Ruby website redesigned

I used cursor over the past three weeks to update a 12 year-old Ruby on rails project. While it has been slightly updated throughout the years, this was my first proper modernization of the code base.

It’s been a real pleasure getting back into Ruby after so many years in typescript, python, and rust.

Happy to see the update. Real shame about the haters here, the Ruby community is a supportive and positive bunch that has shipped real products while others seem to worship at the altar of computer science alone… that’s about as counter snarky as I want to be here

So many Web designers put zero thought into how their page looks when it is not loaded or not scrolled exactly past the trigger. So many sites say "0 happy customers", because someone thought showing incrementing numbers is cool. On this page, it opens up with a "100%" loading indicator, for a site that appears to have no interactivity that would require JS, just to show a pointless animation.

I like how it looks. I don't like to see how badly it is crafted tech-wise - not optimized images by size and deferring, JS for things that work natively in the browser, bloat of tailwind instead of nice clean and modern CSS.

Knowing ruby I can tell that the relaxed approach to the website does not correspond with sophistication in the language itself. If I wouldn't know ruby, that would be a put off for me, thinking that if they don't want to convince me tech-wise by their site, it might be similarly annoying to deep-dive into the language.

I like the new design, however, I strongly believe the website could've been optimized further and used much less JS. Opening the website with JS turned off makes the code examples not load and the front page freezes as "0%" loading.

What does it do exactly? It just fetches[1] to another part of site and retrieves static text[2] to be displayed. This part could've been kept as part of the html, no need for this artificial loading. It's not a webapp, it's a website.

1. https://www.ruby-lang.org/javascripts/try-ruby-examples.js

2. https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/examples/i_love_ruby

In this day and age, it is possible to have an appealing, responsive, lightweight website with no JS (maybe except for darkmode toggle).

Maybe it was vibe coded, considering that Claude is the #3 committer in the website's repo[1].

[1] https://github.com/ruby/www.ruby-lang.org/graphs/contributor...

Not long ago I was looking through programming language sites to figure out how to best introduce the language I'm working on.

ruby-lang.com stood out with a text in a big font:

Ruby is...

Followed by a paragraph about what makes Ruby special. I think that was an exceptionally simple and natural way of introducing something as complex as a programming language.

I thought it would be interesting to try the showcase examples in Raku (since I am always saying how good Raku's imitation of Ruby is)...

  - https://glot.io/snippets/he42jpfm27
  - https://glot.io/snippets/he42trx6w6
  - https://glot.io/snippets/he434b6ryj

I don't know what others are complaining about here, it loads for me as fast as this HN, but looks nicer.

Loading percentage in the middle? I haven’t seen one of those since Micromedia flash days.

Meta, but it's kind of ironic that the main Ruby language website shows a "0%" Ruby symbol with javascript deactivated, and doesn't even show the code examples, which are all just links to some sandbox anyway.

Refreshing and delightful! I know how the home page looks doesn't reflect the programming itself, but this design really makes me want to try Ruby again :)

I wonder why Sandi Metz is missing in the testimonial section. One of the most influential persons in software analysis and design in the Rubyverse.

The site looks great visually but the technical implementation is disappointing. Here's what's wrong:

1. Code examples are fetched via JS instead of being in the HTML. They're static text - there's zero reason for this.

2. The "0%" loading spinner blocks everything. It's literally just displaying a download button and some text.

3. With JS disabled, you get nothing. A language website should be the poster child for progressive enhancement.

The irony is that Ruby itself has always emphasized developer happiness and doing things "the right way." This site feels like it was built with the modern JS framework mindset rather than the Ruby philosophy.

Still, huge improvement over the 2005-era design. Just wish they'd optimized it properly.

Is there a manifesto out there saying that one should build with html and only if needed add css then svg then js?

It seems this site doesn't work so well without JS.

I'm glad to see they didn't use wordpress.

The old site as a comparison.

https://web.archive.org/web/20251113164224/https://www.ruby-...

wow that loads slow

I like the design and content. Being able to immediately try a language online is huge

But there has to be a way to load that content in a progressive manner. Loading a static version first and then hydrating the content if you need interactive actions

Nice! There is a Japanese feel to the lead graphic, their prevalence of cartoon imagery, that one might not recognize without having traveled in Japan.

Is the design debate public? I'd imagine it would make great reading.

So much better. The website was looking like abandonware, which was not helpful in projecting ruby as an actual thriving ecosystem.

Feels like base camp website.

Very nice, my nature-lang references the old ruby design, now maybe I can reference the new one.

Very form over function, with JS for everything, including static content, and bad performance. This signifies what’s wrong with “modern” webdev.

Looks like base camp website.

The Lighthouse report is telling. It scores 100% for Best practices and SEO, but 54% for Performance. Pages like these used to be caricatures of the modern web, but are now acceptable. DHH's statement doesn't help either.

On my iPad, without scrolling, the screen shows almost nothing, just a download button and some text that, I think users will ignore. I think that’s a waste of valuable screen estate.

Also, apart from a quote from David Heinemeier Hansson the home page doesn’t even mention that ruby is a programming language.

For comparison, the following all mention that above the fold, with a short phrase indicating what you would want to use the language.

- https://www.python.org/ has “Python is a programming language that lets you work quickly and integrate systems more effectively. Learn More”

- https://www.perl.org/ has “Perl is a highly capable, feature-rich programming language with over 37 years of development”

- https://www.php.net/ has “A popular general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited to web development. Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.”

- https://www.swift.org/ has “Swift is the powerful, flexible, multiplatform programming language. Fast. Expressive. Safe.”

Ruby is GOATED. You can say what you want but Ruby coupled with Rails is the most productive web stack period.

Why you might ask? - Omakase Stack - high level is good for business processes - modern concepts without JS ecosystem churn - great testing capabilities - great ecosystem - highly effective stack for LLMs (conventions)

Is it fast in Benchmark Games - not by any means. Will you be able to finish projects and make money with it? Absolutely.

DHH praising himself in the testimonials, funny.

Well well well. Now can we stop arguing about ruby death? It is even got a site redesign! What a fresh look. Previous design was from 2005?

So, in order to show a single download link it needs to load an animation with visible loading progress even on a gigabit connection. It takes a few seconds to appear. All to show a scaling animation that can be achieved with a couple of lines of CSS.

Same for absolutely static code examples that take a few seconds to load and shift the content away.

Why?

Putting DHH right next to Matz must be some kind of sick joke

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not a serious language, not a serious website. very fitting

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This is just straight-up unappealing, really gaudy, if that's the right word. Otherwise I can't put it into words well.

Lol, it does not load when JavaScript is disables. I wonder if Ruby still sticks to Free Software principles.

I loved the old website. It was one of the few "good old things" I used to check out when I got nostalgic. What a waste...