5 ms·

Hey roel, I'm a software developer. I outsourced the design through Odesk (for something like 200 euros). You have to test a few designers to find one you like

by toumhi 15y ago

Hey roel, I'm a software developer. I outsourced the design through Odesk (for something like 200 euros). You have to test a few designers to find one you like but it's so worth it not to spend tons of time myself to end with a crappy design anyway :-)

p4bl0 15y ago
This also means that you have to invest 200€ in addition to the time spent coding it and to the hosting+domain fees in order to get things started. Considering the goal you expressed (making passive money), why was this your choice compared to spend less money at first, code it and just make it functional (not beautiful), and only if it works or show signs that it will, then spend the 200€ (or even more then) on the design? (In case it needs to be said: I'm not saying you made a wrong choice, I'd really like to know/understand why you chose to go this way :-)).
- toumhi 15y ago
  I understand your point, however I think the idea is validated by looked at google search results: 40.000 people look for exactly how to compute their BMI. I also saw that there were several sites built around the purpose of calculating your BMI, however I think they are executed poorly. So there's a market for it, even if it's only to make passive income. To justify spending 200 euros: 200 euros is really not much in the grand scheme of things and considering the above, I think it's worth the expense. When asking for links and you have a good looking site, your requests are more likely to be answered than if you have a garbage-looking site. Regarding whether it's a wise investment of my time, it's harder to say. There's the time developing it but also (mostly) marketing it, link building etc. I think at some point you have to go with your guts, you will never have all the data you wish at the beginning. Then if it works really well, I can look into adding more features, more calculators, more content etc...
- roel_v 15y ago
  Apart from having a landing page and trying to get it ranked for certain terms, I don't think you can validate an idea without being able to show/tell people what it will look like. The quality of the product will be judged upon what it looks like, if I made a 1995's style white page with just two form fields and a 'submit' button, that couldn't be used to validate the idea with. In my mostly-unqualified-to-comment-opinion, that is.
  - raivo 15y ago
    Yeah, that's what I did initially with my "daily exercise you can do at work email" site. I decided to spend a minimum amount of time on it to just test it out: just a form and a little description. The only decoration was that the text was centered and navy :) Results: only 4 sign ups over 3 months..mostly from friends and family. Then I made a nicer design, added content, and voila got about 30 sign ups in about 1 month through google search results. Added benefit is that now I'm not embarrassed to promote the site which of course has yielded many more sign ups. To sum up: an effort invested in design pays off since good looks provide a hint of legitimacy. Generally speaking :)
    - p4bl0 15y ago
      Thanks for the answers.
roel_v 15y ago
I was just wondering because it looks quite OK, but I saw some small graphical quirks that made me think 'professional design with modifications by a programmer' (no offense, I have the worst taste and no skills in design myself, but I've been studying design basics lately and I'm starting to notice things like the wrong color green box on the right on the 'IMC Femme' page which sticks out like a sore thumb). Also the 'main' box where you enter height and weight can I think be made much nicer looking with a few small modifications, I think it's important for you if you want others to put your widget on their site. The numbers in the stars are too big and not properly centered, the stars themselves are too big, the alignment of all elements is off (text not centered, button not aligned to other elements, no padding in the box title, bottom padding too big or not in balance with other padding). All of this from somebody who doesn't know anything about design so I may just be talking out of my ass here. I have mixed experiences with getting design off odesk/elance-like sites, and I'm a cheapskate and afraid to spend money on my own products without being sure that it will pay itself back. Which is a self-fulfilling prophecy because crappy looking things will sell badly, too. Anyway I'm quite impressed how you're coming up with multiple ways to spin such a basic thing like a BMI calculator. I hope you will find ways to make this work and make money for you.
- toumhi 15y ago
  hey Roel, thanks for the detailed critic :-) It's true I'm a software developer and design is difficult for me. I've noted your points and will try to address them with my designer. BTW, are you dutch (your name)? I'm French but am based in Amsterdam :-)

by toumhi 15y ago

p4bl0 15y ago

This also means that you have to invest 200€ in addition to the time spent coding it and to the hosting+domain fees in order to get things started. Considering the goal you expressed (making passive money), why was this your choice compared to spend less money at first, code it and just make it functional (not beautiful), and only if it works or show signs that it will, then spend the 200€ (or even more then) on the design? (In case it needs to be said: I'm not saying you made a wrong choice, I'd really like to know/understand why you chose to go this way :-)).

toumhi 15y ago
I understand your point, however I think the idea is validated by looked at google search results: 40.000 people look for exactly how to compute their BMI. I also saw that there were several sites built around the purpose of calculating your BMI, however I think they are executed poorly. So there's a market for it, even if it's only to make passive income. To justify spending 200 euros: 200 euros is really not much in the grand scheme of things and considering the above, I think it's worth the expense. When asking for links and you have a good looking site, your requests are more likely to be answered than if you have a garbage-looking site. Regarding whether it's a wise investment of my time, it's harder to say. There's the time developing it but also (mostly) marketing it, link building etc. I think at some point you have to go with your guts, you will never have all the data you wish at the beginning. Then if it works really well, I can look into adding more features, more calculators, more content etc...
roel_v 15y ago
Apart from having a landing page and trying to get it ranked for certain terms, I don't think you can validate an idea without being able to show/tell people what it will look like. The quality of the product will be judged upon what it looks like, if I made a 1995's style white page with just two form fields and a 'submit' button, that couldn't be used to validate the idea with. In my mostly-unqualified-to-comment-opinion, that is.
- raivo 15y ago
  Yeah, that's what I did initially with my "daily exercise you can do at work email" site. I decided to spend a minimum amount of time on it to just test it out: just a form and a little description. The only decoration was that the text was centered and navy :) Results: only 4 sign ups over 3 months..mostly from friends and family. Then I made a nicer design, added content, and voila got about 30 sign ups in about 1 month through google search results. Added benefit is that now I'm not embarrassed to promote the site which of course has yielded many more sign ups. To sum up: an effort invested in design pays off since good looks provide a hint of legitimacy. Generally speaking :)
  - p4bl0 15y ago
    Thanks for the answers.

roel_v 15y ago

I was just wondering because it looks quite OK, but I saw some small graphical quirks that made me think 'professional design with modifications by a programmer' (no offense, I have the worst taste and no skills in design myself, but I've been studying design basics lately and I'm starting to notice things like the wrong color green box on the right on the 'IMC Femme' page which sticks out like a sore thumb). Also the 'main' box where you enter height and weight can I think be made much nicer looking with a few small modifications, I think it's important for you if you want others to put your widget on their site. The numbers in the stars are too big and not properly centered, the stars themselves are too big, the alignment of all elements is off (text not centered, button not aligned to other elements, no padding in the box title, bottom padding too big or not in balance with other padding). All of this from somebody who doesn't know anything about design so I may just be talking out of my ass here. I have mixed experiences with getting design off odesk/elance-like sites, and I'm a cheapskate and afraid to spend money on my own products without being sure that it will pay itself back. Which is a self-fulfilling prophecy because crappy looking things will sell badly, too. Anyway I'm quite impressed how you're coming up with multiple ways to spin such a basic thing like a BMI calculator. I hope you will find ways to make this work and make money for you.

toumhi 15y ago
hey Roel, thanks for the detailed critic :-) It's true I'm a software developer and design is difficult for me. I've noted your points and will try to address them with my designer. BTW, are you dutch (your name)? I'm French but am based in Amsterdam :-)