October 17, 1989

The pumpkins were stacked on the table next to the portable radio tuned to 680 AM.

If you’d asked me the date, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you.

But now I can: October 17.

My friends and I were preparing to sell pumpkins for Halloween. We had planted them months earlier. Now we harvested a select few and placed them on display.

On the radio was the pre-game show for our two favorite teams, who would be facing off in the “Battle of the Bay” World Series… though they wouldn’t end up taking the field for another 10 days.

First, our radio goes off. We wonder if it lost power.

Before we can check, pumpkins start to roll…

We rush to secure our stock and now we can tell what’s happening. When you feel your first earthquake, there’s no question what it is.

And when it’s as big as that one, you remember it.

That was 33 years ago today and I can still see the power lines swaying even after the rolling stopped.

The first impression of your website may not be as memorable as an earthquake.

But whether your product is developer-friendly will stick in the minds of your technical visitors.

The presence (or lack) of dev messaging and navigation impacts how they remember you.

Are you just another day or are you an October 17?

P.S. Did you know we work with companies to provide a fresh-eyed view of that initial impression? Get one of our last DX assessments of 2022.