It’s hard for new web applications to make a mark nowadays, there’s just too many companies competing for the same space. So it’s really interesting when you come across one that’s clearly got a winning chance of grabbing user traction. LucidChart is one such.

Ostensibly it’s just another online charting service - you know, with org charts, diagrams, flow charts, wireframes, mockups etc. But start to play with it and you quickly realise this is something special.

Why? Well for one it’s fast. No clumsy, kludgy Flash or Java interface, just swift, clean drag and drop loveliness. Instant access, super easy to use controls (it’s really a pleasure to come across something so intuitive and which just *works*) and a great set of features. For instance, tabs. Brilliant! Now I can set up multiple tabs for page layout wireframes from a single document.

There’s a bunch more stuff I could mention, like the awesome templates (a better term than Examples, I think), the live wireframes, and multi user collaborative editing, but really you need to play around for yourself if you want to enjoy the experience properly. There’s no sign up required, and there’s also a long term free plan which is very generous in scope.

All in all this is one superb drawing and charting app, and deserves to carve a significant chunk out of the market. It makes Google’s equivalent look pedestrian, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Google has a habit of wrecking products it buys, I would suggest that this would make a perfect addition to Google Docs.

As it is, I hope the company stays independent and thrives, I’ll definitely be using LucidChart as my main online drawing service from now on.