Mind the (complexity) gap
About a month ago, the React team deprecated Create React App, a simplified framework for making React websites with minimal configuration. People were disappointed by this announcement because Create React App helped beginners bridge what I’ve termed the complexity chasm.
A complexity chasm is a big jump between simple and complex uses of a product. You see this in many places—an “advanced settings” button in an app; or how in coding frameworks they are either “all batteries included” or “you’re on your own”.
Complexity chasms make it difficult for new users to grow with your product, because the step up is too large. Users need to relearn concepts and deal with more upfront complexity, rather than be eased into it. The result? Users will either jump through hoops to adapt the simple interface; muddle through the advanced interface inefficiently; or just give up.
Crossing the complexity chasm
Use one interface but hide away advanced options.
For APIs, choose sensible defaults for optional settings. For UIs, tuck away advanced settings and provide an interactive onboarding when users are interested in them.
Group related concepts together to make it easy for a user to stumble upon what they’re looking for.
Design your interface so users can trust their intuition when solving their problems. Your interface should feel like exploring an old European city, full of alleyways and nooks branching off main streets.
Document working examples for both simple and complex problems.
Make it easy for users to find an example and adapt it to their problem at hand. Don’t send users straight to low-level details after a basic tutorial.
Examples of well-designed interfaces
uv is a command-line tool for Python developers, written in Rust for performance. It started by making Python package installation faster and more reliable, but now it also helps beginners with other Python tasks like managing multiple versions of Python and (in the future) type checking.
Tailscale enables you to create secure, private VPNs for your network. After a quick and easy setup process, its web interface lets you explore more advanced features, such as access controls and DNS settings. In addition, its documentation gives multiple recipes for how to connect various services to your Tailscale network.