LoFi: Local First by barbajoe

posted on: Apr 13, 2024 Share

TLDR: user experience (UX) above all

This podcast episode is the first I'm hearing about specific technologies to support LoFi (Local First) development, and I love it!

The first "ideal" for LoFi (and I'd argue the most important) they discuss is "no spinners."

To never have to show the user a spinner is an exceptionally difficult thing to accomplish. Still, the payoff from the absurd amount of improved UX makes it the obvious choice for most circumstances. For banking apps, reminder apps, development apps, and note-taking apps, all of these are dramatically improved from taking a LoFi approach. As Scott and Wes discuss in the episode, these are difficult problems to solve as an engineer. CRDT (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) specifically is potentially the most difficult thing to consider.

BUT! All that being said, I maintain my opinion that LoFi is the ideal approach in the majority of circumstances. Now I just need to convince my boss of that 😆.

Quick Links:

• Podcast Episode
• localfirstweb.dev
• Example lofi projects from Scott