

I love the perspective... Designs should be secondary but at least, let the app do the major work you said it will do.✌

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