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Hi Mike, I'm new to coding, and I'm building a site (using php) that I'm going to try to launch as a paid product in a couple of weeks: http://www.gmatboost.com

Hi Mike, I'm new to coding, and I'm building a site (using php) that I'm going to try to launch as a paid product in a couple of weeks: http://www.gmatboost.com http://www.gmatboost.com I'd really appreciate any feedback you have on what I should add, remove, change, be aware of, etc. Also, I'm not sure how I am going to accept payment yet, so I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on how I (i.e. someone with the bare minimum amount of coding ability) could most easily and securely accept payment. Thanks a lot, it's very generous of you to offer.

mikegreenberg 15y ago
If you're new to coding, it doesn't show in the least. At a second's glance, this is a polished site. Very clean layout and presentation. Clear communication of value-add. And I assume the images of the colleges gives semblance of social-proof for your product. Excellent! (I don't understand why but cooler colors tend to do much better producing academic products. I have nothing but subjectivity to back this up, but I notice this over and over again.) As far as accepting payment, I recently came across Stripe. It's completely free to implement and play with. PCI-compliant. You pay when you get paid. The discount rate is a bit higher as a result of not having a monthly fee (which is still reasonable). With their javascript library, your servers never see a CC# and you remove a LOAD of liability from your business. I intend to use it for my next project. They have a RESTful API with plenty of examples. And most importantly for you, they have examples in PHP: https://stripe.com/docs/api https://stripe.com/docs/api http://stripe.com http://stripe.com
- gmichnikov 15y ago
  Hi Mike, Thanks a lot for the prompt reply. The polish is largely thanks to a purchase from ThemeForest, I did very little on that front. The image slider was part of that layout, and frankly I couldn't think of anything to throw in there besides the images of the schools. I will definitely check out Stripe, thanks. I saw their post on HN, my biggest concern was whether or not I'll be able to figure out how to set it up, since I've never really used an API and I don't know much at all about JavaScript. I guess we'll see. Thanks again. In the unlikely event that you know someone who could use some pointers on any math or test prep, feel free to let me know.
  - mikegreenberg 15y ago
    Of course. Just realize that many universities have services like this provided by the local honor society and chatpers. (I know this to be the case at my current university, where I ran the program there.)
    - gmichnikov 15y ago
      Would you mind clarifying what specifically you were referring to as "services like this"? I am curious what type of service you had in mind.
      - mikegreenberg 15y ago
        Our engineering society at school provided tutoring and workshops for test prep on major exams. PE, GRE, and some industry specific certifications. I would imagine there are other organizations who provide tutoring and workshops for other tests as well. This is primarily what I'm talking about and will likely be competition for you.

mikegreenberg 15y ago

If you're new to coding, it doesn't show in the least. At a second's glance, this is a polished site. Very clean layout and presentation. Clear communication of value-add. And I assume the images of the colleges gives semblance of social-proof for your product. Excellent! (I don't understand why but cooler colors tend to do much better producing academic products. I have nothing but subjectivity to back this up, but I notice this over and over again.) As far as accepting payment, I recently came across Stripe. It's completely free to implement and play with. PCI-compliant. You pay when you get paid. The discount rate is a bit higher as a result of not having a monthly fee (which is still reasonable). With their javascript library, your servers never see a CC# and you remove a LOAD of liability from your business. I intend to use it for my next project. They have a RESTful API with plenty of examples. And most importantly for you, they have examples in PHP: https://stripe.com/docs/api https://stripe.com/docs/api http://stripe.com http://stripe.com

gmichnikov 15y ago
Hi Mike, Thanks a lot for the prompt reply. The polish is largely thanks to a purchase from ThemeForest, I did very little on that front. The image slider was part of that layout, and frankly I couldn't think of anything to throw in there besides the images of the schools. I will definitely check out Stripe, thanks. I saw their post on HN, my biggest concern was whether or not I'll be able to figure out how to set it up, since I've never really used an API and I don't know much at all about JavaScript. I guess we'll see. Thanks again. In the unlikely event that you know someone who could use some pointers on any math or test prep, feel free to let me know.
- mikegreenberg 15y ago
  Of course. Just realize that many universities have services like this provided by the local honor society and chatpers. (I know this to be the case at my current university, where I ran the program there.)
  - gmichnikov 15y ago
    Would you mind clarifying what specifically you were referring to as "services like this"? I am curious what type of service you had in mind.
    - mikegreenberg 15y ago
      Our engineering society at school provided tutoring and workshops for test prep on major exams. PE, GRE, and some industry specific certifications. I would imagine there are other organizations who provide tutoring and workshops for other tests as well. This is primarily what I'm talking about and will likely be competition for you.