I'm actually ashamed of the way the discussion has progressed here. I'm a writer as well as a designer. It strikes me that much of the sentiment here has been defensive: "But you need the bells and whistles because otherwise people can't and won't engage with your content!"

I found it far easier to engage deeply with your content than I have with sites that employ parallax scrolling and complex visual trickery to tell a story. Does that mean I don't think those flashy sites have a place? I think they do. But I can only speak from my experience, as a reader and a user, and my experience is that I appreciate being able to engage with content deeply instead of having shiny toys thrown at me every so often to prevent me from clicking away.

It's not either-or, of course, and I don't think you're suggesting that every site on the internet needs to exist as black Times New Roman on a white background. There's no standard template for how to "correctly" communicate. We all enjoy a good spectacle every one in a while. But sometimes, we can also appreciate a compelling string of words on a plain page. I think that's all you're arguing, and I'm totally behind that.

i can't speak for anyone else, but as a web designer, there was nothing in your post that i haven't heard already. an overly verbose and pretentious rehash of the old adage "content is king."

and that core message has nothing to do with your book.

your book does seem interesting though.

Great numbers you have there! I would also like to take a look at the numbers of your B version, where you actually do some design. I'm sure you are familiar with the concept of A/B testing, right?

I have to say, I really like what you wrote. But to come here and declare it a big hit, just with numbers and nothing to compare, makes me think that you were only looking for hype.

Have a great day.