Fred Wilson, venture capitalist and blogger, did this talk at the Future of Web Apps conference in Miami in February. The reason why I wanna share this with you is that some of the 10 principles he describes have often been key reasons for me to choose a certain web app over another. I think these principles are actually very basic but nonetheless extremely important. I will use them as a basic checklist for all future web apps that I am going to develop.

Source: Carsonified on Vimeo

For those who do not want to watch the whole video, here are Fred Wilson’s 10 Golden Principles for Web Apps:

1. Speed
   A web app needs to be fast. If the user feels that the application is slow, he will stop using it.
2. Instant Utility
   Fred says that users should be able to instantly use the application and see results without waiting too long.
3. Software is Media
   This basically says that web software should have a personality, an attitute or a certain style.
4. Less is More
   Web apps should only have a minimum set of features when they are launched. Features can be added over time although simplicity should always be favoured over new features.
5. Make it Programmable
   Allow others to build software on top of your product (e.g. via APIs). I guess facebook is doing a good job at this.
6. Make it Personal
   Users should establish a personal connection with the software and feel like they own the application. (e.g. by allowing them to customize backgrounds or avatars)
7. RESTful
   This means that every part of a web app should have a clean and comprehensive URL.
8. Discoverability
   Do SEO and use social media to make your application discoverable.
9. Clean
   Web applications should have a clean and intuitive interface with lots of space and only the most needed features visible.
10. Playful
    There should be a certain game dynamic in any web app. People like to play and this should be reflected in a web app.

That is a short summary of Fred’s points. For a full transcript, please visit the Carsonified Blog where I found this valuable video.

Filed under: Videos by Stef
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