[onli]

How would you know that?

The site is already divided into three sections: header, controls to the left, laptop list to the right. To style that accordingly won't make it in any way less useable or readable. Making the header look like a header would not affect you negatively in any way, or properly styling the pagination, or giving it a color scheme (even one based on white as background).

Really, this is a Show HN. Let's at least try to give OP proper feedback without resorting to head-in-the-sand subjectivity like that. "I'd prefer to have it look like my site I created for geocities with Frontpage" is not what will help OP presenting this to a potential employer, or making it a viable source of income.

[CaptSpify]

> How would you know that?

To be fair, I can't. I'm basing it on how I see your suggestions in my head. But the way I interpret the changes are how I've seen other sites do it, and it just sounds worse to me. I don't like extra styling, as it ends up cluttering the display. I personally find color-schemes annoying. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd have to see how OP implements your suggestions before actually deciding.

> Really, this is a Show HN. Let's at least try to give OP proper feedback without resorting to head-in-the-sand subjectivity like that. "I'd prefer to have it look like my site I created for geocities with Frontpage" is not what will help OP presenting this to a potential employer, or making it a viable source of income.

I think you really need to take a breath here. I am giving OP proper feedback, which just happens to disagree with yours. Neither style is "right". They are both subjective preferences. I'm saying that I like the style he chose, and disagree with the "improvements" that you are suggesting. I fail to see how I'm sticking my head in the sand.

I would argue that keeping it simple is helping him. It makes the site more usable, less cluttered, faster to load, less maintenance and more easily navigable.

[onli]

> I think you really need to take a breath here.

Maybe. You see, I hesitated after writing this, but then decided to stick with it. Just because I really am convinced that it is really bad advice. Based on my own sites (and pc-kombo.de is even in a related field), if you don't get the design at least near of being okay, people won't accept your site. Based on my studies, I know that usability does not get worse when giving it a proper design. And readability can simply (well, sometimes it's not that simple) be measured, but there is no reason at all it would get worse by doing the basics.

There is a small subset of people (socialized with another internet?) who really think the design of a site does not matter for them, or who disapprove of everything they think is modern design. Based on your comments, you are in that category. And some others commented in the same spirit here. Listening to those means making a site which 99% of internet users won't accept. At least as long as your site is not craigslist – but even current craigslist has more design than what I see on OPs site.

Not having a design is perfectly fine for a MVP. But not fine when going further. Stating otherwise actively hurts his chances of succeeding.

[CaptSpify]

I'm not against modern design, I'm against over-design. IME sites work better and are more maintainable the simpler they are. If a design improves a site, then by all means, make it more usable. But to me, function > design, and I don't see how your suggestions would make the site better. I'm not saying you are objectively wrong, I'm just saying that I'd much rather use this site than pc-kombo.de or other overly-designed sites that take functionality away on the premise of "looking nice".

[onli]

What are you talking about? Webdesign has never been about taking functionality away. I'm talking about separating page elements more properly, setting a link color, maybe setting a fitting background color, making sure elements stay big enough on a small screen, thinking about a logo for creating an identity, and having a look at the typography. How would any of this relate to negatively to the function of such a site?

That you think pc-kombo.de is overly designed I take as a compliment. Just saying, the design gave me the idea of adding the arrows at the side of the boxes, and gave a good place for the advanced menu, as well as the box control button for dismissing elements. It helped give users more functionality, more control over the site and their recommendations.

[CaptSpify]

> Webdesign has never been about taking functionality away.

Now I feel like we're not even speaking the same language. Some of the current trends in webdev are no advanced options, no configuration settings, preventing urls from setting state, etc. I think most of these have great intentions, but they do reduce functionality.

I'm just saying that, in general, I don't like the colors, extra elements, logos, etc. That's all clutter IMO that doesn't make sites less functional, but adds unnecessary cruft to them. I think this site is fine as is and doesn't need that extra stuff. If you think it does, then great! I'm glad you suggested it. I just disagree with you.