How do you know when software is good? I think software is best when it feels like magic.

Signing up, getting started, and then actually using the product should feel like when you go to the grocery store and everything on your list is there in stock. There’s no need to mess around with email codes not delivering, long sign-up forms, and a plethora of onboarding emails to “get you started using xyz”

Who does it best?

Over my times of using software, I have found a few instances in which onboarding and use of the product feels like complete magic. These include:

• Apple sign-up and transfer processes
• Stripe (generally)
• Google docs - most of the time
• Excalidraw

Why care?

This feeling of magic may seem insignificant, but I argue that it is more important than first thought. The correlation between fast and smooth software and being a long term user is quite high and often underrated.

Just as I appreciate buildings that have been masterfully crafted and stand the test the time, I feel the same should hold true for software.

Quality software that feels polished often can act as a cover for small errors that may arise through use, and will give the user more of a yearning to persist and push past bugs that come up in the future.

Takeaway

• I aim to build software so smooth it feels like magic. Where integrations, setup, and overall use are as easy as possible.
• Making software this way is hard, but important. It often is the difference between what makes for a long term product and one that only lasts for a few weeks.