Well the good think about web design is that you can do whatever you like to use as a trend or something totally new. Material Design is not like a step by step method to do design is more like a what colors you could use and what kind of elements you can also use but without any kind or limitations and a lot of flat design. I think MD is pretty effyn good for animations and transitions inviting you to start using or use more SVG's instead of PNGs. The bad thing about using MD as your default framework or inspiration is that all sites that are 100%, 90% or 80% designed with MD as base is that pretty much everyone will look the same, with just some little changes.

I think it is fine for 'the web' if we are talking about HTML in general, however I don't think it works as well as it could for mouse/keyboard devices. It's really designed for touch. I'd like it to be more responsive. It should adapt better for laptop/desktop systems. Smaller hit targets, more use of keyboard centric controls, etc.

As some others mentioned, the main benefit of MD is that it provides a specification for developers to follow. I'm not the most creative person in the world, and though I do both front and back end development, I find that the majority of my time is always spent on the "look and feel" of my applications rather than the back-end business logic.

Add to the fact that many people use Android, thus are already familiar with MD.

As also mentioned, mobile devices are becoming more prevalent for common web usage. I find myself often whipping out my phone to either look something up or use some web site. I get really annoyed when I go to a website on my phone and I can't do something because they didn't design the site with mobile in mind...I then have to jump on my laptop to accomplish the task.

If I want to avoid that same annoyance with my own users, I should ensure that mobile design is built into my web applications from the beginning.

On a practical standpoint, I prefer responsive mobile-first design because I then have 1 codebase to maintain instead of both mobile and desktop versions of the site.

In the particular field I write software in, many of my customers are using web applications and technologies that look like they came from the 90s. But they use them because they get their work accomplished.

The focus of developers (and software in general) is first to accomplish the task and provide value, and second to look pretty while doing it (but I do argue that the look/feel does play into the usability). Usability and "prettiness" are not opposites, and MD provides a realistic demonstration of that fact.

Does MD "work" for web applications? Yes, it can. Combined with responsive mobile-first design, I think MD is a great starting point for a developer who isn't as creative himself.

In reality, the name "Material Design" is a branded term for minimal design. It's a style just like any other approach to design. I like it and feel it has a purpose because of it's simplicity. I've always been a fan of minimal design even when Skeuomorphism was king. My style derived from what I learned by studying Sumi-e. Communicate the essence of the subject with minimal strokes. Material does just that. I think where many go wrong is the misuse of negative space and juxtaposition which results in designs that are off balance. Another area where designers go wrong is not using the Material components correctly or consistently. Using the metaphors and patterns in a way that confuses the user.

Anyway, as I mentioned, it's a design style. If Material Design fits the needs of the project be it web or mobile, I say use it.

Taking into count that the web is going mobile-first I beleive Material Design is a real good step forward on the way we design user interfaces.

Remember that MD is not a framework or a standard. It is a set of design guidelines spec intended for mobile and web. The implementation details are left to developers and designers.

I too initially felt the same but after certain period of time i got changed my mind.Certain websites that designed based on Material Design looks Neat and pretty.Look over these sites(www.stamplay.com www.nimbusnine.co)

I don't like Material Design at all. But I like the fact that it has becoming a standard because I like standards.

Material Design was designed specifically for the Android realm, so it makes sense to use it there. The web is way more open than that (luckily :) ) so using it for your own websites seems kinda off... Let Google use it for their own products I think.

Hashnode is obviously inspired by Material Design, but that's okay. Every design is inspired by others anyway, just picking certain elements here and there.