4 ms·
A few random thoughts, as I write them. Disclaimer: after looking it over, I'm not really interested in using the product (right now, at least), I'm talking abo
by edanm 16y ago
A few random thoughts, as I write them. Disclaimer: after looking it over, I'm not really interested in using the product (right now, at least), I'm talking about the process up to that realization.
* The design of the front page itself is nice and pretty in general. Having said that, there are a few problems.
* The initial pitch is clear (make pretty graphs), the first two questions I had were "so what does this software look like" and "what would I use this for".
* To answer the second question, I clicked on the big "Blogger" button. For some reason, the text above it was updated, totally not what I was expecting (and I was close to missing it completely). I'd change that.
* The text "Click on the red button to sign up for a free beta account." is kind of superfluous. I'd remove it, the button is pretty self-explanatory).
* At this point I would normally just close the tab, since the three points you made for bloggers didn't seem too interesting. But I kept looking, and:
* Apparently, you can click on "Learn More". This page has most of the stuff I was looking for on the front page, like a video showing the software, and larger explanations on what it's good for.
* I would either make the Learn More button stand out much more, or (even better) put its content on the home page. Also, I'd put a "home" button next to the "Learn More" button and have it highlighted, to make it clearer that it's a "tabbing interface" and not just background noise.
* If you're putting the video on the front page, I would tweak it a little to make it more focused on showcasing the actual software (skip the whole login process, just get to where data becomes graphs).
Anyways, those are my quick first thoughts. Definitely looks interesting, but I'm guessing your hardest challenge will be to convince people they should use your software instead of Excel, all the more reason to put a video showcasing why your software is better smack-dab on the front page.
Best of luck to you on your startup!
- revorad 16y agoThanks a lot edanm. Those are really useful points. I should have a nice introductory video ready later this week which I will put up on the homepage. I will make a more prominent link to the Learn More page. Edit: I replaced the "click the red button" text with a link to the Learn More page. Thanks!
- edanm 16y agoHappy to help. One more suggestion that I see getting made a lot: forget signup, let me make a graph in one click. I wouldn't necessarily put it on the home page (have to think about it), but definitely make it so I can get to your software in one click. Also, preload the graph that I get with data that is easy to erase, just so I can immediately see what a graph looks like. This is almost like putting a screenshot of the product, except it's infinitely better.
- revorad 16y agoYes, I expected people on HN to not like the signup hurdle :-) I will definitely make it easier for people to try it out. Preloading a graph is a good idea, will do that too. Thanks so much for taking the time to write. I really appreciate it.