--- title: "Front-End Design: Hide the Guts of the Machine" id: "34767" type: "post" slug: "front-end-design-hide-the-guts-of-the-machine" published_at: "2016-08-29T18:47:19+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T17:20:55+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/08/29/front-end-design-hide-the-guts-of-the-machine/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/08/29/front-end-design-hide-the-guts-of-the-machine.md" excerpt: "Why you should focus on your front-end design instead of your back-end design. Also: It's time to update your Facebook page with a new design." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "front-end" - "Technology" - "User Experience" - "Web Design" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Front-End Design: Hide the Guts of the Machine If you’re getting paid to do something, odds are that you’re more willing to put up with a frustrating interface than are people paying *for* access to that interface. So when it comes down to building stuff targeted at your members, Effective Database Management’s Wes Trochlil says you should make sure the front end is easy to use, even if the back end needs to be more complicated. “Our first job is to help our customers buy, whether it’s membership, events, products, or services,” Trochlil writes. “Anything that makes it more difficult to buy will dampen our sales. That’s bad.” The thing is, you can train employees to use your software, but you can’t train customers. “Hopefully you can choose BOTH,” Trochlil adds, “but the next time you have to make a choice between a better customer experience and a better staff experience, choose the customer!” [Read more on Trochlil’s site (opens in a new tab)](http://effectivedatabase.com/if-you-have-to-choose/) . ### Update Your Facebook Pages > [#Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Facebook?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > Page Design Changes: What Marketers Need to Know via [@smexaminer (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/SMExaminer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [https://t.co/RDczhQWgjt (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/RDczhQWgjt) > [#assnchat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — iMIS (@iMISbyASI) [August 29, 2016 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/iMISbyASI/status/770229959654830082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **In case you missed it,** Facebook recently made a bold move to change up the design of its pages. (The biggest change? The profile picture no longer overlaps on the cover photo.) In case you need to figure out how to make the most of the new design, [check out Social Media Examiner‘s post (opens in a new tab)](http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-page-design-changes-what-marketers-need-to-know/) . ### Other Links of Note **Interesting idea of the day:** Apparently inspired by [some recent talk about the potential of Slack](http://associationsnow.com/2016/08/wednesday-buzz-slack-member-benefit-maybe/) as a member benefit, the startup QiqoChat has launched an association community Slack network to further experiment with the strategy—complete with some dedicated bots. [Sign up here (opens in a new tab)](http://association-community-slack.herokuapp.com/) . **Amazon’s latest workforce experiment** is definitely worth a watch. Last week, the company [announced a plan (opens in a new tab)](http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/what-amazons-new-30-hour-workweek-pilot-means.html) to offer some employees 75 percent of a full-time salary in exchange for a 30-hour work week. Is that the new normal? **If you haven’t logged into your Dropbox account lately,** odds are you’re going to have to reset your password. [Here’s why (opens in a new tab)](http://www.informationweek.com/devops/project-management/dropbox-urges-users-to-change-old-passwords/d/d-id/1326744) . (Pixabay) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#front-end](https://associationsnow.com/tag/front-end/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) [#User Experience](https://associationsnow.com/tag/user-experience/) [#Web Design](https://associationsnow.com/tag/web-design/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoNew Web Site DemoAugust 19, 2010](https://associationsnow.com/2010/08/19/new-web-site-demo/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: More Than Marketing: The Power of Strategic CommunicationsJuly 30, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/30/associations-now-presents-more-than-marketing-the-power-of-strategic-communications/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: Why Slower Marketing Can Drive Stronger Member Engagement (Episode 27)June 25, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/06/25/associations-now-presents-why-slower-marketing-can-drive-stronger-member-engagement-episode-27/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2Ffront-end-design-hide-the-guts-of-the-machine%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !